By Jonathan Guzman — Reporter and Richy Zajic — Executive editor
San Jose State football (3-3, 1-1 MW) ran into a productive Colorado State (2-3, 1-0 MW) offense on Saturday, and left Fort Collins with a conference loss.
The Rams scored within three minutes on their opening drive moving the ball 75 yards in eight plays.
The Spartans’ opening drive did not go as smoothly. SJSU junior quarterback Nick Nash had 21 yards rushing on the first drive. But the drive was capped off with an interception by CSU freshman Jack Howell on the tenth play of the drive.
The Rams’ proceeding drive after the turnover ended with a field goal.
The Spartans were unable to get their offense rolling to start the game.
After forcing a punt, SJSU fumbled the ball on special teams and set up CSU for an additional three points off turnovers.
The Spartans capitalized off of a shanked punt by the Rams that set them up at midfield with three minutes left in the first half.
It took two big plays of 32 yards and an 18-yard passing touchdown to graduate student tight end Derrick Deese Jr. to get the Spartans on the board.
But in the two minutes that remained, the Rams drove down the field to make a field goal to go into halftime up 16-7.
CSU outgained SJSU 268 yards to 147 yards in the first half.
The second half began with much of the same as CSU completed a 60-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Ty McCullouch on its first possession.
An avalanche of field goals would be the rest of the story of the second half for the Rams. It seemed as though almost every drive for CSU ended in three more points being tacked onto its total.
The Spartans would add one more touchdown to their own tally from junior wide receiver Isaiah Hamilton.
While Hamilton and Deese had productive performances for SJSU, Hamilton believes that going forward they need to consistently continue that success, while finding ways to do even more.
“Getting on the same page as Nick, running good routes … finding something extra to do,” Hamilton said about what he believes he and the rest of the offense can do going forward.
The Rams’ offense seemed to be operating with ease in most scenarios as well, so defensive adjustments will seemingly also need to be made heading into the next game.
It’s not as though the schedule is any easier on the horizon.
San Jose State hosts No. 25 ranked San Diego State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in another Mountain West showdown.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @jonathan_sjsu