The Spartans will march into Latrobe, Pa. tomorrow afternoon looking for their second straight win.

The Spartans will be facing off against Saint Vincent College on Saturday for their second game of the season. Following the bye week, Case Western is ready to get back on the field and we at The Observer are looking to up our prediction skills from last week.

First off, the Spartans have a great history of performing well after a bye week. The football team has won seven straight games following the bye and there is no reason this week should be any different. The Observer is predicting a 2-0 start for the Spartans, with the win marking the 200th victory in program history.

The Spartans have a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the game. The Spartans looked great against arch rival Carnegie Mellon two weeks ago when they dropped 30 points offensively and the defense held back the Tartans to a zero on the scoreboard.

The offense will look to keep rolling as Billy Beecher, the Spartans’ signal caller, looks to follow his career-record performance against CMU with another strong outing. Beecher’s top targets included tight end Zech Medved and wide receiver Ethan Albers who will look to add to their week one stats. Beecher’s 301 passing yards place him as the highest yards for a Case Western QB since 2010 and earned him the honor of UAA offensive player of the week.

The running game may take second fiddle this game as Saint Vincent has only managed a meager one sack in their two games this season so pressure on Beecher should not be very high, allowing the Spartan quarterback time to find the best options.

Defensively, the Spartans will be lead by linebacker Everett Dishong who was named UAA defensive player of the week for his play against CMU. Dishong recorded 13 tackles just edging out fellow linebacker, KJ Pederson who added 12 of his own.

Compared to the high-powered offense of the Spartans, St. Vincent has been rather subdued over the past two weeks. The Bearcats have averaged 12.0 points, 85.0 yards rushing, 104.0 yards passing and 189.0 total yards per game.

The biggest threat to another Spartan victory will be the Bearcats sophomore running back Shavonta Craft, who has rushed for a team-high 90 yards on 22 carries. The Bearcats aerial attack has been split between two different quarterbacks and as a result, their strongest weapons are on the ground.

In addition to just raw stats, Case Western has history on their side. The Spartans have won the past five games they have played in the state of Pennsylvania. This run goes all the way back to 2007. Furthermore, the Spartans have only lost five of their last 35 games away from DiSanto Field.

With this in mind, The Observer is ready to call the matchup on Saturday in favor of our favorite Greek warriors. We expect the Spartans to return to campus with a 26-12 win over the Bearcats. Spears and armor obviously beat out teeth and claws.