Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
Sixth-year wide receiver Elijah Cooks recorded the first hat trick of his career, catching three touchdowns, but SJSU football (6-4, MW 4-3) still felt short to Utah State 35-31.
Fourth-year quarterback Chevan Cordeiro tossed three of his four passing touchdowns (career high) to Cooks and finished with 257 yards through the air.
But Cooks’ wasn’t the only player who notched a hat trick. Utah State’s (6-5, MW 5-2) Calvin Tyler Jr. went for a career-high three rushing touchdowns and 122 yards on the ground.
Tyler Jr.’s last touchdown gave the Aggies a 35-31 lead with 2:49 left.
SJSU football went four-and-out on the next drive to lose consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Spartans took a 31-28 lead with 6:42 left before Tyler Jr.’s touchdown as Cordeiro found tight end Jackson Canaan for a one-yard touchdown a bootleg and Cooks’ notched the two-point conversion.
Utah State’s lead peaked at 21-6 with 1:25 remaining in the first half after scoring 21 unanswered points following Cooks’ first touchdown which came two minutes into the contest.
They came via two rushing touchdowns from Tyler Jr. and a special teams score following a blocked punt forced by Ike Larsen and returned by Jaden Smith.
Before the half ended, Cooks responded with an unreal and heavily contested catch in the endzone with one Aggie draped all over him and another taking a shot as he was coming down.
Utah State third-year quarterback Cooper Legas threw for a career-high 244 yards and fifth-year wide receiver caught Brian Cobbs 10 passes for 122 yards.
Legas threw two interceptions, one to fifth-year safeties Tre Jenkins and Chase Williams.
The Aggies used at least nine plays on each of their four touchdown drives. Their long, drawn out drives wore down the Spartans’ defense all night.
SJSU’s fourth-year running back Kairee Robinson went for 69 rushing yards as SJSU was outrushed by Utah State 186-84 and outgained 430-341.
SJSU football will face Hawaii next Saturday night for their final game of the 2022 regular season. It will be Cordeiro’s first time playing against the Rainbow Warriors since transferring to San José State last winter.