Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro guided a new-look SJSU football program (3-1, 1-0) to a 33-16 win over Wyoming with 314 passing yards and three total touchdowns.
Spartans’ wide receiver Elijah Cooks pitched in a whopping 177 of those yards. It’s the second time this season he went for 120-plus yards, with the first coming against Portland State in the season-opener .
SJSU’s lead peaked at 26-10 when Kairee Robinson, who grabbed a career-high 102 rushing yards, took a direct snap into the Wyoming’s end zone on the Spartans’ first offensive drive of the half, immediately following defensive end Cade Hall’s first career interception.
Wyoming began to show signs of life in the third quarter when quarterback Andrew Peasley scrambled for 61 yards and then hit Parker Christensen for a 12-yard touchdown to make it 26-16.
The first-year starter completed just six of his 20 passing attempts for 85 passing yards but was able to gather another 74 yards on the ground.
The Spartans rushed for 84 yards in the fourth quarter, closing the door on any possible Cowboys’ comeback. Cordeiro finished the job himself, extending the lead to 33-16 on an 18-yard rushing touchdown.
The Spartans started out strong thanks to a safety forced by Noah Wright, a career-long 40-yard field goal from Taren Schive and Skylar-Loving Black reeling in his first career touchdown reception.
However, Wyoming didn’t break that early. Wyatt Wieland would cut the deficit to 12-10 on a 38-yard touchdown reception from Peasley in the second quarter.
It was the closest the Cowboys came to winning all day, as the Spartans unloaded a staunch pass-heavy attack featuring a relentless running game. SJSU would then score 14 straight points via one-yard touchdown runs by Cordeiro and Robinson.
The Spartans tallied season highs in total yards (455) and time of possession (36:43).
SJSU football will come back home to face a red-hot UNLV (3-1) next Friday at 7:30 p.m. San Jose State leads the series 19-6-1 while having won the last two matchups.