Fayetteville, Ark.----- San Jose State University showed its mettle late in the fourth quarter engineering a swift five-play 75-yard drive capped by a DeJon Packer 19-yard race to the end zone in a stunning 31-24 non-conference victory over the University of Arkansas.
The Spartans (2-1) never lost the lead in the game winning its first non-conference contest against a team from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Pacific-12 Conference since a 35-34 win over Stanford on September 9, 2006. Since then, San Jose State was winless against teams from those conferences 29 times.
San Jose State got plays when it needed from all three phases – offense, defense and special teams. Quarterback Josh Love completed a single-game personal best 32 passes in 48 attempts with one interception for 402 yards and a pair of first half touchdowns.
The defense came up with five pass interceptions and two first-half fourth-down stops which helped San Jose State (2-1) build a 24-7 halftime lead, the biggest lead the Spartans have had in a game since the 2016 season.
Kicker Matt Mercurio, who missed a 46-yard field goal in the first quarter, came back to convert a career-best 47-yard field goal with 6:09 remaining in the second quarter for a 17-7 lead.
Also, it was a game in which wide receivers Tre Walker and Sitaleki Nunn and freshman running back Isaiah Holiness made their season debuts. With the added firepower, San Jose State took advantage of Arkansas (2-2, 0-1 SEC) deferring its opportunity to have the ball first and set a meaningful tempo with a 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that quieted the crowd of 56,058 in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
The Spartans came out slinging with Love connecting with Bailey Gaither for 50 yards. Six plays later, Love found JaQuan Blackwell open on a quick 3-yard slant for the game's first touchdown.
Arkansas tied the game twice. First, Razorback quarterback Nick Starkel, who attended a summer football camp with the Spartans' Love, took advantage of Zamore Zigler losing his balance and connected with Mike Woods for a 62-yard play to tie the score at 7-7.
Then, San Jose State literally raced out to a 24-7 lead with freshman quarterback Nick Nash weaving his way through a defense for the second game in a row for a 15-yard touchdown run. Mercurio's field goal preceded Love finding redemption for his first pass interception of the season connecting with Holiness in the flat and the freshman took it 26-yards for the final score of the first 30 minutes.
Arkansas chipped away at the lead as Connor Limpert nailed a 49-yard field goal midway through the third quarter and Starkel connecting on fourth-quarter plays of 30 and 8 yards to tie the score for the last time at 24-24 with 2:56 to go. Named the Razorbacks' starting quarterback the week prior to the Colorado State win, Starkel completed 28-of-50 with five interceptions for 356 yards and three touchdowns.
The game-winning drive was indicative of San Jose State using the outer limits of its playbook. A Nash 7-yard scamper preceded three consecutive completions by Love, two to Walker and one to Blackwell, who made his most significant contribution in a game in two seasons with four catches for 49 yards and a score. Then came the game-winner with the Spartans' offensive line sealing off Arkansas' left side allowing Packer to motor in from 19-yards for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning score.
Brown's second interception of the game on Arkansas' first play after the Packer touchdown set off the Spartans' sideline celebration that carried into the locker room, onto the charter plane and back into San Jose early Sunday morning.
The Spartans can celebrate briefly since San Jose State opens Mountain West action, Friday, September 27, at Air Force in a 6:00 p.m. (MT) conference contest.