Tag: College Football

No longer winless: San Jose State overcame adversity with 50-37 win over UNLV

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Next stop for San Jose State? Home sweet home. In the Spartans’ case, however, they weren’t just tweeting out “#BeatUNLV” but were also filled with feelings of terror. To be fair, UNLV was one of SJSU’s assumed victories, but SJSU previously lost to Colorado State 42-30, despite putting up 30 unanswered points in the second half. That being said, SJSU not only had to put their foot on the pedal, but also keep it down…and that was exactly what they did on Saturday.

The Spartans wore customized helmet decals with the initials “AJ” in honor of the late SJSU cheerleader Anjela Jose, who died in a single car accident on October 14, and held a moment of silence for Jose prior to the kickoff inside CEFCU Stadium. After that, fireworks lit up the clear blue sky and the Spartans took the field.

Josh Love was the starting quarterback for the Spartans. The kickoff shocked a lot of fans in attendance as a UNLV returner called for a fair catch, caught it and ran through the defense for a long return. As a result, the officials whistled it dead and spotted the ball back at the 15.

“I’m a fighter and I always try to put in my input” Love said. “I’ll continue to fight for this team…We’re going to continue to fight for this team.”

Unfortunately, UNLV got on the board first to open the scoring 7-0 with 7:39 left in the first quarter. Max Gilliam scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown for his first rushing touchdown of the season and Evan Pantels kicked in the extra point for the Rebels.

But SJSU quickly evened the score 7-7 just 1:23 later as Tyler Nevens scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown and Bryce Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans. Nevens’ game-tying score came just moments after Love threw to Thai Cottrell, who recorded a 60-yard reception for a career-long reception.

The Spartans and Rebels were tied 7-7 at the end of the first. SJSU had a season-high 179 total yards in that span.

The Spartans took a 14-7 lead at the 12:28 mark of the second quarter. The Josh effect was in full effect as Love threw to Josh Oliver, who scored a 2-yard passing touchdown for his third touchdown of the season. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans.

“Everything on the offensive end showed up,” Oliver said. “I think part of our success was the o-line. They played really hard. They played really good.”

The Spartans got ahead 17-7, thanks to a 50-yard field goal from Crawford with 6:25 left in the second. However, 11 seconds instilled a fear inside SJSU when UNLV pulled within 3 points after Gilliam connected with Tyleek Collins for a 75-yard passing touchdown and Pantels kicked in the extra point for the Rebels.

The Spartans’ excitement decreased as soon as the Rebels snatched a 21-17 lead with 1:36 left in the second. Collins scored the second of back-to-back touchdowns–a 4-yard rushing touchdown–and Pantels kicked in the extra point.

But the Spartans weren’t ready to back down just yet. Love threw a touchdown pass to Tre Walker, who scored a 37-yard passing touchdown. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans, who went back on top 24-21 with just 34 seconds left in the second.

The Spartans carried a 24-21 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The Spartans extended its lead 31-21 at the 10:48 mark of the third quarter. Love connected with Brett Foley, who scored a 1-yard passing touchdown. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans.

The Spartans continued to wreck havoc when Love threw a touchdown pass to Tre Hartley, who scored a 9-yard passing touchdown. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans, who expanded its lead 38-21 with 4:17 left in the third.

The Rebels pulled within 10 points when Collins scored a 46-yard passing touchdown, and Pantels kicked in the extra point. Simultaneously, the Spartans’ penalty for offside was declined.

Crawford attempted a 36-yard field goal–his second field goal of the game–to put the Spartans up 41-28 with just 15 seconds left in the third.

The Spartans held a commanding 41-28 lead at the end of the third.

The Spartans proceeded to rise up for the most part. Dakari Monroe picked up a 50-yard interception touchdown, but Crawford missed the extra point. Still, SJSU got a 47-28 lead at the 13:44 mark of the fourth quarter.

