Quote Originally Posted by firesox:
lol wouldnt go that far but it is a HUGE step down in quality imo. strong is washed up as a coach. as long as quinton flowers is on the field it wont matter though
I agree, there are several reasons why I could see SJSU covering the 20... It's suspicious that the spread opened at 25 and went down to 20, but after doing some research and seeing that this is a terrible match up for SJSU, I went back and watched full South Florida games, and it;s inconceivable to think that SJSU will be able to stop the USF offense. Flowers makes good defenses look like high school squads, what is he going to do against the worst run defense in the FBS? Flowers is capable of rushing for 200 yards even if SJSU comes up with a perfect game plan, the talent discrepancy is just too significant...
The fact that this is the home opener in San Jose, actually makes me feel more confident. The scheduling benefits USF IMO... Because this is the 1st game of the season, USF will have plenty of extra time to travel and adjust to San Jose, and since they play Stony Brook in week 2, SJSU should get their full attention. It's not like USF has to travel to San Jose after a short week, they should be in peak physical condition.. With this being a nationally televised season opener, the entire team/coaching staff will take the game much more seriously. USF knows they're getting top 25 consideration, Flowers has Heisman aspirations, and Charlie Strong has a lot to prove, after being fired by Texas...
The only way I could see this game being close is if 1. USF turns the ball over multiple times, and SJSU doesnt have a TO.., or 2 SJSU is able to score at will, and carves up the USF defense. This is possible, but not likely when you consider SJSU has the worst offensive line in CFB. The only stat that contributes to turnovers is QB pressure's, and since SJSU led the nation in Sacks allowed TFL allowed, and hurries. This is an offense that ranked 116th in points per game, which makes sense considering, every 12.06% of their offensive snaps were sacks, 23.1% of their snaps were tackles for a loss, and 4.29% of their snaps were an interception being thrown... This team was really bad, but they got WORSE, offensively they lost their best Olineman, their All Conference TE, their #1 WR, and their QB. Their new QB could legitimately be the worst QB in CFB. 31/60 2TD's 5 Int's and 10 sacks..
They have the worst rush defense in CFB, and unfortunately USF ranked 1st in rushing offense. In one of the CFB preview magazines they ranked the SJSU Head coach as the worst HC in the nation. He was a WR coach for Oregon State... SJSU has lost 12 consecutive non conference games, last year they lost 44-10 to Iowa State and 45-10 at Tulsa. Other than their 66-35 Win vs Portland St, SJSU was 1-2 plays from losing every game in 2016.
Final point: Teams with a 1st time HC, New offensive and defensive schemes, and a new QB are unbelievably bad ATS in the first 4 weeks of the season... With the new NCAA rules regarding practice time, they wont have much time to teach every position group their role by August 26th...