SAN JOSE, Calif. – For the second consecutive game, both at home in CEFCU Stadium, San Jose State University scored first taking a 3-0 lead over Fresno State on a Matt Mercurio 31-yard field goal at the 9:52 of the first quarter.
What followed for the Spartans and their bid to even their season record at .500, become bowl-eligible in back-to-back years for the first time since 2012 and 2013, and retain the Valley Trophy with a sixth win was a combination of the best passing attack the Spartans faced this season and being on the short end of trading field goals for touchdowns.
Fresno State (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West) bused back to Fresno with the Valley Trophy for the first time in three years with a 40-9 victory over San Jose State (5-7, 3-5 Mountain West) in the Spartans' final game of the season.
Twice in the first half, Mercurio converted a field goal when a Spartan drive stalled inside the Fresno State 20-yard line. Each time, the Bulldogs responded with a touchdown.
Bulldogs' quarterback Jake Haener was 27-of-36 without an interception for 343 yards and touchdown passes to four different receivers, two in each half. Despite losing players during the game, the Fresno State offensive line provided superior pass protection allowing Haener opportunities to find secondary targets throughout the sun-drenched afternoon. For the only time this season, San Jose State did not register a quarterback sack in a game.
In contrast, San Jose State quarterbacks Nick Starkel, primarily, and Nick Nash, on occasion, were seeing Bulldog pass rushers in their faces most of the game. Early in the second quarter, Starkel was called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a Fresno State safety giving the Bulldogs a modest 9-3 lead.
In his final Spartan game, Starkel was sacked three times and still managed to pass for 260 yards. Along the way, there were big plays like a 40-yard swing pass to running back Kairee Robinson that preceded Mercurio's second field goal to trim the deficit to 9-6.
A 27-yard Starkel-to-Malikhi Miller pass preceded Mercurio's third and final field goal, one from 36-yards with 25 seconds before halftime closing the gap to 23-9.
A 31-yard catch-and-run by Derrick Deese, Jr., only got the Spartans out of bad field position – something that was common for San Jose State on the day. Five times in the 12 times it had the ball, the Spartans began a possession inside its 15-yard line and three times either at the 1-or 2-yard line. There were no 90-plus yard drives for San Jose State this day. The longest was 54 yards culminating in Mercurio's first three-pointer of the day.
Before the game, the Spartans recognized 22 seniors and their families for their contributions to San Jose State football. One of them was running back Tyler Nevens, the first San Jose State player to lead the team in rushing in four different seasons and appreciative of a college student-athlete career.
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