By Caleb Ramos — Reporter
On a cold November night the Spartans remained hot.
San Jose State football (4-0) defeated the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (0-4) 34-17 to remain undefeated and improve to 4-0 for the first time in 65 years.
Quarterback Nick Starkel returned to the field after suffering an injury last game against San Diego State. He didn’t miss a beat. The graduate transfer from the University of Arkansas completed 17 of his 28 passes, threw for 274 and two touchdowns passes.
Sophomore quarterback Nick Nash, who replaced Starkel after his injury in the previous game, also took snaps under center and showed his running ability, leading the team with 94 yards on eight carries.
Starkel credited the coaching staff for the dynamic quarterback play. “Our coaching staff has created gameplans to where they feature both Nicks,” Starkel said. “[Nash] and I are best friends off the field and on the field we’re each other’s biggest supporters.”
The Spartans did something they haven’t done in their first three games: establish the run. SJSU averaged 96.7 yards on the ground coming into tonight. Saturday, they totaled a season high 176 rushing yards.
The Rebels took the early lead with a field goal, but then came senior wide receiver Bailey Gaither to answer with a receiving touchdown of his own. Gaither led the Spartans with six receptions on 94 yards and two touchdowns receptions.
Gaither credited his big game to the team establishing the run. “[Rushing] creates balance,” Gaither said. “I think it’s important to have everybody involved to give guys confidence.”
SJSU’s offense outgained UNLV in total yards 457-294.
The Spartans’ defense also won the battle in the trenches tonight. SJSU finished with a total seven sacks, with junior defensive lineman Cade Hall leading the team with three sacks.
“I was trying to be relentless,” Hall said. “We had seen other teams in the Mountain West get sacks on [UNLV]. We knew we were going to be able to get to the quarterback.”
Although UNLV led the game in time of possession, SJSU’s effort on the defensive side caused the Rebels to punt four more times than the Spartans.
SJSU brings their unblemished record to Bulldog Stadium as they square off Saturday against Fresno State at 4 p.m.
Follow Caleb on Twitter @a1caleb