by Lamar Moody- Reporter
San Jose State struggled to move the ball down field all game.
In the first ever meeting between the two schools, The Spartans (2-2, 1-0 MW) lost their battle on the road Saturday vs the Western Michigan Broncos (3-1, 0-0 MAC) by a final score of 23-3.
The Spartans scored first on a 25-yard field goal from junior kicker Matt Mercurio. Unfortunately the one field goal was the only points SJSU would score for the rest of the game. With the return of senior running back Tyler Nevens, the running game for the Spartans looked more efficient in the first half.
Graduate student quarterback Nick Starkel on the other hand only had 45 yards passing and he made two critical turnovers early with a lost fumble and an interception that led to a Western Michigan touchdown. Starkel faced a relentless pass rush as he was sacked a breathtaking six times. He finished the game with 54 yards passing before leaving the game later with an apparent left arm injury.
Western Michigan’s passing attack was prolific in the first half with redshirt sophomore quarterback Kaleb Eleby throwing for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Corey Crooms had an explosive 37-yard touchdown catch just before halftime extending the Broncos lead to 20-3.
Not much changed for SJSU in the 2nd half except for their quarterback. Freshman quarterback Walker Eget took over midway through the 3rd Quarter. The offense struggled even more as the true freshman quarterback was only able to throw for 8 yards for his only completion. Freshman Natano Woods also saw action at quarterback late in the game.
Even though sophomore quarterback Kaleb Eleby played lights out in the first half, the second half was much different as the Spartan’s passing defense was able to shut him down. Eleby only had 44 yards passing for the rest of the game.
The Broncos leaned much more on their running game in the second half to seal up this win. The Broncos finished the game with a total of 147 yards rushing. Junior running back La’Darius Jefferson and sophomore running back Sean Tyler had 12 carries a piece to lead the rushing attack for the broncos.
Tyler Nevens finished with 95 yards rushing on the day, so that’s a positive for the Spartans to take away from this game. The Spartans have some questions to answer on offense going into their home matchup next Saturday when they face off against the New Mexico State Aggies. Will Nick Starkel be available? Will we see either Eget or Woods make their first collegiate start next Saturday? Only time will tell for the Spartans.
The Spartans will return home for their last non conference game versus New Mexico State. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday on NBC Sports California.
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