Honolulu, Hawaii-----San Jose State will try and notch win number seven against the University of Idaho after falling at Hawaii, 54-17.
James T. Callier’s two 1-yard touchdown runs kept the Spartans within striking distance for the first two-and-a-half quarters. Then, Rainbow Warrior quarterback Colt Brennan unleashed four of his five touchdown passes. Brennan, the national leader in passing efficiency and touchdown passes, threw for 402 yards as the Rainbow Warriors (9-2, 7-1 WAC) set a school record with its eighth win in a row. Nate Ilaoa, a 275-pound running back, contributed 166 yards in all-purpose running and scored once on a 4-yard run and later on a 19-yard pass from Brennan.
“They kicked our butt up front on offense and defense,” said San Jose State head coach Dick Tomey.
Jared Strubeck accounted for the remaining San Jose State points with a 37-yard field goal just before halftime.
Callier’s first touchdown put the Spartans on the scoreboard at 13-7. The Spartans took advantage of Myron Newberry fumbling a Waylon Prather punt. John Broussard recovered the loose ball on the Hawaii 5-yard line. Three plays later, Callier was in the end zone.
Ilaoa and Callier traded touchdowns to start the second half leaving San Jose State with a 27-17 deficit. Then, Brennan pumped in a pair of touchdown passes of 5 and 9 yards to wide receiver Davonne Bess and two 19-yard scoring strikes to Royce Grice-Mullens and Ilaoa.
The Hawaii defense was relentless sacking quarterbacks Adam Tafralis and back-up Myles Eden five times - the most San Jose State signal callers have been sacked in a game this season. The Spartan offense gained 192 yards and were limited to just 82 yards rushing.
“Frankly, I was impressed with their defense as much as anything. They’re a very good offensive team, but much the same as last year. Defensively, there’s a huge difference,” added the San Jose State coach. “If you can’t block guys consistently in football, that’s where it gets hard. We just couldn’t block them. They’ve made major improvement on defense.”
“They were fundamentally sound and more physical than us today. That’s pretty much it,” said tailback Yonus Davis.
San Jose State (6-4, 3-3 WAC) now turns its focus to the November 25 game at Idaho (4-7, 3-4 WAC). The Vandals were shutout by Fresno State, 34-0. Game time is 2:00 p.m. (PST) at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. The Spartans will be playing indoor football for the first time since beating the University of Minnesota in the Metrodome in 1992.