How the Spartans overcame all odds to defeat San Diego State
San Jose State is 3- 0 for the first time since 1982 when the coach was John Elway’s dad.
The Spartans’ latest victory — 28-17 over San Diego State — was the signature win of Brent Brennan’s coaching tenure. Not only did the Spartans beat a Mountain West bell cow, but they did it after losing their quarterback on the first series.
Nick Starkel, the graduate transfer from Arkansas who had thrown for seven touchdowns in victories over Air Force and New Mexico, left the field with an undisclosed injury. Starkel was hit while throwing an incomplete pass and landed on his backside. When he returned from the locker room, he was in street clothes and the Spartans were down 10- 0 on the road.
Still, the Spartans won. This is how they did it:
1. NICK NASH’S UNEXPECTED HEROICS >> Sophomore quarterback Nick Nash had never gotten extended playing time, let alone started
a game, but that’s essentially what happened Friday night.
Starkel went out, Nash came in, and he performed admirably. With his arm and his legs, Nash accounted for three touchdowns and 222 yards. But the story of what he did was better told in the closing minutes of the first half when he led the Spartans on a 94-yard drive that sent them into halftime trailing only 10-7.
The final stats: 16 of 25 passing for 169 yards and two touchdowns, plus a team-high 53 yards rushing that included a 13-yard touchdown in the final minutes.
2. DEFENSE CONTINUING TO IMPRESS >> San Jose State’s defensive performances against Air Force and New Mexico were impressive, but San Diego State was going to be the litmus test.
The Aztecs were averaging 347 yards on the ground, tops in the nation. In their previous game, against Utah State, they ran for 407 yards.
The SJSU defense, for a third consecutive week, was up to the challenge. San Diego State finished with 101 rushing yards.
Through three games, SJSU is holding opponents to an average of 99.7 rushing yards, the third-best mark in the Mountain West. That’s a far cry from last season, when the Spartans were the sixth-worst team in the nation in that department.
Linebacker Kyle Harmon tied his career-high with 14 tackles for a third consecutive while safety Tre Jenkins had a key fourth-quarter interception.
“There were times in that game where the defense had to pick up Nick,” Brennan said. “We had a couple series early on where we went three-and- out or we sputtered in the first half. The defense just kept showing up.”
3. THE RUN GAME FINALLY SHOWS UP >> Every week, Brennan emphasizes the importance of establishing the run game. Starkel’s passing helped compensate, but even after wins against Air Force and New Mexico, Brennan was adamant that the team needed to run the ball better.
Against San Diego State, which entered Friday with the best run defense in the Mountain West, San Jose State finally cracked the century mark with 116 rushing yards on 29 carries.
The Spartans especially ran the ball well in the fourth quarter, a continuation of how well they ran the ball in the fourth quarter against New Mexico. Along with Nash’s dash to ice the game, Tyler Nevens had a gutsy 14-yard run that set up his three-yard rushing touchdown on the following play.
“The run on third down by Tyler was incredible,” Brennan said. “That was the game.”
4. RECEIVERS CONTINUING TO AMAZE >> San Jose State has the best corps of receivers in the Mountain West, and they’ve been adamant about proving it.
Derrick Deese Jr., who finished with a game-high 76 receiving yards and five catches, not only had a onehanded grab, but another sideline tiptoe grab to live up to his Tony Toe Taps moniker.
Tre Walker, who threw his hat in the ring for catch of the year last week against New Mexico, added to his highlight reel with a sideline tiptoe catch of his own. Walker finished with five catches for 70 yards.
Bailey Gaither wasn’t featured as often as previous weeks, but had three catches and a touchdown.
“Whoever gets the ball, you know they’re going to be able to do something with it,” Deese Jr. said. “It could be Tre, me, Nash, anyone else. Anyone on the offense can make a play happen.” 5. SPECIAL TEAMS PUTTING IN WORK >> While Walker had some great plays on the offensive end, arguably his biggest play of the game came on special teams.
With 3:47 remaining and San Jose State leading 21-17, the Spartans punted the ball away and Walker perfectly timed a tackle of San Diego State’s Jordan Byrd, forcing a fumble.
Walker fell on the football and San Jose State took over at San Diego State’s 27-yard line. That led to Nash’s 13-yard touchdown run. (And, yes, a more experienced quar terback might have stopped short of the goal line to run out the clock.)
A long with Walker’s game-changing play on special teams, freshman punter Elijah Fischer had a punt in the first quarter that pinned San Diego State at its own two-yard-line.
All in all, it was a complete team victory, one in which every unit played a part.
Now it’s on to the next game, Saturday at home against Nevada-las Vegas, coached by former SJSU quarterback Marcus Arroyo, winless in its first two games and playing today against Fresno State.