“We could’ve played better,” Monroe said. “We had a lot of yards, but I think the biggest thing for us…we made the big plays when they were needed and that’s always needed.”

The Rebels intimidated the Spartans when Pantels kicked a 23-yard field goal to reduce its deficit 47-31 at the 10:46 mark of the fourth. SJSU responded with a 23-yard field goal by Crawford just 3:35 later. SJSU led UNLV 50-31 with 7:11 left in the fourth.

The Rebels put a scare into the Spartans late in the fourth. Gilliam threw a touchdown pass to Collins, who scored a 4-yard passing touchdown to slice its deficit 50-37 with 2:26 left. UNLV attempted a 2-point conversion, but it failed.

The Spartans defeated the Rebels 50-37.

“It was an awesome night for our team,” head coach Brent Brennan said. “It has obviously been a tough couple of months and I’m just so proud of them because they never stopped working.”

Notes
Spartans’ possible starters
Offense: Tre Walker, Jackson Snyder, Troy Kowalski, Kyle Hoppe, Jake Colman, Deano Motes, Josh Oliver, Josh Love, Tyler Nevens, Thai Cottrell and Tre Hartley.

Defense: Bryson Bridges, Boogie Roberts, Sailosi Latu, Jesse Osuna, Jamal Scott, Ethan Aguayo, Alii Matau, Dakari Monroe, Zamore Zigler, Tre Webb and Jonathan Lenard, Jr.

If you’re into beer, you can get your tickets for the Spartans’ upcoming Beer Fest in their game versus the Nevada Wolf Pack on November 17 at 2:00 pm PT. You can click this link bit.ly/SJSUBEERFEST and use the promo code “BEERFEST” or call/text (408) 924-7589.

If you’re getting fired up about San Jose State basketball, there’s less than two weeks before the boys in Blue and Gold ball it out on the court. The Spartans host the Life Pacific College Warriors on November 7th at 7:00 pm PT.

Up Next
The Spartans travel to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Wyoming Cowboys next Saturday at 11:00 am PT.

Wednesday night notes: Cardinal’s Top 25 matchup with WSU on Homecoming

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Photo credit: bleacherreport.com

By: Ana Kieu

The #24 Stanford Cardinal has a top 25 matchup versus the #14 Washington State Cougars at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night. Not only that, it’ll be a Homecoming game for the home team, so that gives the coaches, players, media members and fans another reason to be excited to be at The Farm on Saturday.

If you haven’t already purchased your tickets for this matchup, you can do so by clicking on the tweet below.

Anyhow, let’s get to the fun stuff regarding Stanford football!

There has been nine clips of nine touchdowns by senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, including the clip in the tweet below.

Whiteside told Stanford football: “You know it’s coming. You can’t stop it.”

Wednesday was a good day for senior running back Bryce Love, who’s a Human Biology major, who was named one of ten finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Love’s not only a team captain, but also an aspiring pediatrician. Love set the school record with 2,118 rushing yards in 2017 and recently surpassed 4,000 career all-purpose yards. Love’s an unanimous All-American and Pac-12 All-Academic honoree. Moreover, Love’s expected to graduate in December.

Enough about Love. How about senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin? Okay, Irwin may not be the flashiest player on the team nor does he possess blazing speed, but let’s not forget that he has caught at least one pass in 35 consecutive games for the eighth-longest streak in the country.

Last week, Irwin accomplished a few feats at Arizona State. Irwin matched his career-high with seven receptions and was selected Stanford’s Offensive Player of the Game.

Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw told Stanford Football: “I think Trent has been phenomenal … He’s been awesome on third downs, he’s made big plays downfield, he’s made game-changing plays, both with the fumble recovery against San Diego State and a key block in this last game. He’s given us everything he’s got.”

Fun Fact
Irwin likes to collect jerseys–mostly football ones–and has at least 120 of them.

Junior quarterback KJ Costello has been blossoming on the field. Costello has been refining his craft in more ways than one.

