Sept. 19, 2015
Corvallis, Ore.----- A disastrous third quarter was fatal in San Jose State's 35-21 non-conference football loss to Oregon State in Reser Stadium.
Taking advantage of first-half opportunities and coming out of halftime with a 21-14 lead, the Spartans (1-2) were on the short end of three Beavers (2-1) touchdowns in a 3:59 span.
After exchanging punts and field position to start the second half, quarterback Seth Collins capped a six-play, 88-yard drive connecting with a wide-open wide receiver Jordan Villamin for 31 yards to tie the game, 21-21. A mishandled center snap by punter Michael Carrizosa led directly to Collins' second touchdown run of the evening, a10-yard scamper, for Oregon State's first lead of the game, 28-21. The capper was a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Caleb Saulo off of an errant Joe Gray pass with 3:35 left in the quarter.
Head coach Ron Caragher elected to start Kenny Potter at quarterback, but by the end of the game had called on Gray and Malik Watson. They combined to complete 20-of-33 passes with two interceptions for 149 yards and a touchdown.
Potter was effective until he left the game with a left ankle sprain on the first play of the second quarter. The junior from San Pedro, directed San Jose State to an efficient 10-play, 75-yard drive to open the game and a 7-0 lead. Tyler Ervin finished the drive with a 4-yard run, the first of his two touchdowns.
The Spartans took advantage of a muffed punt and a Cleveland Wallace, III, interception to score twice in the second quarter on a pair of short drives. One play after Shane Smith recovered Oergon State's Rahmel Dockery's miscue at the Oregon State 6-yard line, it was Ervin racing to paydirtgiving the Spartans a 14-7 lead.
With Gray now at quarterback, the Beavers (2-1) tied the score, 14-14, on Storm Barrs-Woods' 13-yard run. Barrs-Woods rushed 17 times for 151 yards to lead all players. Oregon State would finish with 303 yards on the ground.
Cleveland Wallace III's first interception of the season midway through the second quarter put the Spartans in position to regain the lead and they did. A fourth-down 1-yard run by fullback Chris Dadson to the Beavers' 16-yard line kept the drive alive. Three plays later Gray scrambled to right and found Tyler Winston in the back right corner of the end zone for what turned out to be the Spartans' final score of the night.
Collins' 10-yard run after Carrizosa's mishandled center snap was his second touchdown of the night. The freshman rushed for 114 yards on 16 carries and completed 13-of-25 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown.
San Jose State returns to Spartan Stadium hosting Fresno State in a Mountain West conference contest, Saturday, September 26, in Spartan Stadium. Game time is 7:30 p.m.