San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero’s only scholarship offer coming out of high school was from Sacramento State, an FCS program a couple hours from his hometown.
At 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, he knew he had to prove himself, so that’s what he did. He hauled in 53 passes for 667 yards and five touchdowns in his only full season with the Hornets. The undersized receiver from San Jose, California, did enough to catch the attention of his hometown team.
Now, Scudero leads the Mountain West with 50 catches for 845 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s a big-play threat who averages 16.9 yards a catch and has hauled in a pass of more than 40 yards in five of the Spartans’ six games this season. He caught a 70-yard pass against New Mexico two weeks ago and a 72-yard bomb against Wyoming last week.
The redshirt sophomore will lead San Jose State (2-4, 1-1 Mountain West) on the road against Utah State on Friday.
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Scudero is coming off one of the best games of his career. He came down with 10 passes for 180 yards and four touchdowns in the Spartans’ 35-28 loss to Wyoming last week. San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget also had a big day, completing 23-of-27 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns.
They’ll face a Utah State secondary that was gashed by Hawaii last week. Rainbow Warriors quarterback Micah Alejado put up 413 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-26 win over the Aggies (3-3, 1-1).
Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes has been dealing with some injuries in recent weeks, but he has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the Mountain West this year. He has thrown for 1,318 yards, 12 touchdowns, and two interceptions, and he leads the Aggies with six rushing touchdowns.
San Jose State vs. Utah State Betting Odds
Utah State is a 3.5-point college football betting odds favorite on BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is 63.5 points. The moneyline is at -170 for Utah State and +140 for San Jose State.
The Spartans lead the overall series against the Aggies 21-20-1, but San Jose State hasn’t won in Logan, Utah, since 2007. Their 42-21 win last season snapped a streak of 10 straight losses to Utah State.
San Jose State is 5-15 overall and 12-6-2 against the spread in its past 20 regular season games as an underdog on the road. Utah State is 18-2 overall and 15-5 ATS in its past 20 regular season games as the favorite at home.
San Jose State vs. Utah State on TV
The Mountain West game featuring San Jose State and Utah State at Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah, will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
San Jose State vs. Utah State Prediction
I predict Utah State wins 31-24.
Scudero has been almost unstoppable, and I expect he’s going to catch a deep ball or two. The problem is San Jose State is averaging just 100.8 rushing yards a game, and I think a one-dimensional offense is going to struggle against a defense that was already sneaky good and just got better.
Utah State linebacker John Miller is one of the best in the Mountain West. He was already playing in front of two solid defensive backs in Noah Avinger and Brevin Hamblin, and the Aggies just got all-conference safety Ike Larsen back from suspension. He was No. 2 on the team with seven tackles in his first game back.
Former BYU running back Miles Davis is also quietly having a solid season for the Aggies. He’s averaging 6.4 yards a carry and leads the team with 416 yards on the ground. This game has the potential to be a shootout, but I think Utah State’s defense will slow San Jose State’s passing game down enough for the Aggies to get the win.
