Aug 29, 2013
San José, Calif. - The San José State Spartans opened the 2013 season with a 24-0 win over Sacramento State behind a balanced offense and a "bend but don't break" defense on Thursday night in Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans gained 367 yards with 225 coming through the air. Quarterback David Fales completed 16-of 32 attempts and touchdowns of 31 and 15 yards.
Jason Simpson had his best day as a Spartans rushing for 135 of the team's 142 yards on 21 carries and scored a touchdown on a 55-yard jaunt in the third quarter.
Fales connected with five receivers led by Chandler Jones' eight catches. Jones finished with 130 yards and a 31-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter. Noel Grigsby had four catches for 51 yards and a 15-yard touchdown. He now leads all current FBS receivers with 231 career receptions.
The Spartans opened its scoring on a 37-yard field goal from Austin Lopez. It was the 18th consecutive field goal of his career.
The San José State defense allowed 278 total yards from the Hornets; 86 of which came on the ground. It was nearly half of their rushing average from a year ago (164.0 rushing yards per game).
The Spartans picked off Sacramento State quarterback Garrett Safron twice in the first half. Bené Benwikere had his first of the year, and 10th of his career, to end the Hornets first possession and Sean Linton got his on the second play of the second quarter.
Keith Smith led San José State with 18 tackles. Simon Connette had 10 tackles and Eugene Taylor added five tackles and two sacks. Twice in the fourth quarter, the Spartans held the Hornets on fourth down inside the 10-yard line to preserve the shutout.
For the Hornets, Safron was 23-for-40 for 192 yards. Ezekiel Graham rushed for 49 yards on 18 carries and had four receptions for 32 yards.
The Spartans play at Stanford next Saturday, September 7. Kickoff for the game is set for 8:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on the PAC-12 Network.