Shaw commented on Costello’s performance at Arizona State to Stanford Football: “It was one of his most efficient games … He took care of the football, scrambled for positive yards, checked down a couple times, and was seeing the defense very well. This was a big step for him from an efficiency standpoint and he still was able to make those big throws down the field.”

And, of course, we’ll go over this week’s NFL standouts who were Stanford alumni.

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz continued his stellar season with another standout performance in the Eagles’ 21-17 loss against the Carolina Panthers, leading the team in targets (11), receptions (9) and receiving yards (138). Ertz’s 57 catches are the seventh most in NFL history after seven games and, in 2018, lead all other tight ends by 19. He ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards (618) and third in targets (78), and is on pace for 130 catches and 1,413 yards, which would pass the previous all-time records set by Jason Witten (110 catches in 2012) and Rob Gronkowski (1,327 yards in 2011), respectively.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck continued his excellent season with a four-touchdown performance in the Colts’ 37-7 rout against the Buffalo Bills. Luck completed 17-of-23 passes for 156 yards and zero interceptions, upping his season total to 20, which ranks second in the NFL. Luck’s four-game run of tossing three or more touchdowns is the longest active streak in the NFL, while his 65 percent completion rate is a career-high.

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle David Parry made three solo tackles on 34 percent of defensive snaps in the Vikings’ 37-17 win at the New York Jets. Parry added two quarterback hurries and two run stops while earning a 74.5 grade from Pro Football Focus, the fifth-highest of any Viking.

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid played all 68 defensive snaps of the Texans’ 20-7 win at the Jacksonville Jaguars, finishing with five solo tackles. Over the course of the Texans’ last three games, Reid has played 186 of 192 possible defensive snaps. On the season, Reid has surrendered just six catches for 74 yards with zero missed tackles.

NFL Season Preview

  • Henry Anderson registered two tackles, including one for loss, two run stops, two quarterback pressures and one pass deflection in the New York Jets’ 37-17 loss against Minnesota.
  • Johnson Bademosi appeared on 18 special teams snaps in Houston’s 20-7 win at Jacksonville.
  • Cameron Fleming was active but did not appear in Dallas’ 20-17 loss at Washington.
  • Joshua Garnett was inactive for San Francisco’s 39-10 loss against the Los Angeles Rams with a toe injury sustained in Week 1.
  • Ryan Hewitt appeared on 26 offensive snaps and 12 special teams snaps in Indianapolis’ 37-7 win against Buffalo.
  • Kevin Hogan was inactive for Denver’s 45-10 win at Arizona on Thursday night.
  • Austin Hooper caught three of four targets for 48 yards in Atlanta’s 23-20 win against the New York Giants.
  • Peter Kalambayi appeared on a team-high 21 special teams snaps in Houston’s 20-7 win at Jacksonville.
  • Josh Mauro made one tackle on 11 defensive snaps in the New York Giants’ 23-20 loss against Atlanta.
  • Quenton Meeks appeared on 18 special teams snaps in Jacksonville’s 20-17 loss against Houston.
  • Christian McCaffrey caught all six of his targets for 51 yards in Carolina’s 21-17 win at Philadelphia, also carrying the ball seven times for 29 yards on all 59 offensive snaps.
  • Trent Murphy recorded two pressures and one tackle in Buffalo’s 37-7 loss at Indianapolis.
  • Andrus Peat was inactive for New Orleans’ 24-23 win at Baltimore with a concussion.
  • Harrison Phillips registered two tackles in Buffalo’s 37-7 loss at Indianapolis.
  • Jordan Richards started and appeared on 24 defensive snaps in Atlanta’s 23-20 win against the New York Giants.
  • Brennan Scarlett made one special teams tackle on 18 special teams snaps in Houston’s 20-7 win at Jacksonville.
  • Dalton Schultz made his NFL debut in Dallas’ 20-17 loss at Washington, catching one of three targets for 12 yards on 19 offensive snaps.
  • Richard Sherman was inactive for San Francisco’s 39-10 loss against the Los Angeles Rams with a calf injury.
  • Michael Thomas made one tackle on 20 defensive snaps and a game-high 22 defensive snaps in the New York Giants’ 23-20 loss at Atlanta.
  • Solomon Thomas made five tackles, including three solo, with three run stops in San Francisco’s 39-10 loss against the Los Angeles Rams while playing 64 percent of defensive snaps.
  • Levine Toilolo appeared on 21 offensive snaps in Detroit’s 33-21 win at Miami.

