San José State Postgame Press Conference
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Quarterback Nick Starkel tossed five touchdown passes and the San Jose State University Spartans rolled to a 38-21 victory over the University of New Mexico Saturday at CEFCU Stadium. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Albuquerque, N.M., but was relocated to San Jose due to the spread of COVID-19 in Bernalillo County.
The Spartans (2-0) have won back-to-back games to open a season for the first time since 1987. SJSU is 2-0 in Mountain West play for the first time since joining the league. SJSU visits San Diego State next for a Friday night showdown on CBS Sports Network at 6:00 p.m. (PST).
Starkel completed 34-of-47 passes for 467 yards with no interceptions and a single-game career-best five scores. Starkel's five TD passes are the most since David Fales connected on six scores in a shootout, 62-52, win over Fresno State in 2013.
Wide receivers Bailey Gaither and Tre Walker caught more than half of Starkel's passes. Gaither made 10 grabs for a whopping 208 yards, including a 69-yard TD play. Walker hauled in nine passes for 107 yards and two scores. Receiver Isaiah Hamilton and tight end Sam Olson also had touchdown catches. Gaither tallied the Spartans' first 200-yard receiving game since Walker did it against Utah State in 2018.
The game started on a pair of miscues. New Mexico's opening drive ended with a missed field goal while the Spartans' first possession was stopped on 4th-and-1 at the UNM 31-yard line.
SJSU's next possession went 14 plays for 84 yards, capped by a 37-yard TD pass from Starkel to Walker, his first of two in the game. A key play on the drive was a New Mexico illegal formation penalty which gave the Spartans an automatic first down on a 4th-and-5 punt. SJSU took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
Starkel and the Spartans once again worked down the field for a score on the following drive. Starting at the SJSU 11-yard line, Starkel found freshman running back Shamar Garrett for a 19-yard gain to give the Spartans some breathing room. Another UNM penalty, this time an offsides on a third-down incompletion, extending the drive. After another completion to Garrett got the Spartans over midfield, Starkel hit Hamilton deep for a 43-yard touchdown. The drive went eight plays for 84 yards, same length as the first scoring drive.
New Mexico cut the SJSU lead to 14-7 on a Tevaka Tuioti TD pass but the Spartans answered back quickly.
Starkel hit Derrick Desse Jr., for 20 yards and Gaither for 14 yards, putting the Spartans on the New Mexico 39-yard line. After Starkel hit Gaither for two more completions, the senior transfer quarterback hit Walker for a 26-yard TD strike. The call on the field was incomplete but a review gave the Spartans the score and a 21-7 lead.
Tuioti and the Lobos scored again going into halftime, giving the Spartans a 21-14 lead at the break. Starkel completed 14-of-19 passes in the second quarter alone, with streaks of five-straight and six-straight completions.
A one-yard TD run by Tuioti tied the game briefly with 10:55 left in the third quarter, 21-21. The Spartans answered with a 35-yard Matt Mercurio field goal to take a 24-21 lead and never looked back.
With only four seconds left in the third quarter, Starkel connected with Gaither on a perfectly thrown 69-yard touchdown pass for a one-play scoring drive. The Spartans took a 31-21 lead into the fourth.
After a New Mexico punt, Starkel hit Gaither with another deep shot, this time a 55-yard bomb to the Lobo 20-yard line. After five rushes drained almost three minutes off the clock and moved the ball down to the one-yard line, Starkel floated a pass to the freshman Olson for his fifth touchdown completion of the game and Olson's first career catch. A New Mexico punt and turnover on downs ended the game.
Isaiah Holiness led the Spartans on the ground with 31 yards on nine carries. Linebacker Kyle Harmon once again keyed the defense with a team-high 14 tackles. Defensive end Cade Hall had 1.5 sacks while fellow defensive end Viliami Fehoko had one and a pair of tackles-for-loss. Tre Jenkins had an interception, the only one of the game for either team.
