Aggies hold on for 30-25 victory over San Jose State
Utah State Football defeated San Jose State 30-25 on Oct. 18 at Maverik Stadium. While many things went wrong for the Aggies, they were able to make enough plays in critical moments to defeat the Spartans.
“I love my team. They’re resilient, and they’re tough, and they believe in one another. They’re united. They battled and — just resilient,” said head coach Bronco Mendenhall after the game. “What a great college environment. I felt lucky to be part of it and just so happy for my team and that they see a tangible result scoreboard-wise for a hard-fought game.”
USU was led again by quarterback Bryson Barnes as he had 326 passing yards and a touchdown through the air while rushing for another 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
San Jose State received the opening kickoff and drove deep into Aggie territory before settling for a field goal for the game’s first points. Their drive was aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on USU safety Ike Larsen, giving the Spartans an automatic first down on what would have been a third and 20.
The Aggies responded on the ensuing possession, mounting a 14-play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown.
Both teams stalled on offense after the first possession, with Utah State forcing a turnover on downs and recovering a fumble on each of the next SJSU possessions. The Aggies were unable to capitalize on those turnovers, however, as they went three-and-out on each of their next three possessions.
After two more punts were forced by the USU defense, the Aggies had the ball on the 14-yard line of San Jose State with an opportunity to add onto the lead. After failing to convert on a third-and-four pass play, the Aggies elected to go for it on fourth down with another pass play. Barnes connected with tight end Josh Sterzer for a 3-yard gain, leaving them short of the line to gain and turning it over on downs.
The Spartans, unlike the Aggies, were able to capitalize on the USU turnover, driving 89 yards down the field to score a touchdown and take the lead 7-9 after a missed point-after attempt.
With only 59 seconds remaining in the half, Utah State was able to get into field goal range and knock in a 31-yard field goal to give them a 10-9 lead at the break.
The Aggies received the kickoff out of the half and quickly found the endzone on a 74-yard touchdown pass from Barnes to Anthony Garcia. Back-to-back scoring possessions from the Aggies on either side of the half gave them a 10-point swing on the Spartans.
The teams traded points through the third quarter, with neither defense mounting much of an opposition. The Aggies scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions before being forced to punt, while San Jose State scored on each of their first three drives of the second half, taking a 25-24 lead after the USU punt.
Utah State would answer back on their next drive, however, with Tanner Rinker connecting on a 45-yard field goal to give them a 27-25 advantage.
The Spartans then received the kickoff, looking to take the lead back, but were stopped on a fourth and one on their own 47-yard line with 3:41 remaining in the game.
The Aggies took over, hoping to put the game away, but were only able to come up with a field goal to make it 30-25. They did manage to force San Jose State to use two timeouts and get the clock under two minutes before sending it back to the Spartans.
SJSU started their final drive on their own 18 and managed to gain 45 yards, getting themselves into realistic range to connect on a touchdown pass to win the game. The Aggies once again came up with a big play when it was most needed, as they broke up two long passes at the end of the game to hold on for a victory.
A week after falling apart in the fourth quarter to Hawaii, the Aggies were able to put together just enough of an effort to stave off the Spartans in front of a homecoming crowd of 22,710.
“It feels good. It gives us confidence going into next week, and the momentum and the crowd is great today. We want to win at home,” said linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. after the game. “The execution in the details is what we really wanted to harp on this week … lots to improve on, but I’m super glad, and I’m super happy for this team.”
With the win, Utah State moves to 4-3, already matching its win total from a season ago. They’ll hit the road next weekend as they travel to take on the New Mexico Lobos in a homecoming of his own for Mendenhall.