Byes
Green Bay Packers (Blake Martinez, Ty Montgomery); Pittsburgh Steelers (David DeCastro); Seattle Seahawks (Doug Baldwin)

San Jose sports podcast with Ana Kieu: Earthquakes’ season almost over; San Jose State cheerleader dies after car accident

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes and kron4.com7

On the San Jose sports podcast with Ana:

1. The San Jose Earthquakes announced their 2018 Club Award winners on Friday night, which included forward Danny Hoesen as Most Valuable Player, defender Nick Lima as Defensive Player of the Year and goalkeeper Matt Bersano for the Andrew Bedard Spirit of the Game Award/Humanitarian of the Year. These awards recognize players that have made a positive impact with the Quakes.

2. The Quakes honored 12 recipients of a Devotion Scarf at halftime of Sunday’s match at Avaya Stadium. Those recipients include Dorene Bolanos, Terry Cotting-Morgan, Curtis Hisao, Jacquie and Jeff Hofmann, Colin McCarthy, Kevin Moore, Raul Peralez, Cezar Popovici, Joe Santos Sr., Susan Silveira and John Wondolowski.

3. San Jose State Spartans cheerleader Anjela Jose died after being ejected from a car in an accident on Sunday, October 14. Jose was from South San Francisco.

4. The Spartans lost a heartbreaker 16-13 to the Aztecs on Saturday, October 20. Brent Brennan hasn’t matched or surpassed the two wins that he earned last year. What do the Spartans need to do in order to win games?

Ana does the San Jose sports podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

San Jose State gearing up for Saturday’s home game with UNLV

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State is gearing up for their Saturday game versus UNLV. This Mountain West match-up will count as the Spartans’ eighth game of the season. The Spartans are hoping for a win, and in case you missed it, you can watch head coach Brent Brennan’s press conference below.

Now, let’s get to the fun stuff. Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s home game.

Saturday Funday
SJSU vs. UNLV
Saturday, October 27, 2018
CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
3:30 pm PT
AT&T SportsNet

SJSU’s record
0-7, 0-3 Mountain West. Most recently, SJSU lost at San Diego State, 16-13, on October 20. The Spartans’ last win was a 20-17 victory over MW member Wyoming on November 25, 2017.

UNLV’s record
2-5, 0-3 Mountain West. The Rebels lost their fourth in a row to Air Force, 41-35, on October 19.

Series history
SJSU leads the series, 15-6-1. The Rebels won for the first time in eight meetings last year in a 41-13 triumph in Las Vegas. The Spartans posted a 30-24 MW victory in 2016 when the teams last met in CEFCU Stadium.

Television
AT&T SportsNet will provide play-by-play coverage of the SJSU-UNLV game. The live telecast is scheduled for 3:30 pm PT.

AT&T SportsNet is available on: DirecTV Channel 684, DISH Network Channel 414 and UVerse Channel 757.

Radio
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates SJSU football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The UNLV broadcast begins at 3:00 pm PT with a pregame show.

SJSU’s network affiliate is KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas).

KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) also will broadcast the UNLV game. The pre-game show begins at 3:15 pm PT.

Family affair
UNLV fullback Daniel Godfrey is the son of former SJSU linebacker Dan Godfrey, a two-time All-Big West Conference linebacker during the 1993 and 1994 seasons, respectively.

UNLV defensive backs coach Al Simmons was a graduate assistant on the 2005 SJSU staff led by Dick Tomey.

