San Jose, Calif.----For the third week in a row, San Jose State scored at least 20 first-half points and took a lead into halftime.
The third time was the charm the Spartans didn't have in last-minute losses to Idaho and at Utah State the previous two weeks.
With a 20-14 advantage over Navy going into the second half, a 13-yard touchdown reception by Jabari Carr and two fourth-down, fourth-quarter stops by the Spartans’ defense, San Jose State topped the Midshipmen, 27-24.
The Spartans (4-7) ended a three-game losing streak with its best ground attack since the Colorado State win on October 1, timely defensive plays and a pair of field goals by kicker Jens Alvernik, who tied the school single-season record with his 16th field goal of 2011.
Brandon Rutley flashed his early-season form rushing for 132 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns and catching a career best eight passes for 101 yards. Overall, San Jose State rolled up 465 yards of total offense, four less than its season best of 469 yards in the Hawaii victory.
San Jose State jumped out quickly with scores on its first two possessions. Alvernik kicked the first of his two field goals, a 44-yarder, and Rutley scored on a 3-yard run giving the Spartans a 10-0 advantage.
Navy (4-7) answered quickly and took a 14-10 lead on touchdown runs of 1 yard by quarterback Kriss Proctor and 35 yards by slotback Aaron Santiago by the middle of the second quarter.
Rutley and Alvernik teamed up again in the final three minutes to put Spartan points on the scoreboard. Rutley’s 1-yard capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive allowing San Jose State to regain the lead, 17-14. The Spartans turned their only takeaway of the game, a Proctor fumble, into a 23-yard Alvernik field goal with 32 seconds before halftime.
Proctor’s second touchdown, a 2-yard run, gave Navy its last lead, 24-20, with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter. A 24-yard field goal by Jon Teague of the Midshipmen opened the second-half scoring.
The Spartans’ last two touchdown drives (80 and 73 yards) were long and efficient. The game-winning drive took just six plays. Two Rutley first-down runs set the tempo and then a 25-yard screen pass to the San Jose State running back preceded Carr’s touchdown reception on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Then, it was up to a defense that had done so well for a six-game stretch in the fourth quarter to regain a game-winning stoutness. And, it did.
Navy was faced with four fourth-down situations in the final 15 minutes. The Midshipmen converted one of them, punted a second time, and was stopped scoreless twice when holder Pablo Beltran fumbled the center snap on a possible 45-yard field goal try and defensive end Mohamed Marah forced Proctor into a hurried throw and an incomplete pass that allowed the Spartans to run out the clock.
Navy came into the game averaging 319.7 yards a game rushing, but gained just 254 yards – its third lowest total of the season. Surprisingly, Midshipmen’s quarterback Proctor threw 20 times and was sacked three times.
San Jose State quarterback Matt Faulkner passed for more than 300 yards for the fourth time in five games. He completed 33-of-44 with an interception for 345 yards and the game-winning touchdown to Carr.
The Spartans close out their season Saturday, November 26, at Fresno State in a 5:00 p.m. game.