By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Spear Reporter | Photo via Titus Wilkinson
Following a 24-14 loss to Coastal Carolina in the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl, SJSU football head coach Brent Brennan trudged out of SJSU’s locker room. The glum expression was that of a coach who just fell to 0-3 in bowl games. Though the 2020 Arizona bowl loss carries a COVID-19 caveat, the last two bowl losses are less justifiable.
But if SJSU were to overcome its offensive struggles Saturday night, Brennan’s first bowl win would’ve come in a place that bears significant meaning to his life.
For Hawaii is where Brennan’s coaching career began a quarter century ago, where he met SJSU defensive line coach Joe Seumalo and its where his late cousin and former UH quarterback Colt Brennan became a fixture of the Rainbow Warriors history. At a press conference earlier this week, Brennan donned Colt’s No. 15 jersey.
“I’m representing my cousin Colt,” Brennan said. “Just keeping his memory alive, how magical he was to this place and how magical this place was to him … I like to joke with Chevan that Chevan’s my favorite quarterback ever from Hawaii. But my favorite Hawaii quarterback is Colt Brennan.”
The “Chevan” Brennan referred to is of course SJSU quarterback Chevan Cordeiro. Just two years ago, Brennan and other SJSU coaches met with Cordeiro and his family at Oahu’s Kapi’olani Park. They chatted for multiple hours as palm trees swayed around them.
Saturday night was hoped to be a perfect ending to a tumultuous, but ultimately successful college career for the former UH starting quarterback.
“We hurt ourselves the whole game,” said Cordeiro after completing 16 of 30 passes for 215 yards, one passing touchdown and 59 rushing yards.
Now, there’s the painful memory of coming so close.
In the fourth quarter, SJSU cut the deficit from 17-0 to 17-14 via Cordeiro’s 35-yard passing touchdown to tight end Sam Olson and running back Quali Conley’s 12-yard rushing touchdown.
Then with 8:30 left, Chanticleers’ quarterback Ethan Vasko (199 passing yards and three passing touchdowns) led a 10-play 75-yard touchdown drive. Though the final touchdown with 2:43 left was a controversial one. CCU wide receiver Sam Pinckney (eight catches for 123 yards) appeared to pull SJSU safety Andrew Jenkins down by the face mask in the end zone before the ball landed in his hands. Few can blame Jenkins and other Spartans for throwing their hands up in disbelief.
If a penalty was thrown, would Cordeiro’s tears while remarking about Brennan after the game be happy ones?
“Coach Brennan is everything,” Cordeiro began. “When I came from Hawaii to here I was in a bad place mentally. I didn’t really like football. When I got here the whole team took me in as a brother the first day I got there. I’m forever grateful.”
Or perhaps the dap up Brennan and Cordeiro shared after the game wouldn’t have been so somber if SJSU running back Kairee Robinson (12 attempts for 67 rushing yards) didn’t fumble twice – one on CCU’s three-yard line. It’s an unfortunate season and career-ending performance for Robinson, who was integral to SJSU’s ascent from 1-5 to the Hawaii Bowl.
And it’s not that SJSU played badly. The Spartans outgained CCU 374-336, outrushed 159-137, outpassed 215-199 and had just as many first downs (22). Heck, its eight penalties for 88 yards is still less than CCU’s 10 penalties for 126 yards.
But as Brennan said, “We [SJSU] didn’t make enough plays to win.” That likely included SJSU’s Kyler Halvorsen’s missed field goal with 1:09 remaining.
So what’s to be made of 2023? Does the bowl loss overshadow what SJSU’s accomplished this year?
“A lot of 1-5 teams end up being 2-10 or 3-9,” Brennan said. “The fact that these guys finished the regular season tied for the lead in the Mountain West … I think that speaks to the quality of their character, their work ethic [and] who they are as people.”
What’s to be made of Brennan? How much do the three bowl losses take away from the fact he’s the only SJSU head coach to reach three bowl games? Or how SJSU’s reached three bowl games in the span of four years for the first time ever?
It’s a complicated discussion.
Which is unfortunate because Saturday could’ve felt so blissfully simple and sentimental for Brennan.