San Jose State Spartans NCAA Football Betting

If you’re a casual NCAA football fan, you might not know much about the San Jose State Spartans. If you’re a fan of SJSU, though, then you’re well aware the team has been on an upswing in recent years.

Not only is that exciting for fans of the Spartans, but also for California sports bettors who want to bet on San Jose St. football when online sports betting goes live in California.

How to bet on San Jose State football online in CA

While you won’t see the same level of commitment in the media and fandom for the San Jose State Spartans football program compared to USC or UCLA, there is no shortage of live betting odds to find at California sportsbooks.

Below we take a look at the four major bet types you’ll come across for NCAA football betting.

San Jose State Spartans moneyline bet

The moneyline bet is the standard when it comes to sports betting. Everyone has entered into this kind of bet at some point, even if it was just in elementary school when you bet that annoying kid who sat behind you in class that your team was going to win the Super Bowl and his wasn’t.

The basic explanation of the moneyline bet is simple: Two teams are playing and you pick which one you think is going to win. If you’re right, you get paid. If not, you lose your bet amount. Pretty simple.

You can find a nice selection of moneyline bets in any online sportsbook or betting app in California, but BetMGM has one of the best selections around. We have a thorough review of BetMGM Sportsbook on our site, which you can find right here.

An example of what a moneyline bet at BetMGM Sportsbook might look like is as follows:

  • San Jose State Spartans     -110
  • Fresno State Bulldogs         +135

When you first take a look at this listing, the obvious information you gather is the two teams that are playing each other. The second piece of info you see is the odds listed next to each team name.

At BetMGM, the oddsmakers have decided that San Jose State is the favorite to win the game, which is why they gave them negative odds. When you see negative odds, it helps to know that the number you see is how much you need to bet to win $100.

For example, if you bet on the Spartans to win and you bet $110, your payout would be $210 — your original stake returned to you plus $100 in winnings.

Positive odds, on the other hand, tell us who the underdog is and shows us the amount you stand to win if you bet $100. So, in this BetMGM example, a successful $100 bet on Fresno State football would pay out $235.

San Jose State Spartans point spread bet

While the moneyline bet gets the most attention from newcomers in the betting hobby, point spread bets get more attention from those who have gained some betting experience.

The reason is simply that there is more potential value in a point spread bet than in the moneyline. Where moneyline bets often have lopsided odds due to one team in NCAA football just being that much more dominant than their foe, the point spread bet makes the game much more even.

Caesars online sportsbook offers up very competitive odds with point spread bets, especially in NCAA football. The oddsmakers are part of a team that is considered one of the most experienced in the industry, and their razor-sharp lines are indicative of that.

A Caesars point spread bet might look like this:

  • San Jose State Spartans     -7.5 (-110)
  • Stanford Cardinal     +7.5 (-110)

Just like our moneyline example above, the negative number with the point spread is going to indicate which team is the favorite to win the game. In this case, to balance out the Stanford Cardinal football betting odds, you see that they’re given or “spotted” points to give you a chance at a winning wager even if Stanford doesn’t win. The idea behind the point spread is Caesar’s sportsbook oddsmakers assign the favorite some points that they believe the team will win by. Your job as the bettor is to decide if the favorite can win by that much (or more) or if they will win by fewer points or lose outright.

If the Spartans don’t win by at least eight points, then the bets on the Cardinal will pay out. All Stanford has to do in this example is keep the game close, or win outright.

Either side of this bet carries -110 odds. That tells us we will win $100 for every $110 we bet on the winning team.

San Jose State Spartans totals bet

This bet type is the only one of our examples that doesn’t require you to even care about which team wins the game. Instead, your focus is on the combined total points at the end of the contest.

Sportsbooks like DraftKings have oddsmakers who specialize in predicting the outcome of football games. They have very competitive odds when compared to other California sportsbooks, and they have great totals opportunities as well.

Here is an example of what a totals bet, which is also known interchangeably as an over/under, might look like on the DraftKings betting app in California:

  • Over 52.5 (-110)
  • Under 52.5 (-110)

The oddsmakers at DraftKings have decided that this fictional matchup will result in the two teams scoring 52.5 points. Since half-points aren’t possible in NCAA football, that means the over would be 53 points and higher, and the under would be 52 and below.

So, if the two teams played to a 30-21 game, the under bets would pay out since the total adds up to 51 points.

On either side of this particular example are -110 odds. As we’ve previously mentioned, that shows you how much you have to bet to win $100. You don’t have to be that high, or that low. Whatever bet amount you stake will pay out based on the odds at the time you completed your bet.

San Jose State Spartans prop bets

Prop bets are essentially side bets you make with the sportsbook. Typically they don’t have anything to do with the actual outcome of the game, though many do focus on what is happening in the game itself.

At FanDuel, prop bets have become a big part of what they are offering to their customers. Their selection is pretty varied, depending on the sport and the game, but you can always find at least a handful of prop bets when you’re using the FanDuel Sportsbook app.

Below is one possible example of a FanDuel prop bet you might encounter:

  • Which team will lead after the end of the third quarter: San Jose State (+115) or Hawaii (+115)

Some prop bets are based on player or team performance, and others are based on pretty much nothing except a possible random event happening (like an interception in the first quarter, or a comeback victory). From the serious to the absurd, prop bets have them all.

