[builder_content post_id=”978″]SAN JOSE ST SPARTANS
Mountain West Conference – West Division
2015 Record – 6-7
ATS – 8-5
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
West Division #3
Conference #8
2015 Recap
It is not often that you see a team finish 6-7 after winning a bowl game. That is the way it turned out in the bowl selection process last season. Frankly, we think the more bowl games the better since we love college football, but that is a story for another day. The Spartans relied heavily on star RB Tyler Irvin who did a bit of everything including scoring 16 TDs by rushing, receiving and returning punts. Oh, and he set the school record for rushing yards with 1,601. Add in a dash of playing solid pass defense, efficient QB play and not taking many penalties – and the Spartans managed to win six games. Doubters will point to their best win being against New Mexico (?) but San Jose beat who they should have beaten last season.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
Who is going to replace Tyler Ervin at RB? That is the question on the minds of all San Jose St Spartans fans heading into this season. The good news is that they return a large and talented run-blocking offensive line and senior QB Kenny Potter provides the mobility you want to keep the defense guessing. However, the line will have to do a better job in pass protection as they allowed 38 sacks (last in Mountain West in sacks allowed per game). Senior TE Billy Freeman (1st Team Mountain West) led the team in receiving yards and receptions last season and he will be a top target again in 2016. The WR corps had injury issues last season and if they can come back healthy this has the look of a team that can at least hold their own in the passing game. Overall, there are some unknowns here and we do not think it is fair to ask the offense to win a lot of games this season. It is going to have to be a team effort.
DEFENSE
The San Jose St defense was ranked 5th in the conference (359 yards allowed per game) but they were not good enough against the run – nor did they generate much of a pass rush (17 sacks in 13 games). The Spartans will need to do a better job up front and find a way to generate more takeaways. They only managed to generate 12 turnovers which ranked near the bottom of the Mountain West and that was a far cry from the 30+ generated in 2011 and 2012. The defense has some talented players at all three levels and 7 starters return. Ron English takes over from Greg Robinson as DC and the transition should be smooth.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Outstanding punter Michael Carrizosa is back this season but the Spartans have a huge hole in the return game with the departure of Tyler Ervin. PK Bryce Crawford only attempted 2 FGs last season. They are concerns with this unit but thankfully they have one of the best punters in the country.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 3.5
MEGALOCKS says:
San Jose St is a difficult team to figure out. They have enough talent on the roster to be competitive in almost every game but there are the nagging worries about replacing Ervin’s production at RB, the ability to rush the passer and the run defense. The schedule is sneaky-tough.
Overall, we give the SPARTANS a 3.5 ATS Value Rating (Below Average) this season. HC Ron Caragher has put together a 15-22 record at San Jose St. However, more concerning to handicappers is that the Spartans are 17-20 ATS (46%) under his watch including a current 1-9 L10 run as road underdogs. Despite having a nice mix of experience and talented freshmen, it is hard to give San Jose St high marks when thinking about beating the point spread consistently in 2016.
Want more San Jose St Spartans Football?
Website
http://www.sjsuspartans.com/sports/m-footbl/sjsu-m-footbl-body.html
Forum
http://www.scout.com/college/san-jose-state/forums/1122-spartans-football
http://members4.boardhost.com/spartantalk/
News
http://www.mercurynews.com/sjsu-spartans
http://bleacherreport.com/san-jose-state-football
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/san-jose-st-spartans
https://twitter.com/SJSUSpartanFB (@SJSUSpartanFB)[/builder_content]