Nov. 21, 2014
Logan, Utah----- A pair of back-up quarterbacks figured prominently in San Jose State University's first night football game at Utah State's Merlin Olsen Field in Romney Stadium.
For the Spartans (3-8, 2-5 Mountain West), Mitch Ravizza became the first Spartan in 18 years to play both baseball and football taking over at quarterback on the second play of the game. By halftime, he had scored San Jose State's only touchdown of the game on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 12:57 to go in the second quarter.
For the Aggies (9-3, 6-1 Mountain West), freshman Kent Myers, Utah State's fourth different starting quarterback on the season, ran for three touchdowns and passed for a fourth score leading the Aggies to a 41-7 win over the Spartans.
Ravizza, who last played in a football game in 2011 as a high school senior at San Jose's Willow Glen High School, came in on the second play of the game replacing starter Blake Jurich who suffered a knee injury when he was sacked. The 5-foot-10 Ravizza finished the game completing 13-of-21 passes without an interception for 61 yards and rushed 18 times for 64 yards.
His willingness to run gave the Spartans an added dimension offensively and was part of 191 rushing yards on the night - San Jose State's second best rushing total of the season and the second most yards allowed on the ground by Utah State.
Myers' touchdown runs of 28 and 60 yards around the Spartans perimeter in the first half sandwiched around Ravizza's sneak into end zone giving Utah State a 14-7 halftime lead. A 2-yard Myers run with 4:46 left in the third quarter followed a 60-yard touchdown burst by Aggie slotback JoJo Natson on the first play of the second half put Utah State ahead 28-7.
The Utah State quarterback also had a hand and an arm in a fourth score with a 1-yard pass to tight end Jefferson Court early in the fourth quarter. Myers was 15-of-22 for just 108 yards and a touchdown.
San Jose State was outgained, 421 to 252, and had just four first downs in the second half. Utah State's 313 rushing yards, led by Natson's game-high 124 yards and one touchdown on seven carries, were a season high for the Aggies.
The Spartans close out the season, Saturday, November 29, at San Diego State in a 12:30 p.m. game on the CBS Sports Network.