San Diego, Calif.-----David Fales threw three touchdown passes in the final 12 minutes and four for the game leading San Jose State University to a 38-34 non-conference football win over San Diego State University.
The win for the Spartans (3-1) was their third in a row and first in San Diego in 10 tries since 1952.
Fales completed 21-of-31 passes with an interception for 260 yards and a season-high four touchdowns. In the final 15 minutes alone, he was 13-of-16 for 187 yards.
Four different receivers caught a scoring pass for San Jose State capped by wide receiver Chandler Jones' 14-yard reception with 50 seconds remaining in the game.
The Spartans overcame a sluggish first half offensively and 271 rushing yards by San Diego State (2-2).
Going into the second half with the score tied 17-17, the teams traded scores all the way to the final minute. Ryan Otten caught his first touchdown pass of the season, a 15-yard play with 3:26 remaining in the game to give San Jose State a 31-27 lead. Noel Grigsby opened the fourth scoring with a 21-yard reception to tie the game at 24-24 with 11:28 to go.
A key play in the final quarter came on 3rd-and-goal from the San Jose State 9-yard line. A bad center snap forced San Diego State's Chance Marden to kick a 41-yard field goal giving the Aztecs a 27-24 lead.
Though San Diego State outgained San Jose State, 484 to 367, the Spartans won the game with drives of 80, 77 and 65 yards on just 17 plays.
Fittingly for San Jose State, the game effectively ended when defensive end Travis Johnson recorded the team's fifth sack of the game on San Diego State's last play of the game.
The teams traded six scores in a first half filled with big plays and mistakes by both teams. San Jose State fumbled twice and San Diego State, three times. The Spartans got three points off of their takeaways while the Aztecs turned San Jose State's generosity into seven points on an 83-yard touchdown run by running back Adam Muema who rushed for 202 yards on 25 carries.
The Spartans had a big night returning kickoffs taking advantage of breakdowns on the Aztecs' right side of coverage. Tyler Ervin answered Muema's long scoring run immediately with a 97-yard kickoff return giving San Jose State a 10-7 lead.
After Walter Kazee's 8-yard run gave San Diego State a 14-10 advantage on the Aztecs' next possession, Damon Ogburn nearly matched Ervin's kickoff return feats churning his feet 67 yards to the San Diego State 22-yard line. Two rushes by back-up quarterback Blake Jurich to the 1-yard line preceded a touchdown pass from>David Fales to fullback Ina Liaina with 3:09 left in the half.
Chance Marden's 25-yard field goal with 49 seconds left in the second quarter sent the teams into halftime tied 17-17.
San Jose State closes out September at Navy next Saturday. The Spartans have an opportunity to be 4-1 for the first time since 2006.