By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Spear Reporter | photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor of The Spear
With 2:55 remaining in the fourth quarter the score was 24-21 and Colorado State (3-3) had the ball on their own 38 yard line. San Jose State (4-2) needed a stop to stay in the game.
Sophomore quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi would hit sophomore wide receiver Amari Winfield on a slant route and he would take it to the house for a 62 yard score.
“It was a pick route between me and the other corner and they picked the other corner,” junior cornerback DJ Harvey said. “That’s really where the game ended, if we get a stop right there I felt confident in our offense going and scoring.”
The 31-24 loss highlighted some recurring issues for the Spartans, like the Rams going eight for 13 on third downs.
“We got to play better on defense,” head coach Ken Niumataolo said. “I wouldn’t say either side of the ball played well enough to win.”
Penalties were an issue for the Spartans as they racked up 12 for 103 yards. This included a controversial pass interference penalty on junior tight end Jacob Stewart which negated a 36-yard gain from sophomore wide receiver TreyShun Hurry.
“Offensively we need to clean those penalties up,” Niumatalolo said. “It killed a lot of drives and kept pushing us back.”
With all the questions surrounding who will be the starting quarterback this week, sophomore quarterback Emmett Brown trotted out to begin the game.
Brown immediately drove the Spartans down the field going 5-6 for 62 yards and capping the drive off with a 27-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Nick Nash.
After the first drive Brown had two back-to-back drives where he struggled to get the offense moving.
Then junior quarterback Walker Eget would come into the game to replace him on the next drive. Brown would be brought back into the game on a third and six.
Throughout the first half Eget and Brown would be subbed in and out, at times during the middle of drives.
Offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann has shifted around quarterbacks in the past with his time in Hawaii. But this is not something that Niumatalolo wants to see going forward.
“It’s hard to get any continuity,” Niumatalolo said. “Craig (Stutzmann) and I will talk but Walker (Eget) did some good things and Emmett (Brown’s) did some good things when he was the starter, but ideally you wouldn’t want to (keep swapping).”
Eget would start the second half for the Spartans but once again Brown would be back in. Eventually Eget would settle in as the quarterback for the remainder of the game as he got all of the reps from 1:48 left in the third quarter on.
“You just have to be ready at all times, I think both (Brown) and I did that coming into this game,” Eget said. “No matter what we just got to keep building off of each other.”
Eget would finish the game 22-30 throwing 256 yards and an interception.
Brown would finish the game 8-14 with 91 yards and a touchdown.
A really rough sequence for the Rams came with 1:11 left on the clock in Spartans territory. As graduate student wide receiver Tory Horton would temporarily leave the game with an injury.
Then on the very next play graduate student running back Avery Morrow would fumble and it would be picked up by Harvey for an 85-yard touchdown recovery.
Horton would re-enter the game in the second half but would once again leave the game limping.
The Spartans defense has struggled sealing the edge and that once again was an issue as the Rams repeatedly got big runs on the outside.
Morrow rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
The Spartans hope to put this game behind them as they travel back home to face off against Wyoming (1-5) on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. at CEFCU stadium.
