Folks, it’s that time of the year again! College football is back, which means it’s also time for another year of SJSU Football. Like most teams, the Spartans won’t play Week 0, but they will kickoff this upcoming Friday night at home against Central Michigan. So I figured, before we get things started, how about I write you guys something of a season preview? Well, don’t worry, because here it is!
The Schedule
If you were to ask anybody with some sort of affiliation to or knowledge of college football about the Spartan’s chances this season, there’s a good chance that they’d all mention the schedule. What do I mean by this? Simply put, the slate this year is quite favorable. Let’s take a deeper look at the four non-conference games to start the year:
- Week 1 vs Central Michigan: The Chippewas struggled a bit in 2024, finishing with a 4-8 record while going 2-6 in conference play. The man under center for CMU is a bit of a mystery. Injuries forced the Chips’ to start 5 different guys at the position last season. As for the contest, the analytics tell us this is a very winnable game for the Spartans, as the Chippewas PI (Power Index, ESPN’s ranking system) rank is 24 spots lower than that of San Jose State. However, keep in mind that this team did take down San Diego State last year.
- Week 2 at #1 Texas: I mean, c’mon. This one is self explanatory. In just their second game of the year, SJSU is going to have to travel into Austin and try to take down (as of now) the best team in the nation in front of 100,000 people! Not a chance. Oh, and by the way, the last time these two teams met was back in 2017, where, shocker, the Longhorns won 56-0. I don’t imagine this game will be pretty, but at least SJSU football is on ESPN?
- Week 3 vs Idaho: As is tradition, there always has to be at least one FBS team on the docket. This year’s lucky participant is the University of Idaho! There’s not much to say about the game itself. It should be an easy win. However, I will say I do like this game being scheduled right after Texas. Makes for a good tune-up game to raise some spirits after an inevitable loss in Austin.
- Week 4 at Stanford: This one is interesting. Everybody knows that Stanford is not the same program they were 10 years ago. Even so, the Cardinal still managed to put up a fight last year. I do think San Jose State comes away with the win, but I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be insanely close. The Spartans haven’t held the Cardinal to less than 20 points since 1987, and haven’t won back-to-back contests since 2000. Will they be able to do so in Week 4?
The first four weeks are somewhat decent. Not an insane gauntlet, but also nothing too difficult. But all that talk of an easy strength of schedule comes from conference play. It’s really too crazy for me to put into words, so instead I’ll provide you with an illustration.
Hopefully that gets the point across. Between ESPN putting the Spartans at 5th and the MW preseason poll putting them at 3rd, it’s not hard to see why hopes are very high for San Jose State this year. In fact, ESPN analytics tell us SJSU has the easiest schedule out of everybody in the conference.
Of the 8 teams, 4 were on the schedule last year: Air Force, Nevada, Wyoming, and Fresno State. The Spartans handled business against the Falcons and Cowboys. Nevada was more of a close call. Luckily, SJSU escaped with a last-minute win — a game many consider the best of the campaign. However, don’t expect the Wolfpack to put up much of a fight this year. QB Brendon Lewis skipped town for Memphis, while their two best players, Jalen Royals and Kitan Crawford, are now vying for roster spots in the NFL.
Last year’s Battle for the Valley was a rough day at the office. After embarrassing Fresno State in 2023, the Bulldogs returned the favor in Fresno with a 33-10 victory. This, along with many other reasons, is why this rivalry game is going to be the toughest conference game of the upcoming season. It’s a very real possibility that SJSU loses this contest, despite the fact that it will be at CEFCU stadium.
The ceiling is so high it’s touching the Karman line. 11-1 is the cap for this team, because let’s be honest, the Longhorns will not be getting upset in Austin. The floor is more so 7-5 or 6-6, which is something that the ESPN FPI agrees with. At the minimum, SJSU should achieve bowl eligibility. I won’t be providing my record prediction here, but if you have one and would like to share it, feel free to drop it in the comment section below.
The Players to Watch
Walker Eget had been patiently waiting for three years before getting the call last season. You may remember last season was an odd situation at the quarterback position. Washington State transfer Emmett Brown got the nod at the beginning of the season, and then eventually, through constant back-and-forth battles it was Eget who became the starter later in the season. Eget is an electric player to watch, because he reminds me of a young Josh Allen: big, tall quarterback with a rocket arm. However, I say young Josh Allen because both had problems with the turnovers. Last season, Eget averaged over 300 passing yards in his starts, throwing for 2504 yards and 13 touchdowns. However, he also threw 10 interceptions, which you can attribute to the fact he would chuck it deep every chance he got. Consistency was a minor problem for Eget last season, but to be fair it was an entirely different offense than what he was used to. I expect to see some great improvements in his game, and don’t be surprised if he ends up being one of the better college quarterbacks in the nation.
Jordan Pollard solidified himself as the best linebacker in the conference last year, if not one of the best in the nation. He looks to continue his dominance in the box, and it shouldn’t be much of a challenge for two reasons: (1) the schedule is ridiculously forgiving, and (2) all of his linebacker buddies are returning for one last hoorah. Alongside Pollard will be Taniela Latu, Noah McNeal-Franklin, and Ethan Powell. Last year the unit combined for 281 tackles, accounting for 28% of all tackles that season. Pollard himself notched 115, alongside 14 TFL, 2 sacks and an interception. As a matter of fact, the defensive line won’t change much either. Yes, Soane Toia has moved on. However, Gafa Faga, Quincy Likio and Justin Stearns remain in what looks to be a stonewall as tough as it was last season. The big question, though, is all about the secondary. DJ Harvey was locking it down all season long, earning himself a promotion to the Big 10 as a member of the Trojans. In his place, SJSU were able to get former 5-star Caleb Presley and former 4-star Maliki Crawford. Both haven’t gotten many chances with their former teams. At the same time, both look for a fresh start and the opportunity to make an impact.
As for the offense, the running back room will not change from last season. Chalk IV, Bates, and Radcliffe will all man the backfield this season. Great for chemistry, but in the grand scheme of things I’m not expecting a lot in terms of production. After all, this is an offense that operates on the pass. In 2024, the Spartans finished as the 5th best passing offense in the entire nation. Of course, a great deal of that was because of the electric Nick Nash and Justin Lockhart. With both now in the NFL, the Spartans went to work and grabbed a ton of receivers in the transfer portal. The result is one of the deepest receiver rooms we’ve seen in years. If you want a more in-depth look at some of the newbies, you can read that here.
Alrighty, that’ll do it for now. Preview over! Reminder, the season kicks off this upcoming Friday at CEFCU Stadium against Central Michigan at 7:30 pm. If you’re looking for a great game preview, check out KSJS’s very own Nick Urias, as he and CMU broadcaster Adam Janska break down the matchup. You can watch it here.
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