By Niles Hall (@n23hall) Content Editor | Spartans junior running back Jabari Bates seen rushing 87 yards towards the end zone, scoring the first touchdown of the match against the Vandals. (Photo by Taylor Cowhey – Spear Photographer)
The San Jose State Spartans (1-2) took down the Idaho Vandals (2-2) 31-28 in thrilling fashion as SJSU senior kicker Denis Lynch made a game-winning 48-yard field goal.
The Spartans were punched in the mouth early, falling behind 14-0 with just seven minutes remaining in the second quarter after a sluggish start.
On the first play of their next drive, Spartans redshirt junior running back Jabari Bates exploded for a career-long 87-yard touchdown, giving the team momentum.
SJSU’s offense scored on every drive after the Bates touchdown.
“It was really great to see the momentum switch with the Jabari Bates run, I mean, that was huge, that’s a big-time run,” said SJSU senior quarterback Walker Eget.
After Jabari Bates’ 87-yard touchdown. The Spartans stuck with the run game, having 26 rushing attempts compared to 21 passing attempts.
Bates led the team in rushing yards with 131 yards on 11 attempts and a touchdown. SJSU senior lead back, Floyd Chalk contributed to the ground game having 45 yards on 11 attempts with two touchdowns.
Jabari Bates’ rushing performance was the first 100-yard rushing game for San Jose State under head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Additionally, the team’s total of 198 rushing yards in the game set a new high for Niumatalolo’s tenure at SJSU.
Despite the loss, Idaho redshirt quarterback Joshua Wood showed his talent, passing for 232 yards and throwing two touchdowns. Wood accomplished this by going 18-32 on passing attempts, which is the most passing attempts by the Vandals all season.
Along with the success in the pass game, Wood contributed to the Vandals ground game, running for 41 yards on eight attempts.
The Vandals’ rushing attack was led by sophomore running back Art Williams, who ran for 65 yards on 18 attempts. Williams was complemented by senior running back Nate Thomas, who ran for 42 yards on 15 attempts.
The Vandals’ healthy rushing attack allowed them to control the clock and nearly double SJSU’s time of possession, 39 minutes to just 21 for the Spartans.
The Spartans defense struggled against the run. This allowed the Vandals to get in manageable positions on third and fourth down. The Vandals were 9/18 on third down and a perfect 5/5 on fourth down.
“We’ve been really good coming into this game on third downs, and it reared its ugly head today,” said Niumatololo
SJSU senior quarterback Walker Eget had 21 passing attempts, which is the fewest attempts of the Niumatalolo era.
Despite that he was limited in attempts, Eget played his best ball of the season, throwing for 222 yards and connecting with junior wide receiver Kyri Shoels for his first career touchdown.
Eget also completed timely deep balls to sophomore wide receiver Danny Scudero and senior tight end Jackson Canaan.
Scudero finished the game with 130 yards on six catches, with his longest reception being a career high 56-yard bomb in the second quarter that helped SJSU score its second touchdown.
Lynch left his early-season struggles behind, making the game-winning field goal.
“My team has always supported me…but it (game-winning field goal) let me show them that I understand this sport,” Lynch said,” and it let me give back to them and show them that their support is good.”
SJSU will look to keep this momentum moving forward as they head on the road to Palo Alto to play Santa Clara County foe Stanford at 4:30 p.m. at Stanford Stadium on Sept. 27.