UNLV director of athletics Desiree Reed-Francois was SJSU’s director of compliance from 1999 through 2002.

SJSU’s defense turns in strong performance at SDSU
SDSU scored only one touchdown in its 16-13 victory over SJSU. The last time the Spartans limited an opponent to a single six-pointer in a game was a 13-0 loss to Hawaii on November 15, 2014 at CEFCU Stadium.

SJSU kept the SDSU offense in check yielding a season-low 293 yards–the first time since the November 26, 2016 win at Fresno State that the defense kept an opponent under 300 yards of total offense.

Improvements in pass defense
In SJSU’s last three games, opponents are completing just over 50% of their passing attempts (23-of-45) for five touchdowns. In the team’s first four games of the season, the Spartans gave up 13 passing touchdowns and no less than 309 passing yards per game.

Spartans end touchdown drought
SJSU’s third-quarter TD with 0:50 remaining on a Malike Roberson 1-yard run was the Spartans’ first TD since Thai Cottrell caught a 1-yard pass from quarterback Josh Love in the Colorado State game. SJSU was 13 seconds short of two complete games (1:59:47) of not scoring a TD.

Crawford’s field goals
Placekicker Bryce Crawford has made his last three field goal tries in the Army West Point and SDSU games. He’s 9-of-14 for the season with a season-long 49-yard FG against Army.

Papazian’s short punts
Punter Brian Papazian specializes in short punts. Of his seven punts in the three games he played, six landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Fresno State punter Blake Cusick is the only MW punter in games played through October 20th to have at least 50% of his punts land inside the 20-yard line (18-of-30).

If you’re also a San Jose State basketball fan, you should make plans for the upcoming season by checking out the tweet below.

San Jose State still searching for first win of the season

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan held his weekly press conference inside Simpkins Stadium Center on Monday afternoon. Obviously, Brennan–and the Spartans–weren’t happy with their seventh straight loss of the season. The Spartans haven’t won a game since November 25, 2017 when they squeaked past the Wyoming Cowboys 20-17 at CEFCU Stadium to close out the 2017 season.

Here’s my Q&A with Brennan:

1. The Spartans got off to a good start, thanks to Bryce Crawford. The Spartans, however, lost a close game in the end. How disappointing was it for the players and coaches on Saturday night?
I think everyone was devastated. To go in there and go toe-to-toe with their great defense and just what they do as an offense running the football. The success they’ve had over the years. The respect that we have for their program to go in there and play as well as we did and not finish it and not come out with a win was really disappointing. The challenge for us now is how can we get rid of that game and move on to get ready for our next one. To me, this is the most important game of the year.

2. The Spartans’ run game was clearly broken. What changes can be made to make sure the Spartans capitalize on their opportunities and gain yards?
I think it was broken, but I think it made a big step last week against San Diego State even though the numbers weren’t big. I think we ran for more yards than everyone they played so far–maybe outside of Stanford. So I think that’s something we can feel really good about. We were playing the 12th-ranked defense in the country last week and I thought our offensive line and coach (Joe) Bernardi did a good job at the game plan there. I thought Tyler Nevens and Malik Roberson did a nice job running the ball and I felt like that run game was one of the things that kind of helped us sustain drives and change that game a little bit in the second half so obviously we’re going to put a lot of work into it and hopefully we can get an even better performance this weekend.

3. The Spartans committed costly penalties at the worst times. What are your thoughts on the horse-collar flag and roughing-the-passer call that allowed San Diego State to get ahead and avoid a huge upset?
The roughing-the-passer call…I thought that was a tough one! We got pressured in there and it was his first college football game. He hasn’t played yet at all. And I’m so proud of Junior Fehoko; he went in there and played his tail off. He did a lot of good stuff in that game. It was his first college game against an outfield like that. That’s a big time accomplishment. He’s not trying to rough the passer; he’s trying to play as hard as he possibly can. So that’s a real teachable moment, a real learning moment for him. The frustrating things are our penalties that stop the drive on offense or extend the drive on defense and those are the things that we need to eliminate. But in terms of penalties overall, that game, they were very low.

