Friday Night Lights: San Jose State vs Washington State Betting Picks

San Jose State Spartans (3-0 SU, 3-0 ATS) vs. Washington State Cougars (3-0 SU, 3-0 ATS)
NCAA Football Week 3
Date/Time: Friday, September 20, 2024 at 10PM EDT
Where: Geha Field, Pullman, Washington
TV: The CW Network

The San Jose State Spartans come to Pullman for a Week 4 matchup with the Washington State Cougars on Friday. Both teams have opened the season well, winning their first three games and each team getting their backers three straight covers. Washington State, thrown into an early-season Apple Bowl matchup in Seattle with the Washington Huskies last week, comes into this matchup with steam after scoring a 24-19 win over their former Pac-12 rivals. The Spartans, meanwhile, are coming off a 31-10 win over Kennesaw State and looks for what would be a giant road-win this week. Who should we get behind in this Friday special from Pullman?

Points to Ponder

Last week was big for a Washington State team that got left out of the conference reshuffling, relegated to a Mountain West schedule without being in the Mountain West; with the Spartans being the first of eight MWC teams, the Cougars will see this season. It doesn’t appear their conference predicament has resonated into low morale with this fast start. San Jose State is off to a nice start, too, though beating Air Force as small underdogs a few weeks ago, 17-7, is their only real worthwhile win of the lot, with wins against Sacramento State and Kennesaw State not really making you think differently of them. But they’ve done what they were supposed to and look good in longtime Navy head coach Ken Niumatotolo’s first season at the helm. Over the last several years, while not being great, the Spartans have managed to be quite respectable within their conference. That’s a nice upgrade from where they were before that.

Issues for San Jose State

Washington State head coach Jake Dickert seems to extract a strong effort from this Cougars’ bunch. Their defense really delivered late with a nice goal-line stand against the Huskies, while we saw the heartfelt effort of QB John Mateer resonate, with the first-year WSU starter running in two touchdowns while also making a lot of key throws on the afternoon. He’s got a lot of weapons at his avail, and while we saw the defense giving up a lot of production to the Huskies in spots, they always buttoned up when they needed it most, holding Washington to a lone TD on the day, despite their QB going for over 300 yards passing. It’s a gutsy group. We saw them play with a lot of heart, make some unlikely third down conversions, and proving to be a difficult opponent. It’s almost as if being left out has given them a chip on their shoulders.

There is a lot of newness on the San Jose State team, from the coaching staff to players occupying key positions. One of those is QB Emmett Brown, who was big last week against Kennesaw, throwing for 355 yards and 4 TDs. But he’s not the only youngster on the team, with the starting back and several targets being guys with little experience in this program. One guy who does have experience on this team is WR Nick Nash, a guy where it only seems he has been on the team for eleven years. A man who used to play starting QB for this team lit it up last game with 17 catches for 225 yards and three scores. Through three games, Nash has 37 catches already with nearly 500 yards and 6 TDs. Replicating that kind of production against Washington State isn’t terribly likely, but this San Jose offense can still be quite dangerous.

Potential Issues for the Cougars This Week

Granted, the true merit of San Jose quarterback Emmett Brown is unknown to a large degree. And we’ve seen San Jose State create this menace against a couple of undermanned teams so far in CSUS and Kennesaw, but this vertical passing game sure looks real enough. And it’s not just Nash showing talent on that side of the ball. WR Justin Lockhart, a guy who has flashed his potential before, is becoming more of a dependable threat, sometimes well down the field. The passing game looks legit.

Again, the Cougars seem to be a team with a lot of heart, taking a disadvantageous conference situation and so far showing that they are unphased. But after a hard-fought win over their longtime tormentor Washington, could this be a letdown spot? Normally, this is a time of the year where the Cougars would be getting into the thick of their conference schedule. So, will hosting a San Jose team give way to reduced urgency? I wouldn’t count on it with this group, but it’s something to consider as Washington State enters into this strange part of its journey, about to take on a bunch of Mountain West teams. I don’t think it’s crazy to think there could be a letdown spot or two in that mix.

Take the Points on the Road Dog

It’s not an easy spot for San Jose at a time in the year when they’d normally have a lot less demanding of a road trip into more familiar stomping grounds. And while the win over Air Force was nice, we don’t have a ton to go on with them. Washington State, meanwhile, has been a nice little surprise thus far. It’s just that in the end, I think the Spartans can at least vaguely hang in there and generate enough offense to stay within the big spread. I’ll take San Jose State.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread:

I’m betting on San Jose State plus 14 points.