Sept. 23, 2017
San Jose State postgame quotes
San Jose, Calif.----- When Andre Chachere came up with an interception for San Jose State on Utah State's first possession of the game, the Spartans had great field position and looked poised to be first to score.
But, it wasn't until the fourth quarter when Jermaine Kelly came up with an interception and returned it 68 yards for San Jose State's only touchdown that the Spartans got on the scoreboard.
In between the Spartans' season-highs of two interceptions and four quarterback sacks, Utah State (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) took advantage of five Spartan turnovers and a blocked punt and turned into 38 points en route to a 61-10 Mountain West win over San Jose State (1-4, 0-1 Mountain West).
The Spartans fumbled three times in the first half and went into the locker room at halftime trailing 38-0. Utah State scored two of its first three touchdowns on long fourth-down plays.
Running back LaJuan Hunt broke free around the left side for a 29-yard run on a 4th-and-1 with 9:26 in the first quarter to open the scoring. Early in the second quarter, quarterback Kent Myers connected with Gerold Bright for a 43-yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and-3 to put the Aggies ahead 21-0.
Myers accounted for four touchdowns in the game -- two on the ground and two in the air. He was 18-of-24 for 181 yards and rushed 84 yards. His 68-yard touchdown run on a 3-and-2 put the Aggies ahead, 55-0.
The Spartans struggled offensively for the third week in a row with a season low 162 yards of total offense. Josh Love started at quarterback and Sam Allen and Michael Carrillo also played the position before the game was over.
Collectively, San Jose State was 8-of-22 with an interception for just 54 yards. The Spartans doubled that total on the ground with 108. But like the Texas game, San Jose State did not have an offensive play of at least 20 yards. The longest play was an 18-yard run by Zamore Zigler in the second on a drive that became a disaster when Love was sacked by defensive back Jalen Davis and linebacker Maika Magalei picked up the loose ball and ran 38 yards for a 28-0 Utah State lead.
San Jose State's 10 points were generated by a defense that gave up 589 yards. Besides his interception return, Kelly recovered a fumble that led to Bryce Crawford's second 50-plus yard field goal of the season -- a career-long 53-yarder with the wind at his back.
The Spartans will need to find a breeze for their sails in time for their next game Saturday, September 30, at UNLV. ESPNU will televise the game starting at 7:30 p.m. (PDT).