San Jose, Calif. - Trailing 20-17 at halftime, the San Jose State Spartans (6-2, 2-1 WAC) dominate the second half and defeated the Texas State Bobcats 31-20 on Saturday afternoon in Spartan Stadium.
SECOND HALF POWER
San Jose State controlled the second half of the game on both sides of the ball. Defensively they held the Bobcats to just four first downs, 98 total yards and forced two interceptions.
Quarterback Shaun Rutherford, who led Texas State (3-4, 1-1 WAC) with 70 yards rushing, was kept in check with just 11 yards in the second half. He got 52 of his 130 passing yards in the final 30 minutes, as well, as the Bobcats were held off the scoreboard.
The Spartans scored two touchdowns while wracking up 312 total yards in the second half. They picked up 13 first downs and scored on a 78-yard pass play from Fales to David Freeman and a 32-yard dash from De'Leon Eskridge, who had 134 yards on 25 carries, to take a 31-20 lead with 5:23 to go in the third quarter.
Cullen Newsom led the Spartans with an interception and 10 tackles. Travis Johnson and Keith Smith each made six stops. Johnson had a sack and a tackle for loss. Smith had what turned out to be the game ending interception, when he picked off Rutherford at the 50-yard line with 3:21 to play.
FREEMAN HAS A DAY
David Freeman, a senior running back from Inglewood, Calif., had five carries for 18 yards including a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Spartans a 10-7 lead with 13:49 to play in the second quarter.
Then, on the Spartans second possession of the third quarter, Freeman ran an out and up, catching the ball on the west sideline and scampered 78-yards for his second touchdown of the day. He becomes the sixth Spartans to have two or more touchdowns in a game this season.
FALES GOES FOR 300+ YARDS AGAIN
For the third time this season, the nation's most accurate passer, San Jose State's David Fales, tossed for more than 300 yards. He went 26-for-38 for 376 yards and two touchdowns against Texas State.
In addition to his touchdown strike to Freeman, he completed passes to eight other receivers, including a six-yard TD pass to Chandler Jones at the end of the second quarter, which knotted the game at 17-17. Noel Grigsby had six catches, to lead all receivers, and 75 yards. Ryan Otten had a game-high 85 yards on four grabs.
BACK AND FORTH FIRST HALF
The teams traded scores in the first half. After Austin Lopez capped a 11-play, 65-yard drive for San Jose State with a 20 yard field goal, the Bobcats went for it on fourth and goal from the one and scored to take a 7-3 lead. A David Freeman 10-yard run put the Spartans back in front 10-7 with 13:49 to go before the half.
Rutherford ran for a 45-yard touchdown and a 29-yard field goal put Texas State up 17-10, before Jones' scoring grab. The Bobcats got a field goal with eight seconds to go to take the 20-17 lead into the locker room.
The Spartans next game is at Idaho on November 3. Kickoff, in the Kibbie Dome, is set for 2:00 p.m.