Late comeback gives Spartans win
Utah State jumped out to a 14-0 lead for the second time this year, and for the second time, they couldn’t hold it against a WAC opponent.
After Riley Nelson touchdown passed to Lyndale Johnson and Kevin Robinson made it 14-0, San Jose State was able to come back, scoring 21 unanswered points.
It was a wild game featuring five fumbles by SJSU, (two of which were recovered for USU by Devon Hall and Terrence Washington) two interceptions by USU’s Caleb Taylor and Hall, and a fourth-down stop by SJSU in their own territory to win the game.
“We felt we had to beat them at their own game, by winning the turnover battle. I thought we did a great job of doing that, but they just made more big plays in the end,” Utah State Head Coach Brent Guy said.
Three Spartan turnovers came when they had USU backed up in their own end and appeared sure to score.
“Utah State is a really good football team. Nelson is a terrific quarterback,” said SJSU’s Head Coach, Dick Tomey. “His legs were very prominent in the game, as well as his accuracy in throwing the ball. We played a good football team today.”
After Patrick Perry capped an 81-yard, 11-play San Jose State drive in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run, it looked like USU’s “Mr. Fourth Quarter” Nelson would lead the Ags down to tie things up and potentially send the contest into overtime.
Nelson, who radically improved his completion percentage with 21 completions for 145 yards on only 24 attempts, broke off a long 50-yard run deep into San Jose territory on the ensuing possession. To the Aggies’ consternation, a holding call against Xavier Bowman cost them 35 yards of the big play.
Even after that setback, Nelson was able to move the offense deeper into SJSU territory but finally, facing fourth and three, USU ran out of chances. The Aggies ran a gadget play – a tight end screen to Rob Myers – but San Jose State’s Freddie McCutcheon sniffed the play out and stopped Myers short.
“It was a throwback pass. It’s a good play for that situation,” Guy said. “We had the right look. We should be able to get four or five yards running that play. We were looking to ‘cut’ guys, and not necessarily get out of bounds or get a score. We were just looking for four to five yards to keep the drive going.”
McCutcheon had a big day for the Spartans in his first start of the year, halting Marcus Cross for a loss on a third down play earlier in the game.
“After the first couple of plays (that I was in), I started gaining confidence in my knee,” McCutcheon said. “I made a couple of cuts, and knew that my knee could take it.”
The Spartans were able to contain Utah State’s Cross to 67 yards on 23 carries, but didn’t have as much success against Nelson, who picked up 50 on 11 carries in addition to his efficient passing performance.
“We have got to find a way to score more points as an offense,” Nelson said. “It’s just simple execution. We had plenty of chances, and their defense made some tremendous plays.”
San Jose State’s senior wide receiver James Jones was a big factor in the game, at times gift-wrapping turnovers for USU, at others making huge plays for his quarterback, Adam Tafralis, in the passing game. He finished with 133 yards on eight catches, including a 50-yard scoring reception to tie the game in the third quarter.
“He’s a great player,” Guy said of Jones. “He is a specimen at wide receiver. His big plays were the difference in the game today.”
Nelson’s .875 completion percentage set a new single-game record at USU, replacing Travis Cox’s .823 mark.
“He is a real operator. Everybody knew about him (coming out of high school). What a player he is. He hasn’t turned it over in two weeks,” Tomey said of Nelson. -graham@cc.usu.edu