Spartan nation, don’t forget that you can call or text (408) 924-7589 for San Jose State football tickets.

NCAAFB podcast with Michelle Richardson: Clemson got a huge win over NC State; Pregame scuffle between Wolves and Spartans; Leach says WSU getting short-changed on calls

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Photo credit: @NBCSports

On the NCAAFB podcast with Michelle:

#1 No. 3 Clemson (7-0) took out No. 16 NC State (5-1) a huge night for Clemson in the 41-7 win. Clemson one of the last undefeated teams.

#2 Michigan (7-1) head coach Jim Harbaugh called out Michigan State (4-3) head coach Mark Dantonio after Michigan players were staying on the field as the Spartans were doing a pregame walk. Two Michigan players were clothes lined by two Michigan State players. It was reported in the view of those who witnessed the pregame fiasco as the worst exhibition of poor sportsmanship in recent memory.

#3 WSU (6-1) head coach Mike Leach texted that he doubts the Pac-12 is committed to player safety, favoritism towards other teams in the Pac-12, and more targeting in no calls against USC (4-3).

Michelle Richardson does the NCAAFB podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Three takeaways from San Jose State’s heartbreaking 16-13 loss at San Diego State

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

Oh where do I begin? Saturday night was a time for the San Jose State Spartans to redeem themselves, which they did against the San Diego State Aztecs, but fell short 16-13 at SDCCU Stadium. The Aztecs avoided an upset, thanks to their senior kicker John Baron II, who finished with a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, including his late, go-ahead field goal that sealed the deal for his team.

Here are my three takeaways from San Jose State’s heartbreaking 16-13 loss at San Diego State.

Second week in a row
Senior kicker Bryce Crawford helped the Spartans to an early 6-0 lead after the first quarter. Crawford converted field goals of 42 and 24 yards, respectively.

This was the second week in a row where the Spartans scored first on a Crawford field goal. The Spartans gave everything the Aztecs were able to handle, and while their record hasn’t shown dominance, Crawford’s one heck of a kicker who’s one of the bright spots on the Spartan roster.

Not a great return
Quarterback Josh Love returned to the field following a concussion sustained against the Army Black Knights at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, October 13.

Love was intercepted once on a fourth quarter pick by the Aztecs’ sophomore safety Tariq Thompson, who returned the ball to midfield. As a result, 15-yard penalty was assessed for a horse collar tackle, which placed the ball on the Spartan 35-yard line.

Limited amount
The Spartans limited the Aztecs to just 293 yards of total offense. This was the fewest yards the Spartans have given up to a FBS opponent since their 16-14 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs to close out the 2016 season.

Even though the Aztecs had three time consuming possessions that turned into scores and squeaked out a win in the end, the Spartans had almost nothing to be ashamed of. The Spartans simply have to watch the tape and prepare to host the UNLV Rebels inside CEFCU Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 pm PT.

San Jose State shows no quit, but San Diego State prevails 16-13 on Baron’s late field goal

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans left for sunny San Diego on Friday. Of course, the main reason behind their most recent business trip was to take on the San Diego State Aztecs at SDCCU Stadium in a lopsided Mountain West matchup on CBS Sports Network on Saturday night.

San Jose State, however, has to win the turnover battle. Last week, San Jose State fumbled the ball over four times and each one of those fumbles gave Army great field position and one fumble resulted in a scoop and score. San Jose State also had to improve their running game by bolstering their blocks and pass protection.

Enough about the San Jose State’s needs (and wants). Let’s get to the game recap, which has been written below.

San Jose State had one thing on their mind tonight and that was to beat San Diego State. That, of course, caused most, if not all, Aztec fans to openly laugh. Anyways, San Jose State’s locker room was decked with the players’ signature blue and gold helmets, which has always made a fashion statement. However, San Jose State was there to play San Diego State, not strut their stuff for a fashion show.

