San José, Calif. - A competitive first half and a late rally ultimately were not enough on Saturday night as Tulsa slipped past San José State to hand the Spartans (1-1) their first loss of the season.
Quarterback Josh Love threw for 189 yards and one big touchdown, but the Golden Hurricane (1-1) ran to a 34-16 non-conference victory.
"We knew Tulsa was going to be a physical, talented team and that's exactly what we saw," said head coach Brent Brennan. "They played a really good football game tonight. There were some moments it felt like we were really in it but we missed some key opportunities in the second half."
The Tulsa defense aimed to limit the Spartan ground attack and, for the most part, had success limiting San Jose State to 115 rushing yards. Much of the Spartans' success offensively in the first three quarters was through the air with Love completing 16-of-30 attempts.
Dual-threat signal caller Nick Nash (48 rushing yards) impressed and found the end zone on a late 20-yard scoring scamper. Nash has shined with his feet early in the season, rushing for 115 yards on 13 carries through two games. Running back DeJon Packer ended up leading the Spartans with 53 yards on 12 carries.
It was the foot of freshman Matt Mercurio who got the Spartans on the board early, cutting into a 7-0 deficit with a 22-yard field goal in the opening stanza. The passing game began to click later in the half, punctuated by a commanding nine-play, 80-yard drive midway through the second quarter. Love often looked for senior Bailey Gaither on the drive, targeting the wideout four times before locating Jermaine Braddock for a 23-yard touchdown pass that cut the Spartans' deficit to 14-10.
After the first of two Jacob Rainey field goals increased Tulsa's lead to 17-10, San José State had chances to even the score with the last possession before halftime or with the opening second half kickoff, but the Spartans only mustered one first down on each drive.
Rainey's second field field goal late in the third quarter and T.K. Wilkerson's touchdown runs of 3 and 17 yards in a 3:09 span of the fourth quarter left the Spartans trailing, 34-10. Refusing to go quietly into the night, however, the team was able to mount a small rally behind Nash and company.
Nash led the team on a 16-play, 74-yard drive that finished by calling his own number for the 20-yard touchdown run.
SJSU would then recover the ensuing onside kick and marched into the red zone before a turnover extinguished the comeback attempt.
The visitors out-gained San Jose State on the night, 539 to 348. Tulsa methodically ran its way for 256 yards on 54 carries and overcame 12 penalties for 105 yards. The Golden Hurricane showed confidence as offensive unit throughout the evening converting 9-of-16 third down tries and both of their fourth-down situations.
The Spartans now look ahead to a bye week prior to their trip to Fayetteville to face Arkansas, where they will get one last tuneup before conference play begins later in the month.
"We have a lot of football left to play," says Brennan. "The bye will give us a chance to fix some stuff but I love this team and I love the way they work."
Gallery: (9/7/2019) SJSU Football vs. Tulsa