San Jose St Spartans 2023 College Football Preview
June 29, 2023
2022 Recap
Record – 7-5
ATS – 4-8
The Spartans started strong and were sitting at 4-1 before the big game with eventual Mountain West champ Fresno St. They lost that game by a TD and were up and down the rest of the way home. Losing the Idaho Potato Bowl to Eastern Michigan was a downer but let’s not forget that these guys are 19-13 over the L3Y and it’s only been a couple of seasons since they won (!) the Mountain West.
What can we expect in 2023?
San Jose St Spartans 2023 Outlook
OFFENSE
QB Chevan Cordeiro was one of the most underrated QBs in the nation LY and he put up some sweet numbers (3,251, 23-6 TD to INT, 9 rush TD). Cordeiro is back for one more tour of duty and that makes San Jose St a tough out in almost every game. The Spartans lose a yuuuge weapon at WR in Elijah Cooks (1,076, 10 TD) but they have a #1 option lurking on the depth chart in Justin Lockhart (578, 16.1 TD). The bodies beyond that are a bit of a mystery. San Jose St ranked #123 in rushing offense LY but that had a lot to do with the 42 (!) sacks they allowed which counts as a negative vs team rushing yards. RB Kairee Robinson had a fine season LY (752, 4.8, 10 TD; 26 receptions) and he’s back in the mix. The great PHIL STEELE notes that all eight offensive linemen who started a game for the Spartans LY are back in action and that’s a definite plus for the offense.
DEFENSE
San Jose St has been good on defense lately (#5, #7, #3 scoring defense MW L3Y) but we have some bad news to report. The Spartans have relied on an excellent DL the last few years but they’ve gotta reload in that area in 2023. It’s devastating to lose a pair of talented specimens like Viliami Fehoko and Cade Hall who combined for an impossible 16.5 sacks and 31 TFL (!) last season. The LB corps also got WHACKED with the departure of the team’s #1 tackler (Kyle Harmon) as well as Alii Matau (5.5 sacks). The secondary represents the teeth of the stop unit as they retain three starters and add Virginia Tech CB DJ Harvey to the group. The defense will take a step backwards this season but maybe their fine DC Derrick Odum can work some magic? Stay tuned.
SPECIAL TEAMS
It doesn’t look awesome. PK Taren Schive and punter Alex Weir are both back in the saddle but need to improve coming off mediocre campaigns. They’ll be introducing a new primary PR and KR.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – It’s pretty nasty, yo. They start out with a BODY BAG GAME (at USC) and follow that up with a home date vs the JUGGERNAUT Oregon St Beavers. Traveling to Toledo is no treat either. The Spartans must also face all of the BIG ‘UNS in Mountain West action.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Toledo (Sept 16)
The Spartans make a road trip to the middle of nowhere and have Mountain West play on deck (Air Force).
Season Win Total
Market consensus June 29
Over 5.5 -140
Under 5.5 +120
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
It’s almost a given that they’ll start 0-2 and the game at Toledo on September 16th is a coin toss. The conference assignments are flat out nasty.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Founded in 1857, San Jose St is the oldest public institution of higher education on the west coast of the United States.
San Jose St is 11-3 the L3Y at home. LSU is 13-5. YOUR Miami Hurricanes are 11-8. Not saying, just saying.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
This is a tough call. The offense will be more than adequate given the quality of the QB and offensive line. Can the defense hold up? San Jose St has had one of the most underrated defenses in the nation over the last few years and it’s hard to believe they can just reload like ROLL TIDE. We’ll call for five or six wins and think that they’ll be a better team on the field than their final record indicates due to the quality of competition.