It will be FCS vs FBS in Week Zero as the Southern Utah Thunderbirds visit the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday, August 28, 2021. San Jose State is coming off their best season is school history and Southern Utah is coming off a 2020 they would like to forget. This game will air live on CBS Sports Network at 10:00 p.m. EST.
Southern Utah enters their final season in the Big Sky Conference coming off a 1-5 season in 2020. The Thunderbirds lost all five games by one score or less, with four of those losses by two points or less. Head coach Demario Warren will need to have a good 2021 if he wants to be a helm when Southern Utah enters the WAC in 2022.
San Jose State is coming off their best season in school history as the Spartans won the Mountain West Conference championship and finished with a 7-1 record. The Spartans ended the regular season at 7-0 but fell 34-13 to Ball State in the Arizona Bowl. SJSU has not won a bowl game since 2015 and head coach Brent Brennan will look to change that in his fourth season in charge.
Below is my pick, and preview, for the battle between the Southern Utah Thunderbirds and San Jose State Spartans. All odds are from Caesars Sportsbook.
Southern Utah Thunderbirds at San Jose State Spartans (22.5): O/U 55.5 (-114/-106)
Southern Utah returns All-American quarterback Justin Miller and All-American offensive lineman Braxton Jones. Defensively, junior linebacker La’akea Kaho’ohanohano returns after recording 57 tackles and seven sacks in his All-American 2020 season.
San Jose State returns quarterback Nick Starkel and the senior will be relying on the trio of running back Tyler Nevens, wide receiver Isaiah Hamilton, and tight end Derrick Deese. The Spartans also return all five starters from last season’s offensive line, including All-Mountain West tackle Jackson Snyder. Defensively, San Jose State will be led by the defensive end duo of Cade Hall and Viliami Fehoko. The secondary returns safety Tre Jenkins and corner Nehimiah Shelton.
Series History: This will be the first meeting between these two schools.
CFB Predictions: Give me San Jose State -22.5 Saturday night.