Honolulu, Hawaii - A spirited San Jose State defense came up with six quarterback sacks and six takeaways on four interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries, and kicker Jared Strubeck booted fourth-quarter field goals of 50 and 47 yards for a 20-17 Spartan win over Hawai'i in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Strubeck came into the game converting just 3-of-8 field goal tries. His night started off with a thud as he drew a 15-yard penalty for running over the side judge after the game's first touchdown. Strubeck dug a deeper hole for himself when he booted a kickoff out-of-bounds and compounded the effect when he missed a 47-yard field goal early in the final quarter. On top of all that, he was not given a chance to attempt a 33-yard score in the fourth when San Jose State elected to go for a first down on 4th and 4 from the Hawai'i 20-yard line.
Still, there was faith, and the defense gave Strubeck and the San Jose State partisans hope with some charity from Hawai'i that was unable to sustain its first-half offensive efficiency. Four of the six takeaways occurred on the last six Hawai'i offensive possessions, as the Spartans (3-2, 1-0 WAC) ended a seven-game losing streak to the Warriors (1-3, 0-1 WAC) and opened conference action with a win for the third season in a row. Hawai'i also lost at home for the first time in 10 games dating back to the 2006 season.
The 50-yarder, a career long and the first San Jose State field goal of that length since 1995, tied the game at 17-17 with 9:32 to go. Two possessions later, a second-chance 47-yard conversion was his first game-winner in his three-plus seasons as a Spartan.
The defense turned up the pressure first on Hawai'i starting quarterback Inoke Funaki, who was effective in the first half mixing crafty footwork with timely pass completions for a 17-7 halftime lead. Funaki was 14-of-20 in the first half, but was just 2-of-7 for 15 yards before Tyler Graunke came in for the final two Hawai'i possessions. Graunke was 5-of-9 and was sacked twice, once by Justin Cole and once by Jarron Gilbert.
Cole’s sack, his second of the night, was one of many key plays by the defense in the second half. Hawai'i elected to send kicker Dan Kelly out to the field for a possible go-ahead field goal. Kelly’s 55-yard try barely reached the end zone.
Strubeck’s game-winner was set up by a Duke Ihenacho interception at the UH 35-yard line. San Jose State was unable to get a first down, but Strubeck answered the call with 1:49 remaining, nailing the 47-yarder through when given the second chance.
The Spartans scored first on a 77-yard pass from Kyle Reed to wide receiver David Richmond. The play started out as a run to the right side by halfback Brandon Rutley, who stopped and threw back to Reed and patiently waited for Richmond to clear the secondary and dash uncontested into the end zone. San Jose State set up its score the previous play with a Rutley sweep to the right that showed the Hawai'i defense the same action.
Hawai'i took the lead with a pair of Kealoha Pilares touchdown runs. Following San Jose State’s touchdown, Pilares split defensive linemen Vincent Abbott and Pablo Garcia at the line of scrimmage and weaved his way 34 yards to tie the game at 7-7.
Pilares figured prominently in the Warriors’ next scoring drive, taking a shuffle pass from Funaki and racing down to the 1-yard line before scoring off tackle on the next play.
Hawai'i controlled the football throughout the first half and closed out the second quarter with a 37-yard field goal by Kelly, capping a 10-play, 60-yard drive.
Reed completed 14-of-28 passes for 152 yards and the team's first two passing touchdowns since the season-opening win against UC Davis. His second touchdown pass of the evening was a 10-yard toss to tight end Jeff Clark, who found his way through the Warriors' zone coverage into the back right corner of the end zone. The scoring drive was set up by linebacker Kyler O'Neal's first quarterback sack of the season, which resulted in a Funaki fumble that O'Neal, a freshman playing in the nickel package, picked up at the Hawai'i 9-yard line.
The Spartans will have a few days to savor its first win over Hawai'i since 2000 before preparing for Utah State in the Homecoming Game on October 11. Game time is 5:00 p.m.