Arizona Bowl: How To Watch San Jose State vs. Ball State
Another nationally televised game
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Conference champ vs. conference champ
San Jose State has the chance to go 8-0 and finish with its best record since they went 13-0 all the way back in 1939. This is a special year for the Spartans and finishing up a once in a lifetime season would be fitting for this team.
This game could come down to what quarterback plays better between San Jose State’s Nick Starkel or Ball State’s Drew Plitt. Plitt averaged 33 attempts per game and completed 65.8% of his passes with 16 touchdowns and just six interceptions and his key to being successful was the offensive line protecting him.
The defenses of the MAC are not in the same category as the Mountain West and also they have not seen a duo of Cade Hall who was the defensive player of the year in the Mountain West and Viliami Fehoko. The duo combined for 22.5 tackles which was first and second in the Mountain West and 15 sacks.
If those two can get to Plitt then that is likely game over for the Ball State.
On the flip side, the Cardinals have a defense that is not all that great and really bad in the passing game. In the MAC, they finished eighth in the league in yards per play allowed, 11th in completion percentage allowed, and 10th in touchdowns.
This offense that San Jose State brings to the field does not score as much as the top few teams in the MAC, but the Spartans also faced some tougher defenses and when adjusting for defenses they faced, San Jose State just might be the best offense that Ball State has faced all year.
Arizona Bowl Game Preview: Three Keys To A San Jose State Win vs. Ball State
OFFERPAD ARIZONA BOWL: Ball State Cardinals (6-1, 5-1 Mid-American) vs. San Jose State Spartans (7-0)
WHEN: Thursday, December 31 — 11:00 AM PT/12:00 AM MT
WHERE: Arizona Stadium; Tucson, AZ
TV: CBS
STREAMING: Fans can sign up to receive a free one-week trial of Fubo, which includes CBS, by following this link.
You can also find the audio broadcast on TuneIn.
RADIO: The San Jose State broadcast can be found on 860 AM (KTRB) out of Fremont. The Ball State broadcast can be found in and around Muncie, Indiana on 104.1 FM (WLBC).
SERIES RECORD: This is the first meeting between Ball State and San Jose State.
LAST GAME: San Jose State defeated Boise State in the Mountain West football championship, 34-20, while Ball State beat Buffalo for the Mid-American football title, 38-28.
WEBSITES: BallStateSports.com, the official Ball State athletics website | SJSUSpartans.com, the official San Jose State athletics website
GAME NOTES (PDF): Ball State | San Jose State
ODDS (as of 12/29, via BetMGM): San Jose State -10
SP+ PROJECTION: San Jose State by 6.0 (63% win probability)
FEI PROJECTION: San Jose State by 3.9