Spartans head coach Brent Brennan decided to make Josh Love the starting quarterback. The Aztecs won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.

The Spartans wasted no time as Bryce Crawford opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 8:56 left in the first quarter. Just 2:31 later, Crawford made it a 6-0 game with a 24-yard field goal. Somewhere between those field goals, Jesse Osuna notched a fumble recovery, sparking San Jose State’s offensive prowess.

The Spartans led the Aztecs 6-0 at the end of the first quarter. But San Jose State had to be wary as they held a 3-0 lead over Army at the end of the first quarter last Saturday and then gave up 52 unanswered points.

Things escalated quickly as the Aztecs took advantage of the Spartans early in the second quarter. Chase Jasmin jumped into the end zone for a 1-yard rushing touchdown and John Baron kicked in the extra point to get ahead 7-6 at the 13:11 mark. After that, red fireworks lit up the clear, dark San Diego sky.

Baron kicked in the 36-yard field goal to put the Aztecs up 10-6 with 16 seconds left in the second quarter. The Spartans had a 1st and 10, but they took a knee to conclude the first half. San Diego State took a 10-6 lead to the locker room.

Baron kicked in the 22-yard field goal to expand the Aztecs’ lead 13-6 with 7:09 left in the third quarter. There were a lot of critics who were surprised the game was this close, but the Spartans’ offense and defense was able to tread water this time around.

Before everyone knew it, San Jose State evened the score 13-13 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. Malike Roberson ran for a 1-yard rushing touchdown and Crawford kicked in the extra point to tie the game.

The Aztecs, however, went ahead 16-13 with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter. Baron kicked in the 51-yard field goal that sealed the deal.

San Jose State hasn’t won a road game since November 26, 2016 at Fresno State. The Spartans fought in a game that was supposed to be a blowout for the Aztecs, but their efforts simply weren’t enough as the Aztecs won a tight game, 16-13. With the loss, San Jose State falls to 0-7 (0-3 MW), while San Diego State improves to 6-1 (3-0 MW).

Notes
Spartans’ tight end Josh Oliver continues to be the national leader among tight ends. Oliver is #1 in the nation among tight ends with 5.5 receptions per game, #2 in the nation among tight ends with 66.8 yards per game and in the top 10 in the Mountain West Conference among all receivers in receptions as well as yards per game.

Spartans’ defensive end Boogie Roberts isn’t just a talented defensive end. Roberts is also a naturally born leader who is very well-spoken and that’s why he has been able to elevate his team’s performances on and off the field.

Up Next
The Spartans return home to host the UNLV Rebels next Saturday, October 27 at 3:30 pm PT on ATSN and KLIV 1590 AM.

San Jose State to meet with San Diego State on Saturday night

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The winless San Jose State Spartans are coming off a tough loss to the Army Black Knights. Their next opponent, the San Diego State Aztecs, likely won’t make it any easier for them unless if they run out of gas. The last time these teams played each other, San Diego State blewout San Jose State 52-7 inside CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif.

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s conference game between these teams.

Basic facts
San Jose State at San Diego State
Saturday, October 20, 2018
San Diego County Credit Union Stadium, San Diego, Calif., 7:30 pm PT
CBS Sports Network

San Jose State record
0-6, 0-2 Mountain West. Most recently, San Jose State lost to Army 52-3, on October 13. San Jose State’s last win was a 20-17 victory over Mountain West member Wyoming on November 25, 2017.

San Diego State record
5-1, 2-0 Mountain West. San Diego State made it five wins in a row with a 21-17 win over Air Force on October 12.

Series history
San Diego State leads the series, 20-19-2. San Diego State has wins in the last five meetings between these teams including a 38-34 triumph in San Diego on September 22, 2012 to end a 60-year winless streak in San Diego.

Play-by-play details
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates San Jose State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. San Diego State’s broadcast begins at 7:00 pm PT with a pregame show.

