The South Florida Bulls travel across the United States to get down with the San Jose State Spartans on August 26th, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. EST. The game between the two schools can be seen on the CBS Sports Network. As of now, the Bulls are -20 point favorites and the contest’s total rests at 65.5.
Last year, the Bulls went 11-2 and they have now gone 18-3 in their last 21 games overall. This season they are equipped for another big season because they have back 16 starters returning. That statistic ranks the Bulls at 36th in the nation in experience.
The San Jose State Spartans had a tough 4-8 season last year. Disappointingly, it was a down year from 2015, where they played in a bowl game. Out is Ron Caragher as head coach and in steps Brent Brennan.
South Florida Bulls
Bulls quarterback Quinton Flowers is back to lead this potent attack. In 2016, the dual-threat performer passed for 2812 yards with 24 TDs and just seven picks. He also rushed for another 1530 yards and 18 trips to the end zone. Obviously, he is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league.
Complimenting the stellar weapon is running back D’Ernest Johnson. Last year, Johnson was good for 543 yards on over 100 carries with eight touchdowns. The Spartans will have their hand’s full stopping both Johnson and Quinton Flowers.
The Bulls’ leading receiver Rodney Adams is gone. With him goes his team-high 67 catches. Even so, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Tyre McCants will be catching plenty of passes this year for South Florida. The duo combined for 47 catches for over 800 yards and nine scores.
The South Florida defense had an inconsistent campaign last year. They wore down as the season went on as they allowed 38.3 ppg over their last six matches. Contrastly, they surrendered just 25.9 ppg over their first seven-game. There should be some all around improvement since so many players have returning experience.
This year they hope to shore up the defense with nine starters back. They also return 15 of their top 20 tacklers from last year. Adding to that, the Bulls also have a new head coach in Charlie Strong, who is a defensive-minded coach.
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans didn’t have many positives offensively averaging only 377 yards and 24 points a game. San Jose State has seven starters back on offense but must find a new starting quarterback.
In steps, Michael Carrillo. Carillo is a Juco transfer that will attempt to improve on an offense that averaged 24 points last season. Whether he can make an immediate impact or not is anybody’s guess.
The Spartans have to replace their top wide receiver, Tim Crawley. San Jose State does return wideouts, Justin Holmes and Tre Hartley. Together, the two combined for 1185 yards receiving and seven TDs last year. The duo should help with the learning curve at the quarterback position.
Leading rusher Malik Roberson and Zamore Zigler will both be back. Together, the two tailbacks galloped for almost 1,000 yards on over 175 carries and five touchdowns. Both athletes have track speed and could break away on any carry. San Jose State will need to lean on these two to keep Quinton Flowers off of the field on Saturday.
Like the offense, the defense is also going through its share of changes. Fortunately, San Jose State has eight starters back on defense and 70 percent of their tackles overall. The strength of this unit is their secondary. Last year, the secondary ranked second in the Mountain West Conference. The group was also the nation’s 19th rated pass defense.
Prediction
The San Jose State Spartans are rebuilding, while the South Florida Bulls are coming off a very successful season in 2016. Bulls quarterback Quinton Flowers is back with plenty of skilled players surrounding him. That spells trouble for a Spartan defense that was pushed around a lot last year. The San Jose State secondary will make some plays but not enough to stop Mr. Flowers and company.
Odds makers have the South Florida Bulls as a -20 point favorite. With so many returning players, the transition into a new season with a new coach shouldn’t hamper their performance. Like the Bulls, the Spartans also have a new coach but not nearly enough talent surrounding their new signal-caller.
The Spartans will struggle on the offensive side of the ball, I’m staying away from the cover in this one. Line setters also have the game’s total at 65.5. I suggest playing the under. The San Jose State secondary should keep the Bulls fairly one dimensional, while their offense sputters throughout. South Florida 34-17 over the Spartans.
Trends
South Florida is 15-7 ATS in its last 22 games
South Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of South Florida’s last 7 games
San Jose State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
San Jose State is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Jose State’s last 7 games
The getmoresports.com NCAA College Football Throwdown Podcast will be returning to the air on August 24th. We will be highlighting the first five games on August 26th of the 2017 NCAA College Football season. That will be the first of three installments leading into the first week of the season. We also we will be covering our expectations for the Heisman Trophy front-runners as well as predictions for conference winners and team totals.
Our second NCAA College Football Throwdown is penciled in for August 29th. In that installment, we will be discussing all the games that will be played on August 31st and the 1st of September.
Our third segment will officially be airing on August 31st. In this edition of the NCAA College Football Throwdown, we will be covering all the relevant games for Sept 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Keeping with tradition, EJ the Rainmaker and Erik the Hun will give their predictions for the contests. On top of that, we will be providing our dog play of the podcast as well as cash money plays for the week. Join us for all three opening episodes and improve your college football knowledge while increasing the size of your sports book betting account. Come join us and help everyone make it rain. #moneytreesgrow
