The Portland State Vikings visit CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, California on Thursday to play the San Jose State Spartans. Last season Portland State was 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference. Several young quarterbacks are competing for the starting job along with senior Nathan West. Jalynne McGee rushed for 259 yards with two touchdowns as a backup last year and will be the lead runner in 2022. However, transfer Andrew Van Buren, who rushed for 1,028 yards with 21 touchdowns while with Boise State has joined the mix.
Portland State's defense has several players returning from last season including nine starters but must replace a talented nose tackle. EJ Ane transferred from San Jose State and is likely to start at nose tackle. Starting defensive ends from last year VJ Malo and Jake Porter both return. The linebacker position should be the strength of the defensive unit and starts with a talented Parker McKenna who led Portland State in tackles with 88. Robert Holt, Tevita Tuitavake and Justice Pagan all have experience and size and give the Vikings a highly talented linebacker corps. The Portland State secondary has plenty of experience.
Last season the San Jose State Spartans were 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the Mountain West Conference. San Jose State scored an average of only 20 points per game and gained just over 340 yards per game. Hawaii transfer Chevan Cordeiro is the new quarterback for the Spartans. In four seasons with Hawaii, Cordeiro rushed for more than 1,100 yards and also passed for 45 touchdowns. The top running back for San Jose State will be Kairee Robinson while the top four wide receivers from last season return.
On defense, the Spartans gave up 26.5 points and 370 yards per game last season. Pass rushers Villami Fehoko and Cade Hall are an excellent tandem at defensive end while Lando Gray completes a strong front line at nose tackle. Kyle Harmon, who was the leading tackler last season with 135, returns as one of the inside linebackers and will be joined by Jordan Cobbs. Nehemiah Shelton is San Jose State's top defensive back at cornerback while Tre Jenkins was the second-leading tackler last season with 72 from the safety position.
Recent Betting Trends
- Portland State is 9-2 ATS in its last 11
- The OVER has cashed in 4 of the Vikings last 6
- San Jose State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6
- The UNDER has cashed in 12 of the Spartans last 18
Free NCAAF Pick:
Portland State Vikings