Photo credit: @lawrencefansjsu

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans had a tough customer in the No. 20 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Autzen Stadium is one of the best stadiums in the country. Both Ducks and Spartans fans flocked to Eugene, Ore. to watch their favorite teams go head-to-head with each other. Though, the latter lacked in quantity in the Pacific Northwest. Still, this FBS and Pac-12 matchup was a sight to see.

Turnovers have been an issue for the Spartans, who suffered from another mishap Saturday. Josh Love’s pass was intercepted by Jevon Holland early in the first quarter. Then, the Ducks took a 7-0 lead at the 11:18 mark after four plays over 23 yards in a 1:36 span. Cyrus Habibi-Likio scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown. Zach Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

The Spartans have struggled with moving the ball and the deficiencies showed when the Ducks took a 14-0 lead with 7:10 left in the first quarter. Jacob Breeman scored a 66-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Justin Herbert. Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

The Ducks led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Spartans finally got on the board at the 10:56 mark of the second quarter. Bryce Crawford kicked in a 31-yard field goal to reduce the SJSU deficit to 14-3.

The Spartans worked some more magic into the scoreboard. Crawford kicked in a 28-yard field goal to cut the SJSU deficit to 14-6 with 2:58 left in the second quarter.

The Ducks, however, extended its lead to 21-6 just 30 seconds later. Johnny Johnson III scored a 39-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Herbert. Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

The Spartans shocked most of the 54,000 fans in attendance as Tre Webb tipped the ball to Dakari Monroe with only seven seconds left in the second quarter. This was Monroe’s second interception of the season.

The Spartans trailed the Ducks 21-6 at halftime. But SJSU’s offense has started to wake up and that was a good thing.

Josh Oliver made a flawless catch off a pass from Josh Love for a 7-yard passing touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter. The Ducks challenged the Spartans’ play, but the call on the field stood. The Spartans then went for the two-point conversion, but it was overturned as Bailey Gaither was unable to slide his foot. The score stood at 28-12 in favor of the Ducks.

The Spartans trailed the Ducks 28-12 at the end of the third quarter.

The Ducks expanded its lead to 35-12 at the 14:49 mark of the fourth quarter. Johnson III scored his second touchdown of the game–a 22-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Herbert–and Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

Crawford kicked his third field goal of the game–a 25-yard field goal–just 1:07 later to bring the Spartans within 20. The Ducks held on to a 35-15 lead.

Spartan fans breathed a sigh of relief as the Spartans scored its first touchdown of the game to pull within 13. Malik Roberson scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown for his first of the season. Crawford’s PAT kick was good. The Ducks held on to a 35-22 lead with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter.

There weren’t any brownie points in college football, but the Spartans put on a much-better show at Autzen Stadium, despite the 35-22 loss to No. 20 Oregon.

Notes
Spartans’ starters
Offense: Montel Aaron, Justin Holmes, JaQuan Blackwell, Malik Roberson, Jackson Snyder, Trevor Robbins, Jake Colman, Deano Motes, Troy Kowalski, Bailey Gaither and Josh Oliver.

Defense: Jesse Osuna, John Toussaint, Tre Webb, Sailosi Latu, Boogie Roberts, Bryson Bridges, Dakari Monroe, Jonathan Lenard Jr., Tysyn Parker and Ethan Aguayo.

Up Next 
The Spartans have a much-needed bye week and then return to CEFCU Stadium to host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday, September 29 at 4:00 pm PDT.