Valley Cup: San Jose State vs Fresno State 11/25/21 College Football Picks, Predictions and Odds

The San Jose State Spartans and Fresno State Bulldogs clash Thanksgiving afternoon in MWC college football action in the Valley Cup at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose.

The Fresno State Bulldogs will look to build on their 34-7 win over New Mexico last time out. Jake Haener has thrown for 3,467 yards, 28 touchdowns and 9 picks on 66.8% passing while Ronnie Rivers and Jordan Mims has combined for 1,254 rushing yards and 9 TDs in the fresno State backfield. Jalen Cropper and Josh Helly each have 700+ receiving yards for Fresno State and Keric Wheatfall has 557 receiving yards and Zane Pope’s got 418 reciving yards as well this season. On defense, Evan Williams leads Fresno State with 79 total tackles along with 3 interceptions while Kevin Atkins has 6.5 savks and David Perales has 5.5 sacks this season.

The San Jose State Spartans will be out to rebound from a 48-17 loss at the hands of Utah State last time out. Nick Starkel has thrown for 1,385 yards, 9 touchdowns and 7 picks while Nick Nash has 971 passing yards, 6 TDs and 3 interceptions. Tyler Nevens leads the Spartans with  711 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns while Derrick Deese Jr. has 44 grabs for 687 yards and another three SJSU receivers have at least 300 receiving yards as well this season. On defense, Kyle Harmon leads the Spartans with 122 total tackles while Viliami Fehoko has 7 sacks to lead the Spartans.

Fresno State is 21-8-1 ATS in their last 30 road games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a win while the under is 13-4 in their last 17 games as a foad favorite. San Jose State is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 22-8-2 ATS in their last 32 conference games while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games as a home underdog.

I get why Fresno State would be favored, but truth be told, as much as I’ve said I like this Fresno offense, there’s the intangible human element at play here. This is San Jose State’s last shot for bowl eligibility so I expect the Spartans to throw everything at the Bulldogs and then some. I think this could end up being a 4-7 point game, so give me the points in this one.