Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
Junior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns as SJSU football (6-2,4-1) clinched bowl eligibility with a 28-16 win over Colorado State (2-7, 2-4).
It will be the Spartans’ first bowl appearance since 2020 when they won the Mountain West title.
Graduate receiver Elijah Cooks led all SJSU wide receivers with six catches and 80 yards. He also reeled in one of Cordeiro’s two touchdown passes, a 35-yard deep bomb to put the Spartans up 21-10 in the third quarter.
It was all Spartans in the end, but the Rams looked to play the part of the spoiler early on.
CSU junior running back Avery Morrow had a 56-yard rushing touchdown less than three minutes into the game and finished with 124 total rushing yards.
Unfortunately for Rams fans, CSU only scored nine points in the remaining 57 minutes of play.
The Rams, who’ve struggled in the red zone all year, came away with zero points on three trips.
On one possession at the top of the fourth quarter, they were stuffed four-straight times on the SJSU 1-yard line while down 21-10. On another, graduate cornerback Nehemiah Shelton picked off Rams’ quarterback Clay Millen.
Freshman QB Jackson Stratton came in on a 4th & 24 after Millen left the game following being sacked by his own teammate.
The Rams pressured the Spartans with a 40-yard touchdown from junior receiver Tory Horton on Stratton’s first play of the game with 4:21 left to cut the lead 21-16.
Horton had a season-high 196 yards and tied his season-high with nine catches.
Millen finished with a season-high 262 yards and one interception and was sacked by the Spartans on 12 occasions.
Alii Matau led the with three, and Junior Fehoko notched two, his second-straight game with multiple sacks, and Kyle Harmon, Soane Toia, Tre Jenkins and Matthew Tago each had one.
Senior running back Kairee Robinson went for two rushing touchdowns and 64 yards on 12 carries. His second score sealed the game for the Spartans.
SJSU football will head south to San Diego State next Saturday for a matchup that could decide the West side of the Mountain West at the end of the season.
Everything is looking great but two things we have to be worried about:
1. Lack of running game
2. Our inconsistent Field Goal