San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Spartans hold on for second consecutive victory
When a team needs a big defensive play or two, it helps to have a reigning conference Defensive Player of the Year on its side.
Such was the case Saturday for San Jose State, which got back-to-back sacks from Cade Hall in the closing minute to help close out a 27-21 win over Wyoming in a Mountain West Conference game at CEFCU Stadium.
The Spartans (5-4, 3-2 MWC) held a seemingly comfortable 13-point lead entering the fourth quarter, having scored on five of their past six possessions behind a balanced attack that produced two touchdown runs, a TD pass and two field goals.
But with the San Jose State offense held to 27 yards in the fourth period and Wyoming (4-4, 0-4) scoring a touchdown with 2:48 remaining to cut its deficit to six, things got interesting.
Down 27-21, the Cowboys kept their hopes alive by using two timeouts while holding the Spartans to a three-and-out. After a San Jose State punt, Wyoming got the ball back at its 25-yard line with 50 seconds remaining.
Enter Hall, who sacked Levi Williams for a 7-yard loss on first down, then brought him down for an 8-yard loss on second down. After Williams threw the ball away on third down while being chased toward the sideline by Spartans linebacker Kyle Harmon (13 tackles), Williams’ 4th-and-25 heave fell incomplete near midfield.
San Jose State then used two kneel-downs to secure its second consecutive victory.
“There’s a lot of good stuff to be excited about,” San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan said. “I thought, defensively, the way we finished that game was fantastic.
“Cade, what a player he is; what an awesome person he is. Shoot, he played darned near every snap tonight, and he still came up with that kind of effort that late in the game.”
The Spartans got on the board first as junior quarterback Nick Nash, whose 112 yards rushing gave him back-to-back 100-yard games on the ground, scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter.
A Matt Mercurio field goal and Kairee Robinson’s 9-yard touchdown run later in the second helped the Spartans take a 17-7 lead into intermission.
San Jose State kept its offense rolling in the third quarter, with Mercurio booting a 44-yard field goal and Nash finding Charles Ross downfield for a 44-yard touchdown pass on a 3rd-and-18 play to give the Spartans a 27-14 lead.
Wyoming, however, responded with Isaiah Neyor’s second touchdown catch of the game, a 12-yard grab with 4:08 remaining in the game, to make things interesting at the finish.
“For us to win that game is so significant for us,” Brennan said. “There’s a lot of other reasons why it matters, but I know how well-coached (the Cowboys) are. I know how disciplined they are. I know how tough they are. And I thought our team did a great job of staying in it.”