By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Spear Reporter
Christian Vieyra | The Spear
It happened again.
SJSU football started hot only to blow a double-digit lead for the third straight game. This one came in a 35-27 loss to Boise State. The Spartans are now 1-5 and have allowed at least 28 unanswered points for the second straight game.
“I don’t have any answers for what happened in the second half tonight,” SJSU head coach Brent Brennan following the loss. Brennan and the Spartans need to find those answers ASAP because at this point SJSU has to five win of its next six games to clinch bowl eligibility. “This is just heartbreaking,” Brennan said.
Everything looked so good. Not just good, but great – like really great.
The Spartans jetted out to an early 17-0 lead after forcing three turnovers. Eventually, going into the half up 27-14 after the offense scored on its first five possessions.
SJSU’s defense, which allowed 400 rushing yards in its most recent loss to Air Force, forced Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty – the nation’s total touchdowns leader – to fumble twice.
“He’s [Jeanty] a good player and for me, it was great to go against him,” said SJSU linebacker Braun Parham who forced the first fumble.
What’s more, SJSU’s defense initially made BSU head coach Andy Avalos look foolish for deciding to roll with a two-quarterback system. First, Taylen Green was inaccurate and then Maddux Madsen threw an eye roll of a pick to SJSU linebacker Jordan Pollard.
On the offensive side, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro threw for 255 yards and bulldozed the Broncos en route to a rushing touchdown. Even the Spartans run game was strong with touchdowns from running backs Kairee Robinson and Quali Conley.
The game’s broadcasters repeatedly mentioned how a hush fell over BSU’s sold-out Albertsons Stadium. The BSU-themed Elvis impersonators looked dispirited at times, too.
Then came the second half.
The Spartans were outscored 21-0, outgained 239-110 yards and outrushed 186-40 yards.
The defense that previously forced turnovers and got stops became porous. Eventually allowing three straight 70-plus yard touchdown drives.
“I got to watch the film. I’m sure there’s a million things we can learn,” Brennan said.
Green went from being benched to throwing for one touchdown and rushing for two.
Jeanty, also relegated to the sidelines at one point, dashed for 167 total rushing yards. Instead of his two fumbles, the conversation now shifts to his stellar comeback performance and his fourth down conversion in the fourth quarter. Green threw a touchdown a few plays later to make it 35-27. And Green’s counterpart Madsen ended with 155 passing yards and a passing touchdown.
SJSU’s offense, meanwhile, fell about as silent as BSU’s crowd in the first half.
No points. No drives into the red zone. No signs it could regain momentum.
The Spartans amassed just six first downs in the second half after totaling 13 in the first half.
“I guess we got complacent,” Robinson said.
Following a BSU missed field goal, SJSU failed to generate a single first down after taking over on downs, trailing 35-27 with 50 seconds left. The drive before that spanned just one play after Cordeiro threw an interception.
Prior to Saturday night, SJSU’s next three games – New Mexico (away), Utah State (home) and Hawaii (away) – were considered winnable affairs. Now those don’t seem like such a lock. The Spartans propensity to blow leads is too large to ignore.
The sun may set on SJSU’s bowl hopes should it lose one of those three before playing Mountain West top dog Fresno State on Nov. 11.
Now, although herculean, 1-5 to bowl eligible isn’t impossible. The last three weeks have shown SJSU has the talent and firepower to compete. Those three blown double-digit leads came from somewhere.
But those leads go nowhere because SJSU can’t hold on them. The Spartans have been outscored 56-7 in the second half in its last three losses.
“Everybody’s hurting really bad here,” Brennan said, “and we got a lot of work to do and try to get our team on track.”