Television
CBS Sports Network will provide play-by-play coverage of the San Jose State at San Diego State game. Carter Blackburn calls the play-by-play. Aaron Taylor provides analysis. John Schiffren is the sideline reporter. The live telecast is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.

Road trip
For the first time since the September 22 game at Oregon, San Jose State has a road game. San Jose State recently completed their first three-game homestand in 11 seasons. Recently, San Jose State hosted Hawaii on September 29, Colorado State on October 6, and Army West Point (52-3) on October 13. In 2007, San Jose State hosted UC Davis, Idaho and Hawaii on consecutive weeks.

Road victory, maybe?
San Jose State’s last win on the road was a 16-14 victory over Fresno State to wrap up the 2016 season. Since then, San Jose State has been 0-8 on the road.

Feast or famine
In its last two games, San Jose State outscored its two opponents, Colorado State and Army, 30-24, in the third quarter. Against Colorado State, San Jose State overcame a 28-0 halftime deficit to take a 30-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Against Army West Point, a 14-3 halftime deficit mushroomed into San Jose State trailing 38-3 after three quarters.

Interception streak ends
San Jose State’s six-game streak intercepting a pass, which began with the 2017 regular season finale against Wyoming ended following the Army West Point loss. Army was 2-of-5 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown. San Jose State has nine interceptions in the first six games this season and are tied tenth nationally in pass interceptions.

Three offensive lines so far
After six games, San Jose State has used three different starting offensive line combinations. Although Jackson Snyder, Troy Kowalski and Jake Colman have started in every game this season, none of the three have started every game at the same position.

Snyder opened the season at right tackle and has been the starting left tackle since the Washington State. Kowalski moved from left tackle to left guard and Colman moved from left guard to right guard in the same game.

Trevor Robbins had started each of the first five games at center. Kyle Hoppe replaced Robbins in the starting lineup against Army West Point. Deano Motes now has five starts at right tackle. Jesse Chamberlain started the opener at right guard.

Spartan nation, don’t forget you can call or text (408) 924-7589 for San Jose State football tickets. Enjoy Saturday’s game on CBS Sports Network and/or KLIV 1590 AM.

Cardinal hold off ASU’s late rally for 20-13 win

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Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, October 18, 2018

A late Arizona State Sun Devils’ rally fell short on Thursday, as the Stanford Cardinal held on for a 20-13 Pac-12 football victory at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

Sun Devils quarterback Manny Wilkins drove the ASU offense into the red zone in the last two minutes and 20 seconds of the fourth quarter. But with no time outs available, ASU could not stop the clock. All of ASU’s losses this season have been by a touchdown.

After the Cardinal (5-2 overall, 3-1 Pac-12) built a 20-6 lead with a big third quarter, ASU (3-4, 1-3) bounced back with seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter when Wilkins capped a 64-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, cutting the Stanford lead to 20-13.

Stanford snapped a 6-6 deadlock with 7:55 left in the third quarter when quarterback K.J. Costello connected with JJ Arcega-Whiteside for a 28-yard score. Five minutes later, Cameron Scarlett’s one-yard plunge put the Cardinal up 20-6.

Costello completed 22 of 29 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Scarlett ran nine times for 54 yards and a touchdown. Bryce Love ran 11 times for 21 yards.

Arcega-Whiteside and Trenton Irwin each snared seven passes for the Cardinal. Arcega-Whiteside gained 91 reception yards and a touchdown; Irwin gained 79 reception yards. Jet Toner booted field goals of 21 and 31 yards in the first half.

Wilkins threw for 353 yards and a TD while completing 26 of 43 passes. Wilkins also led ASU in rushing with 41 yards on 11 carries. Eno Benjamin gained 38 yards on 11 attempts for the Devils.

Arizona State’s top pass catcher was K’Neal Harry with eight receptions for 91 yards.

The Cardinal return home on Saturday, October 27 for a 3:00 p.m. Pac-12 game against Washington State (5-1).