San Jose State Spartans coaching staff

There have been some ups and there have been some downs for the Spartans over the years, but they have been in an upswing ever since Coach Brent Brennan took over in 2017.  These are the key members of the Spartans coaching staff:

  • Head coach: Brent Brennan
  • Assistant head coach: Alonzo Carter
  • Defensive coordinator: Derrick Odum
  • Offensive coordinator: Kevin McGiven
  • Special teams coordinator: Scott White

The SJSU Spartans football team has gone through quite a few coaches over the decades, but that’s what happens when you start your program way back in 1893. Below is a list of the various coaches who have come and gone since the turn of the century.

  • Brent Brennan (2017-current)
  • Ron Caragher (2013-2016)
  • Kent Baer (2012)
  • Mike MacIntyre (2010-2012)
  • Dick Tomey (2005-2009)
  • Fitz Hill (2001-2004)
  • Dave Baldwin (1997-2000)

Where do the Spartans play their home games?

The SJSU Spartans play their home games in CEFCU Stadium. Below we have some key information regarding their home field.

CEFCU Stadium

  • Address: 1257 S. 10th Street, San Jose, California
  • Owner: San Jose State University
  • Operator: San Jose State University
  • Capacity: 30,456
  • Opened: 1933
  • Construction costs: $1.5 million (including expansions)
  • Former names: Spartan Stadium (1933-2015)

How to watch and listen to SJSU Spartans games

While the San Jose State University Spartans football team doesn’t get the national attention other California-based teams get, they are still available for fans to watch and listen to on game days.

There are a variety of networks that carry some of the Spartans games. You can find them playing on:

  • CBS Sports
  • Pac-12 Network
  • Fox Sports
  • NBC Sports California
  • FS1
  • FS2
  • ESPN+

You can also stream some of their games with services like:

  • fuboTV
  • Hulu Live TV
  • DirecTV Stream
  • SlingTV

If you’d rather catch the games over the airwaves, you can listen to them at:

  • KFIV 1360 AM (Modesto)
  • KION 1460 AM (Santa Cruz)
  • KWSX 1280 AM (Stockton)
  • KLIV 1590 AM (San Jose)

You can also find their games broadcast streaming on the TuneIn app.

A brief history of the San Jose State Spartans football team

There is no doubt that San Jose wanted football back when the game was in its infancy, which is why they fielded their first team in 1893.

There have been some ups and downs, and even some hiatuses, in the following century-plus. Here’s a brief history:

  • 2012: San Jose State is ranked No. 21 to end the season in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll
  • 2004: San Jose State defeats Rice, 70-63, in a game that set the NCAA Division I record for total points scored and total touchdowns for a game with no overtime
  • 2004: Budget issues at the university leads to some faculty advocating for the football program to be removed from Division I athletics
  • 1990: Spartans finish the season ranked No. 20 in the Coaches Poll
  • 1979: The first of four seasons during which coach Jack Elway faced his son John Elway, who was the quarterback for Stanford — the teams split those game, 2-2
  • 1975: SJSU ranked No. 20 in AP Poll
  • 1973: The start of a golden age for the Spartans as they went on to post 15 winning seasons and appeared in four bowl games over a 20-year period
  • 1971: SJSU’s first victory over a nationally ranked opponent with a 13-12 victory over No. 10 Stanford
  • 1947: SJSU plays in its first bowl game — the Raisin Bowl — and defeats Utah State, 20-0
  • 1941: Spartans football team stranded on Hawaii for several weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor, during which time they were employed by the Honolulu Police Department to help improve island defenses and as guards at military bases
  • 1939: Spartans ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll
  • 1939: SJSU goes 13-0 for the only other undefeated season in school history
  • 1933: Spartan Stadium was completed with a capacity of 18,000 with the team winnings its first football game there in a 44-6 romp against San Francisco State
  • 1932: Spartans went 7-0-2 for the first undefeated season in school history
  • 1932: San Jose State becomes a powerhouse after winning its first conference title and then going on a streak of 12 consecutive winnings seasons and adding seven more conference titles
  • 1900: San Jose State and Stanford play each other for the first time in a game that would lead to a rivalry series known as the Bill Walsh Legacy Game (Walsh graduated from SJSU and coached at Stanford)
  • 1898: First regular football season and first intercollegiate win (18-0 over College of the Pacific)
  • 1893: California Normal School, which would later become SJSU, fields a football team to play against the local YMCA

San Jose State University Spartans FAQ

Most tickets for Spartans home games cost around $50 to $60 with some being as low as $20 or $30. More popular games, such as rivalry games, can cause ticket prices to climb, however.

The San Jose State University Spartans have never won a national championship. They have, however, won 17 conference titles over the years and have gone 7-4 in bowl games as of spring 2022.

Dudley DeGroot, who coached for eight seasons from 1932-1939, is the winningest coach in Spartans football history, having gone 60-19-8 during that time.

Of coaches with more than two seasons at the helm of the Spartans program, Wilbur V. Hubbard (1946-1949) has the highest win percentage, going 36-11-1 for a .761 percentage.

The Spartans have played in 11 bowl games over the years and have gone 7-4. Their most recent bowl appearance was the Arizona Bowl in 2020 where they lost to Ball State, 34-13. Their first appearance was in 1946 in the Raisin Bowl, which they won with a 20-0 victory over Utah State.

SJSU’s sports teams are represented by none other than Sammy the Spartan, who wears gold, white and blue.

Unfortunately, San Jose State University has never had a consensus All-American selection.

There have been 117 Spartans players who have heard their names called during the annual NFL Draft.

The first player ever selected was Roy Zimmerman, a back who was taken in the seventh round (58th overall) by the Washington Redskins.

The latest player, as of the 2022 NFL Draft, was tight end Josh Oliver, who was drafted in the third round in 2019 (69th overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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