Pullman, Wash.----- For the second week in a row, the San Jose State University defense gave up just one touchdown in the second half.
And, the Spartans (0-2) won the turnover battle, coming up with three interceptions and only gave away the ball once on a fourth-quarter interception.
Still, San Jose State needed more in a 31-0 non-conference football loss to Washington State (2-0) at Martin Stadium.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew, II, passed for 414 yards and three touchdowns and scored on a 1-yard dive to end the first half to lead the Cougars. On Washington State's first two drives of the game, he connected on scoring passes of 15 and 36 yards to wide receiver Tay Martin for a quick 14-0 lead. The second Minshew, II, to Martin scoring play came on a 4th-down-and-10 situation, one of four Cougar fourth-down conversions in the game.
Minshew II's 1-yard scoring run sent the Spartans into halftime trailing 24-0.
San Jose State struggled throughout the game offensively. The Spartans finished with just eight first downs and 109 yards of total offense. Of San Jose State's 12 possessions, only one was more than six plays in duration. The Spartans were on Washington State's side of the field just twice out of those 12 possessions.
Quarterback Montel Aaron was pressured throughout the evening when attempting to pass. He was sacked five times and managed to complete 13-of-25 passes for 94 yards.
The ground game was unable to generate any consistency against an active Washington State defense. Malike Roberson was San Jose State's leading rusher with 33 yards on 12 carries. Unlike a week ago against UC Davis when the Spartans had 91 offensive plays, San Jose State had just 51 offensive snaps.
The Cougars finished with 544 yards of total offense, 316 of them in the first half.
Linebackers Jesse Osuna and Kyle Harmon and cornerback Nehemiah Shelton came up with the interceptions for San Jose State. Osuna and Shelton's picks came in the first half while Harmon's theft came in the fourth quarter.
The Spartans can look forward to another Pac-12 Conference opponent in a week when they face Oregon (2-0) on September 15 at Autzen Stadium. Game time is 2:00 p.m. (PT) and the game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.