By Sofia Wright — Staff Writer
It’s not often that a 21.5-point underdog beats the spread, or wins the game.
San Jose State (2-1) didn’t get the memo as it took down Arkansas (2-2) 31-24 in Fayetteville. The Saturday night upset marked the first win against an SEC team in Spartan history.
“I’m so proud of our kids,” said head coach Brent Brennan in the post-game interview while choking up. “They played so hard.”
SJSU had not beaten a Power 5 team since Sept. 9 2006 against Stanford. It entered Saturday night with 24 consecutive losses against such teams, the longest drought in college football.
For the second time in his career, senior quarterback Josh Love eclipsed 400 yards passing with 402. He completed 32 of 49 passes while throwing 2 touchdowns and was only picked off once.
Love’s offensive line was able to keep his all-white jersey clean almost the entire game. It wasn’t until late in the third quarter that Love was taken down for a sack.
The Spartans’ main offensive weapon was wide receiver Tre Walker. Walker had a career-best 12 for 161 yards in his season debut and created several pass-interference penalties which kept drives alive.
On defense, five interceptions led the charge for the Spartans and completely put the game in their hands.
Sophomore cornerback Nehemiah Shelton and senior linebacker Ethan Aguayo led the stingy Spartan defense with 10 tackles and an interception apiece, but no pick was more important than junior corner Bobby Brown’s late in the fourth quarter.
Prior to that drive, senior running back DeJon Packer found an edge and sprinted to the endzone for a 19-yard touchdown. It was the only rushing touchdown for the game for the Spartans, but it was vital.
Packer’s touchdown broke the 24-point tie and gave the Spartans the edge once again, this time with 1:13 left in regulation.
Hogs quarterback Nick Starkel went out to replicate what Love and the Spartans had just done minutes prior, but failed.
The pigskin, of course, ended up in the hands of Brown.
Brent Brennan improved to 5-23 as head coach of the Spartans since taking over in 2017.
SJSU will ride the wave, but has a short week as it makes a visit to Air Force Friday night.
Follow Sofia on Twitter @sofiagwright