Provo, Utah-----Coach Mike MacIntyre expressed his unhappiness with the way San Jose State University played in the first half against Brigham Young University to his team at halftime. It showed on the scoreboard as Brigham Young jumped out to a 23-6 first-half advantage on the its way to a 29-16 victory over the Spartans.
The two-game San Jose State (2-4, 1-1 WAC) winning streak came to an end as Brigham Young (4-2) won its third in a row.
Quarterback Riley Nelson made his first start of the season for the Cougars, but it was his second start against the Spartans in five years. San Jose State probably hopes it is at least another five years pass before seeing him again.
Nelson threw three first-half touchdown passes and rushed for another 65 yards. He completed 14-of-24 passes with two interceptions for 219 yards.
The junior from Logan, Utah, first played against San Jose State in 2006 as a freshman for Utah State. He completed 21-of-24 passes for two touchdowns and ran for 50 yards, but the Spartans emerged with a 21-14 win in Spartan Stadium.
San Jose State played without running back Brandon Rutley, 24th nationally in rushing and 9th in all-purpose running, and offensive guard Fred Koloto. Both were injured in the Colorado State win on October 1, were on the trip, but were not available to play.
The Spartans continued their penchant of creating turnovers with three takeaways on a fumble recovery by Keith Smith deep in Brigham Young territory and interceptions by defensive backs James Orth and Bene Benwikere. But Nelson's ability to keep San Jose State's defense off balance was a key factor in the game.
San Jose State got the first break of the night when Smith forced Nelson to fumble on the Spartans' 3-yard line. However, on the next play, center Robbie Reed and quarterback Matt Faulkner appeared to be on a different snap count. The center snap went past a startled Faulkner and running back Jason Simpson out of the end zone for a BYU safety.
The Cougars took the free kick and extended their lead to 9-0 when Nelson connected with Richard Wilson on a 21-yard scoring play. The left-handed quarterback found running back Bryan Kariya for a 1-yard score and wide receiver McKay Jacobson on a 40-yard route after BYU's Kyle Van Noy intercepted Faulkner for two Cougar second-quarter touchdowns.
San Jose State's first-half points in a 23-6 halftime deficit came on field goals of 24 and 40 yards by Jens Alvernik. The Spartan placekicker added a season-long 43 yarder in the fourth quarter.
The Spartans worked their way back into the game, 23-13, with their longest drive of the season, a 96-yard, 12-play drive following Benwikere's interception. A 33-yard pass play to Ryan Otten and first-down receptions by Jason Simpson and Noel Grigsby preceded a 1-yard run off right tackle by Simpson for San Jose State's first touchdown of the night.
Alvernik's final field goal pulled the Spartans to 26-16, but Justin Sorensen's 45-yard field goal for BYU, his second of the game, closed out the scoring with 7:23 left in the contest.
San Jose State's streak of four straight 100-plus yard rushing games ended at BYU. With Tyler Ervin, making his first appearance of the season as a running back, and Jason Simpson in the backfield, the Spartans gained 70 rushing yards on 26 attempts. Matt Faulkner threw for 255 yards with tight end Otten and wide receiver Grigsby as his primary targets. Grigsby had 11 receptions and Otten hauled in nine passes for a game-high 108 yards.
Brigham Young outgained San Jose State, 443 to 325.