Fresno State Bulldogs vs. San Jose State Spartans: TV info, odds and making age matter
San Jose State is at the moment what Fresno State and most football programs in the Mountain West Conference aspire to be, beyond holding first place in its division with a win already over its next-closest pursuer.
The Spartans, who needed help on offense after ranking 11th in the conference in scoring last season, got it through the transfer portal and have paired it with an older, very experienced defense fueled by some homegrown players in defensive ends Cade Hall and Viliami Fehoko and linebacker Kyle Harmon.
San Jose State has seven transfers on its depth chart including quarterback Chevan Cordeiro (Hawaii), wideouts Elijah Cooks (Nevada) and Justin Lockhart (Nevada), and 20 of 23 players on defense alone who are juniors, seniors or graduate students.
It’s a veteran team, particularly at prime positions.
When the Spartans visit Fresno State on Saturday, Cordeiro will present a lot of problems for the Bulldogs as a true dual-threat quarterback unlike a week ago when matching up against Boise State and Taylen Green, who is much better in the run game.
“It seems to me like he has been around forever,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “He’s got a lot of experience and really seems like he understands what’s going on in their offense. He has done a great job — hasn’t thrown any interceptions yet, very dangerous, accurate throwing the ball.
“He’s really doing a great job with his legs, as far as with the designed quarterback runs as well as just scrambling. He’s very fast and effective. He’s a weapon. He’s always been really good at running with the football, but I think now with his experience and understanding the timing of the game and the speed of the game he’s playing really, really well and he has a lot of weapons around him.”
The Spartans quarterback is leading the Mountain West Conference in passing, averaging 261.1 yards per game, and is leading all non-running backs in rushes per game with 12.0. He is tied for third with six passing touchdowns and is fifth with six rushing touchdowns.
In two career games against Fresno State when at Hawaii, Cordeiro is 1-0 as a starter and almost pulled off a big fourth-quarter comeback in 2019 before the Bulldogs escaped with a 41-38 victory when Cesar Silva kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired. The Rainbow Warriors were down two touchdowns when Cordeiro entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and managed to tie the score. Here are his stats from those games:
2020
- Passing: 20 of 31, 229 yards
- Rushing: 13 for 116, 2 TDs
2019
- Passing: 5 of 9, 71 yards
- Rushing: 4 for 33, 1 TD
Cordeiro has run 15 offensive series against the Bulldogs, averaging 6.9 yards per play.
THE GAME
FRESNO STATE vs. SAN JOSE STATE
When: Saturday, 7:45 p.m.
Where: Valley Children’s Stadium
TV: FS1 or FS2 (Jeff Levering, Petros Papadakis)
Find it fast on FS1: Channels 652 and 1652 on AT&T Uverse, 35, 408, 731 and 1208 on Comcast, 219 on DirecTV, 150 on Dish Network
Find it fast on FS2: Channels 651 and 1651 on AT&T Uverse, 410, 779 and 1209 on Comcast, 618 on DirecTV, 149 on Dish Network
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)
Find it fast: 1400 AM in Visalia/Tulare; 1340 AM in Fresno; 1280 AM in Stockton; 970 AM in Bakersfield; 92.9 FM in Modesto; 96.7 FM in Fresno
The records: Bulldogs (1-4, 0-1 in MW), San Jose State (4-1, 2-0)
The series: Bulldogs lead 43-38-3
Last meeting: Bulldogs won 40-9 in 2021
The line: San Jose State -7
Special homecoming for Davante Adams
Fresno State will honor former wideout Davante Adams, retiring his jersey No. 15 at halftime of Saturday’s Homecoming game.