Utah State vs. San Jose State: Why The Aggies Can Win, How To Watch, Odds, Prediction
The Aggies look to stay in the hunt for bowl eligibility in a big road clash with the Spartans. Here’s how to watch and what to watch for.
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Could both teams light up the scoreboard?
WEEK 8: Utah State Aggies (3-4, 1-2 Mountain West) vs. San Jose State Spartans (2-5, 1-2 MW)
WHEN: Saturday, October 21 — 5:00 PM MT/4:00 PM MT
WHERE: CEFCU Stadium; San Jose, CA
WEATHER: Mostly sunny, high of 76 degrees
TV: CBS Sports Network
STREAMING: Fans can sign up to receive a free one-week trial of Fubo, which includes CBS Sports Network, by following this link.
RADIO: The Utah State broadcast can be found on the affiliates of the Aggie Radio Network, including flagship 1280 The Zone (KZNS) in Salt Lake City. The San Jose State broadcast can be found in and around San Jose on 860 AM (KTRB).
SERIES RECORD: The all-time series is tied, 20-20-1. In the last meeting on November 19, 2022, the Aggies defeated the Spartans, 35-31, in Logan.
LAST GAME: Utah State lost at home to Fresno State, 37-32, while San Jose State defeated New Mexico on the road, 52-24.
WEBSITES: UtahStateAggies.com, the official Utah State athletics website | SJSUSpartans.com, the official San Jose State athletics website
GAME NOTES (PDF): Utah State | San Jose State
ODDS: San Jose State -4
SP+ PROJECTION: San Jose State by 2.4
FEI PROJECTION: Utah State by 2.2
PARKER FLEMING PROJECTION: San Jose State 61.90% win probability (36.26-31.11)
𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓪 𝓑𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 ☀️🌴✈️
𝙑𝙎 San José State
📺 @CBSSportsNet
📰 https://t.co/jyWf68BlmZ#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/AUnsJlwixP— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 16, 2023
After suffering a close loss at home in Week 7, the Utah State Aggies hit the road for the first time in October to face off with the San Jose State Spartans.
Relatively speaking, both teams are in the same boat: Explosive offense, erratic defense, and a handful of top playmakers who can change the tenor of a game with one big play. However, the Aggies also have recent history on their side, carrying a ten-game winning streak in this series into San Jose. USU hasn’t lost on the road to the Spartans since 2008, so what needs to happen to keep it that way?
Here’s what Utah State can do to beat the Spartans.
Three Keys to a Utah State Victory
1. Pound the rock and dare the Spartans to make stops.
For as potent as Utah State’s passing game has been in recent weeks, the rushing attack might have a potentially significant advantage against a San Jose State front seven that has often been soft against the run. In the Spartans’ two victories to date, they’ve allowed 3.23 yards per carry and just two rushing touchdowns; in five losses, they’ve given up 5.67 YPC and 16 rushing scores.
The Aggies have done well to establish a balance in their three-pronged ground attack — Davon Booth, Rahsul Faison, and Robert Briggs combined for 5.4 YPC in last week’s loss to Fresno State, and all three had between seven and 12 carries — and that could serve them well given that quarterback Cooper Legas still hasn’t gotten over his propensity for turnovers (3.9% interception rate in 153 pass attempts).
2. Make Chevan Cordeiro beat you.
San Jose State isn’t quite as explosive as they were in 2022 with Elijah Cooks, who’s now in the NFL, and Justin Lockhart, who’s out for the season with injury. That’s had an effect on the Spartans’ veteran quarterback, who has generated a pass play of 20 or more yards on 9.9% of his 222 attempts through seven games after creating them at a 12.9% rate last year.
If Utah State can dictate the terms of the game and get out to an early lead, they could put themselves in a position to really put the screws on SJSU: When the Spartans have trailed by eight or more points this season, Cordeiro has only completed 38-of-74 attempts (51.3%) for 5.3 yards per attempt with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
3. Keep an eye on Jay’Vion Cole.
Blake Anderson won’t be shy about letting it fly on offense, though San Jose State has at least one defender who might be able to make the Aggies pay for a passing game mistake. Cole had his first interception of the season last Saturday against New Mexico, but the Cal Poly transfer has played like one of the Mountain West’s top cornerbacks since coming home to the Bay Area with a team-high eight passes defended and, according to Pro Football Focus, an 82.5 coverage grade that is the third-best figure in the conference.
Prediction
Both teams in this game still have postseason aspirations. Though Utah State is getting more banged up by the week, their offensive stars should make the difference in outlasting a Spartans defense that’s given up its fair share of ground most weeks.
Utah State 40, San Jose State 31
