Spartans finally have reason to celebrate
SAN JOSE >> Someone grabbed San Jose State coach Brent Brennan, forcing him to turn and open his mouth as his players were about to deliver a Gatorade bath.
“It nearly drowned me,” the first-year coach said.
Clearly, Brennan and the Spartans haven’t had much practice celebrating wins. But they were finally able to on Saturday, closing a trying season on an uplifting note by beating Wyoming 20-17 at CEFCU Stadium.
After defeating FCS-level Cal Poly in Week 2, the Spartans (2-11, 1-7 Mountain West) had lost 10 straight games, all by double digits, and were nearly a threetouchdown underdog on Senior Day.
But Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen — a likely first-round NFL draft pick — was held out with a shoulder injury, and the Spartans took full advantage to record their first win against an FBS opponent.
“What you learn when you go through something like this is losing is so hard,” Brennan said.
“It’s hard on the coaches, our wives, the players, their girlfriends, their parents. This team just stuck together. … I’m hoping this is something that pushes us into recruiting, pushes us into the offseason, pushes us into everything going forward.”
DeJon Parker’s 44-yard touchdown run with 2:09 left put SJSU up 20-10. The Cowboys (7-5, 5-3) responded with a touchdown with 1:07 to play, but San Jose State’s Justin Holmes recovered the ensuing onside kick.
“Like Janet Jackson said, ‘what have you done for me lately?’ ” Brennan said. “It’s such a good feeling to end this way, versus the alternative, versus losing 10 in a row. This is such a better option. I think it’s good for the players to see if we protect the football, if we create turnovers, if we run the football — if we do all the little things, we have enough talent in the room to win games.”
A defense that was worst among all 129 FBS teams in points allowed held the Cowboys to just one short touchdown drive until the final minutes, and even set up the offense for an early lead.
Dakari Monroe’s 33-yard interception return to the Wyoming 22 led to a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Montel Aaron midway through the first quarter, putting the Spartans ahead to stay.
Completions of 37 and 31 yards from Montel to junior Tre Hartley set up 44and 52-yard field goals by Bryce Crawford in the second quarter.
Monroe added a second interception at the 8-yard line with 23 seconds left in the first half to ensure the Spartans led 13-7 at halftime, their first lead at the break since their Week 2 win over Cal Poly.
San Jose State only had two first downs in the second half, allowing Wyoming to stay close.
The Cowboys had two chances to tie or take the lead down 13-10, but a 49-yard field goal hit the crossbar with 8:53 left, and Spartans defensive end Sailosi Latu batted down a fourth-down pass attempt at midfield with 2:29 remaining.
“The fight in the fourth quarter, I feel like we lacked that all year,” senior cornerback Jermaine Kelly said. “But today, I saw the spark and I saw the finish, and I can’t wait to see what they do next year.”
Spartans junior linebacker Frank Ginda recorded 10 tackles and finished with a nation’s-best 173 on the season. Hartley finished with a careerhigh seven receptions for 109 yards.
San Jose State posted its first win over a team with a winning record since it beat Wyoming in 2014. It avoided its first 1-12 record since Mike MacIntyre’s first season in 2010.