Its 4: 20 pm
I'm dedicating this blog to my friend John in Florida,Kevin Kelley who created and runs FBS Schedules,Jon Boy,a Badger who lives in Tulsa and my good buddy Art Testani,who bleeds Blue and Gold with me every year.And my boy Deangelo Peete who I hope will coach SJS one day in the future! I know you can reach your goals,Deangelo!
Now of course I have a lot of serious topics to write about,Trayvon Martin and the useless stupid media circus it has become,the kick ass Let It Rip show last night with former police chief Warren Evans keeping it real and honest on how badly Detroit is handling its crime wave. The arrest of the soldier who broke under stress and killed 17 citizens in Afghanistan,I could go on and on....but I don't know if everyone wants to come here every day and read the doom and gloom of the world so today,we're talking about the best college football team in 2012....the San Jose State Spartans.
I know,I can hear you guys saying "uh,its baseball season". But to us real football fans,its spring training camp this month. The time where coaches get to look at their teams after graduation and see how the new recruits look so they can get a idea of how the depth chart will look come fall.
Now some players are going to get a redshirt right away. Redshirting means a player agrees to sit out a year instead of playing but still gets 4 years to play. Teams do this to stockpile talent,to allow players to mature into bodies,to get a idea of how to handle a full class load,the depth chart is too deep or in some cases,to heal from a injury,that is called a "medical redshirt".
.But as the teams are fitting in new players,new offenses,new coaches and in some cases,new leagues.
The Western Athletic Conference or WAC as its known now is no different. The league has lost a lot of good teams that has really weakened it for now as Boise State,Hawaii,Nevada and San Jose State's biggest rival,Fresno State,all have moved on. The WAC got two new schools,Texas State and Texas-San Antonio to come in and take some of the pressure of teams trying to keep the WAC alive as a football conference.
The 2012 schedule for the San Jose State Spartans is as follows along with my comments on how we should match up...
1 Sept 12 at Stanford last meeting was a 57-3 loss.
This is our 2nd biggest rival and while on paper,it always seems a mismatch But Stanford is going to down this year after losing so many key players and there is no simply replacing a QB like Andrew Luck. If the Spartans can develop a running game,this will be much closer then last year.
8 Sept 12 UC Davis last meeting was a 14-13 loss
Rumor has it we were supposed to play Georgia but the Bulldogs got cold feet and ducked out. After Wisconsin and Miami of Florida also backed away when asked for a game,SJS went out and scheduled UC Davis who pulled off a major upset the last time these schools met. This time,the game won't be close as SJS will put 40+ plus points on the Aggies.
15 Sept 12 Colorado State last meeting was a 38-31 win for SJS
This was a rough and tough game as the Spartans went into Fort Collins and got a last second win over the Rams. Colorado State will be looking for revenge,they won't get it today.
22 Sept 12 @San Diego State last meeting was a 34-10 win for SJS
Former PCAA foes clash again as the Spartans take Big East bound Aztecs in San Diego. SDSU should be a major power as they have a great fanbase,quality players and a fertile recruiting ground but have never achieved to that level. Coming off a fine season,will the Aztecs be overlooking the Spartans?
29 Sept 12 @Navy last meeting a 27-24 win for SJS
San Jose State sank Navy last year in the first of a 4 game series. SJS's defense stopped the vaunted Navy rushing attack and took care of business. Now the Spartans travel to Maryland to show Navy why Wisconsin,Georgia and Miami all didn't want any part of the Spartans. This will be a real toss up.
6 Oct 12 An open date....a chance to heal up,make adjustments before league starts.
13 Oct 12 Utah State last meeting was a 34-33 loss.
This could be the championship for the WAC title right out of the gate. Utah State is only getting better and deeper as they had Auburn on the ropes last year before fading and losing a heartbreaker,42-38. While the Aggies have lost some key players and must replace Robert Turbin,they now have much better depth and the run game won't suffer that much of a drop off. The Spartans must control the clock in order to have a chance to win.
20 Oct 12 @Texas-San Antonio first meeting
Back to back games against the newest WAC members....these are must win games for the Spartans not only for pride's sake but also to get off to a possible 3-0 start in the WAC. Spartans will not be overlooking this young Roadrunner squad and will be ready to battle.
27 Oct 12 Texas State first meeting
See comments above
3 November 12 @Idaho last meeting was a 32-29 loss
This by far was the worst game San Jose State played last year and yes,that includes that 57-3 loss to Stanford. The Spartans led the Vandals 20-0 in the first quarter and still lost to the WAC's worst team...AT HOME! The team could have folded their tents after this game and the Louisiana Tech game but Coach Mike McIntyre refused to let SJS quit and the Spartans upset Fresno State and Navy to close the season.
This is also a trap game,SJS must take Idaho seriously and not let a early lead slip away again.
10 Nov 12 @New Mexico State last meeting was a 34-24 win
NMSU has long been one of the worst D1 schools playing football. Known for being everyone's homecoming cupcake,the Aggies shocked the college football world by going to Big 10 country and stopping Minnesota last year. While injuries and lack of depth hurt them late (including losing 63-16 to a run up the score Georgia team),defensive minded coach Dwayne Walker has the Aggies going into the right direction. With perhaps the two biggest games upcoming for SJS,the could be a landmine game if the Spartans aren't careful.
17 Nov 12 BYU last meeting was a 29-16 loss.
I watched this game on ESPN2 last year and the Spartans had their chances in beating the Cougars. Not willing to gamble playing a gimpy Brandon Rutley in a non league game hurt the Spartans as they couldn't get a strong enough run game going to slow BYU down. But getting BYU,a major power who isn't afraid to come to SJS,home in front of 30,000 fans might help swing the big Mo over to San Jose. Hopefully,ESPN will show this game once again...
24 Nov 12 Louisiana Tech last meeting was a 38-28 loss
Closing out the 2012 season against the defending WAC Champions Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. Needless to say,this game might so much riding on it....the Spartans will need a win here to help get a bowl bid and a possible invite to the Mountain West-CUSA mega conference that is being worked on. Anything less then a bowl bid in a watered down WAC will be a disaster. For Louisiana Tech,a invite to the vastly improving Sun Belt Conference could also be up in the air so both teams will have a lot riding on this final game.
So that is my early take on the San Jose State schedule. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!
if you need to know your school's schedule...just go here and tell 'em I sent you!
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