Nov. 18, 2017
Fort Collins, Colo.----- For the second game in a row on the road, San Jose State scored first and in the fourth quarter, but couldn't sustain its first-half offense as Colorado State defeated the Spartans 42-14 in a Mountain West football game.
Running back DeJon Packer capped a 74-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run on the Spartans' first possession of the game for a 7-0 lead. A 49-yard pass from quarterback Montel Aaron to wide receiver Tre Hartley along the right sideline was the big play in the drive.
After that, the Spartans could only get as far as the Colorado State 48-yard line on their remaining five first-half possessions.
Colorado State went on to score four touchdowns the rest of the half on runs of 4 and 6 yards by running back Rashaad Boddie and touchdown passes of 50 and 24 yards by Rams' quarterback Nick Stevens for a 28-7 halftime lead.
Stevens finished the game completing 26 of 32 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Though the Spartan applied pressure at times, the Colorado State quarterback was not sacked in the game.
Rams running back Dalyn Dawkins added a third Colorado State rushing touchdown on a 9-yard run in the third quarter extending the lead to 35-7. Dawkins gained 138 yards on 24 carries.
San Jose State (1-11, 0-7 Mountain West) had two good scoring opportunities in the second half and capitalized on one when Malike Roberson burst through the left side of the line for a 54-yard touchdown run with 6:47 remaining in the game. It was the first time this season San Jose State rushed for two touchdowns in a game. Roberson finished as the Spartans' top ground gainer with 72 yards on 10 carries.
San Jose State also took its first possession of the second half inside the Colorado State 10-yard line. On second-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Rahshead Johnson bobbled Aaron's pass as he ran out of the back of the end zone for an incomplete. The next play was disastrous as Aaron's pass intended for JaQuan Blackwell was batted up in the air by defensive lineman Richard King and into the hands of Josh Watson nullifying San Jose State's first chance to score in the second half.
Aaron played from start to finish -- just the fifth time this season one San Jose State quarterback took every offensive snap. It was the third time for the redshirt freshman signal caller who completed 17-of-33 passes for 208 yards. Hartley accounted for just over half of the yardage with a career best 109 yards on five catches.
Colorado State (7-5, 4-3 Mountain West) outgained San Jose State, 606 to 339. After the Spartans' touchdown on two first downs to open the game, San Jose State had three the rest of the first half. The Spartans moved the better in the second half and finished with 16 first downs.
On the final Colorado State possession, linebacker Frank Ginda became the Mountain West single-season leader for tackles. His tackle on Darius May's 3-yard run on the second to last play of the game was his 163rd of the season breaking the conference record of 162 set by New Mexico's Carmen Messina in 2009.
Ginda can add to his conference record total with his San Jose State teammates in the team's regular season finale, Saturday, November 25, when the Spartans host Wyoming. Game time in CEFCU Stadium is 2:00 p.m. (PT). The game will mark the final home game for 12 San Jose State seniors.