Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
The question wasn’t, ‘When would SJSU football score again?’ It was, ‘How many could they score?’
This sort of pondery happens when a 6-2 football team goes up 14-0 10 minutes into the game.
Fourth-year quarterback Chevan Cordeiro sliced up San Diego State’s (6-4, 4-2) typically staunch defense to start the game on an 11-play 73-yard touchdown drive.
It took San Jose State (6-3, 4-2) 3:32 seconds and ended in an Elijah Cooks’ receiving touchdown. On that same drive, he put Isaac Newton’s brain in a blender with this gravity-defying catch.
Three minutes later, Cordeiro found the ball back in his hands after true freshman cornerback Michael Dansby picked off the Aztecs’ fourth-year quarterback Jalen “Moose” Mayden.
Wasting no time, the Spartans capitalized again with another Cordeiro touchdown, but this time he did it on the ground.
What could go wrong?
Well, apparently everything.
The Aztecs’ fifth-year running back Jordan Byrd returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to the house, the catalyst for SDSU’s 38 unanswered points.
“That was very very clearly what changed the whole tide of the game,” said SJSU football head coach Brent Brennan, who’s now 1-5 against SDSU in his career. “To me we really did not recover and we did not respond well.”
The “whole tide of the game” did change as the ‘Moose got loose’ and flooded Snapdragon Stadium with precision, agility and touchdowns.
“This is by far the best he’s played,” said Brennan.
During the 38-point stretch, Mayden threw for three touchdowns and is 4-1 since taking over as a starting quarterback after beginning the season at safety.
“He’s a good player,” said fifth-year linebacker Kyle Harmon. “Obviously he was a safety before so he’s a good athlete and I think they did a good job putting him in space.”
Mayden completed 77% of his passes for 268 yards and got his incredible night going by hitting Tyrell Shavers for a 66-yard touchdown.
Shavers beat fifth-year cornerback Nehemiah Shelton off the line and took off like a thief in the night to put the Aztecs up 17-14.
The Aztecs notched touchdowns on their next three possessions on two touchdowns from Mayden through the air to Mekhi Shaw and Jesse Matthews.
Third-year running back Jaylon Armstead completed the 38 unanswered points run with a two-yard rushing touchdown with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
SDSU was like a tsunami wave, washing away SJSU’s defense and offense like it was a stop sign.
SJSU football punted on their next five possessions after Cordeiro’s rushing touchdown originally put them up 14-0.
Cordeiro finished with 195 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to go along with one rushing touchdown, but still labeled the day as “sickening.”
“No matter what the stats are, we lost and that’s all I care about,” Cordeiro said.
He connected with third-year tight end Skylar Loving-Black and Isaiah Hamilton for touchdowns in the second half, but it was too little too late.
During a five-punt stretch for SJSU’s offense, the Spartans had four three-and-outs and gained one first down.
“Every player that touches the offense starting with me has a piece of that stall in the game,” Brennan said.
It was fitting that the Spartans’ last offensive play of the game ended in a safety.
Cordeiro replied, “I’m not sure” when asked what SDSU did differently in its first two drives on defense compared to the rest of the game.
The Spartans rushed for 28 yards and fourth-year running back Kairee Robinson ended with 32 rushing yards on nine attempts.
His last attempt came halfway through the second quarter for two yards. He went for 11 just one run before.
The winning formula for SJSU can include an abysmal run game — they averaged 52 yards on the ground in wins over Portland State, Nevada and Colorado State.
What it can’t include is Cooks going nearly 45-straight minutes without a catch to end the game.
Cooks’ only caught ball one after his touchdown grab, a five-yard snag 15 seconds into the second quarter, and he ended with three catches for 36 yards.
The ferocious pass rush that’s propelled the Spartans to a top 10 scoring defense nationwide was also nowhere to be found.
Mayden was only sacked twice, both times in the first half, and ripped off five runs of at least eight yards. He finished with an Aztec-high 61 rushing yards.
Fifth-year defensive ends Junior Fehoko and Cade Hall, who entered with a combined 14.5 sacks on the season, didn’t register a single one. The sackless day ended Fehoko’s sack-streak at five games.
“When you come down here you need to man up, play clean and good football and we didn’t do that tonight,” Brennan said.
While it may seem like things are grim and filled with despair, the loss shouldn’t define the Spartans’ season thus far.
They’re a bowl eligible team, who can beat teams below their caliber, but can’t win against teams at or above their pedigree. Their three losses (SDSU, Fresno State, Auburn) are the best teams they’ve played this season.
SJSU football will look to rebound in Logan, Utah against Utah State (5-5, 4-2) next Saturday night.