Week Zero Predictions: USC's Caleb Williams and Notre Dame's Sam Hartman
Southern California and Notre Dame will be the two best teams to take to the gridiron during Week Zero college football action. Will USC lose to San Jose State or ND to Navy? Not likely, but it’s fun to talk stats about two of college football’s best signal callers, Caleb Williams and Sam Hartman.
Mixed in will be discussion about some of the top players for each squad in what’s an otherwise very mild weekend of college football. Here we go.
Matchup: San Jose State at Southern California
When: 8 p.m. EST
Channel: Pac 12
SI SportsBook Betting Line: Trojans -30.5
SI SportsBook Over/Under: 65.5
What USC Faces: For total defense, the 2022 San Jose state squad ranked 33rd in the nation. It also allowed 217.7 yards passing per contest, good for 52nd in the nation. That’s better than many prior San Jose State teams did.
Additionally, the Spartans brought in Virginia Tech cornerback DJ Harvey that will help a front that helped record 39 sacks in 2022. That’s nice, but San Jose State lost 133 starts across its defensive line from last season (Phil Steele).
Even with a solid secondary, not applying pressure to the most spectacular college football player will end badly. Very badly.
Trojans’ Weapons: USC not only has ultra-athletic Mario Williams in the slot, there’s Brenden Rice and Arizona transfer an AP first team All-Pac 12 wide receiver Dorian Singer. He comes to SC with 66 catches, 1,105 yards, and 6 touchdowns.
Projected Caleb Williams Statistics: 24 of 32, 310 yards, 3 passing scores, as well as 5 rushes for 40 yards and another touchdown. Keep in mind, this will not likely be a close game. Williams will likely come out of the contest by the early fourth quarter. His statistics could be even better if he’s left on the field.
Matchup: Notre Dame versus Navy (Ireland)
When: 2:30 p.m. EST
Channel: NBC
SI SportsBook Betting Line: Trojans -20.5
SI SportsBook Over/Under: 48.5
What Notre Dame faces: Navy promoted defensive coordinator Brian Newberry to head coach. He was a part of a blitz-happy comeback against the Irish last season, as the Midshipmen came up just short of a big upset, falling 35-32.
The front seven for the Middies sees the defensive line return its starters and lose multiple linebackers (Phil Steele). That’s the good news. The bad would be the Irish getting an entire offseason to prepare for the Midshipmen and the blitz scheme it will face.
That’s especially true with Hartman coming to South Bend after a Wake Forest career that includes 110 career touchdown passes.
Irish Weapons: The ground game will set up play-action passing with 233-pound running back Audric Estime leading the charge. He’s a bull and Navy’s blitzing could slow him down some, but it’s also going to take away from the Midshipmen’s ability to cover on the back end.
Wide receiver Jayden Thomas is the most consistent pass catcher, and he’s a big-bodied player at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds. Look for some back-shoulder throws to come his way. A bevy of other receivers are likely to be in the lineup including former running back turned slot receiver Chris Tyree and the highly-talented Tobias Merriweather.
Receiver was an issue for the Irish last season, but it should be a much improved unit. Losing tight end Michael Mayer to the Las Vegas Raiders is a point to reference as well. Cannot replace Mayer with just one player.
The tight ends are interesting and look for Holden Staes and Mitchell Evans to be a part of today’s passing attack.
Projected Sam Hartman Statistics: 22-34, 280 yards, and 3 touchdowns, plus 4 carries for 18 yards and one more score.
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