DALLAS (FWAA) – The San José State Spartans scored on DeJon Packer's 19-yard run with 1:13 left to break a 24-24 tie and win their first road game since 2016 and record their first non-conference road win since 2012, posting a 31-24 at Arkansas that superseded a host of other worthy candidates. For winning their first game over an SEC school, San José State (2-1) has earned the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Sept. 21.
The announcement came on "Full Ride" on ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM. Each Monday during the season the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week will be unveiled on the network. The FWAA's All-America Committee selects the weekly winner and all Division I FBS and FCS schools are eligible to be selected.
This is the first time for San José State to win the FWAA's National Team of the Week honor and the first for a Mountain West conference member since Wyoming on October 29, 2016.
The Spartans never trailed and led 24-7 at halftime – their largest lead in any game dating back to the 2016 season – and broke a 26-game losing streak to teams from the Power 5 conferences that extended back to a 2006 win at Stanford.
San José State got contributions in all three phases. Quarterback Josh Love completed a career-high 32 passes in 49 attempts for 402 yards and two touchdowns, his second career 400-yard game. The Spartans' defense snagged five interceptions, most since a 2008 win at Hawaii. Kicker Matt Mercurio hit a career-long 47-yard field goal in the second quarter to extend the lead to 17-7.
"What a night for these players, these coaches and these fans," head coach Brent Brennan said. "Obviously, when you look at the schedule, this is one of those games that everybody talks about. Sometimes it's hard to get your team to focus on anything else because you are going on the road to play a SEC opponent like Arkansas with its history, how special this place is, the stadium, the crowd and all that stuff. Coming off a loss two weeks ago, our players just went to work. We practiced during the bye week a lot. I'm sure the players didn't like that, but I think now they understand why. I'm just really proud of them because this has been a team."
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 21 were:
• Appalachian State (3-0): The Mountaineers got a defensive score and 281 combined yards from quarterback Zac Thomas in a 34-31 win at North Carolina in the teams' first meeting in 79 seasons. Appalachian State blocked a 56-yard field goal attempt as time expired to close out its first win over a Power 5 team since its historic upset at Michigan in 2007.
• Pitt (2-2): The Panthers ended UCF's 25-game regular-season win streak with a 35-34 home win, capped by a pass from wide receiver Aaron Matthews to quarterback Kenny Pickett in the end zone with 56 seconds left. Pitt held a 21-0 lead at one point.
• UCLA (1-3): Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for a career-high 507 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for two more in a wild 67-63 win at Washington State. UCLA trailed 49-17 in the third quarter, then registered the second-largest comeback in school history with 50 second-half points to take its first win over a ranked opponent since 2015.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. In addition to the members of the FWAA All-America Committee, one fan vote from Twitter decides the weekly honor.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
| 2019 Reveal Suits National Teams of the Week | |
| • Weekend of Aug. 31: Georgia State Panthers • Weekend of Sept. 7: LSU Tigers • Weekend of Sept. 14: Kansas Jayhawks • Weekend of Sept. 21: San José State Spartans |
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