By Jarra Gojolo — Staff Writer
These Spartans had less than 300 men, but they still would not go down without a fight.
The San Jose State Spartans (3-3, 1-2 MW) fell to the University of Nevada (4-2, 1-1 MW), as Wolf Pack kicker Brandon Talton kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired.
Mistakes plagued the Spartans in the first half.
On the very first play of the game center Kyle Hoppe snapped the ball over quarterback Josh Love’s head, resulting in a 19-yard loss.
The next SJSU drive, Josh Love threw an interception to Nevada’s Austin Arnold, who would return it for a touchdown.
The Wolf Pack used the Spartans miscues to race out to a 24-3 lead in the second quarter.
Adding injury to insult, backup quarterback Nick Nash, the team’s leading rusher, left the game in the first quarter after injuring his right leg. He would not return to the game.
Love, reigning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week, struggled with his accuracy throughout the first half.
Despite the rough start, Love, with 44 seconds remaining in the half, completed all three of his passes in the final drive of the half.
He capped off this drive with a 37 yard strike to Isaiah Hamilton to bring the lead down to two scores.
That touchdown is all Love needed to get going.
Nevada quarterback Malik Henry (of Last Chance U fame) tossed a 75-yard touchdown pass to receiver Romeo Doubs to start the second half.
Love would answer back immediately, throwing a 60-yard score of his own to fellow senior Bailey Gaither.
Henry would eventually throw his second interception of the game to Rico Tolefree.
The Spartans would march the rest of the way down the field thanks to a 16-yard catch by freshman Isaiah Hamilton that was tipped by a Wolf Pack defender.
With the lead cut to a single score, SJSU’s defense would force a Nevada punt.
Unfortunately the ball would land on Zamore Ziegler’s helmet, and senior Brandon Ezell failed to hold on the ricochet, giving Nevada a short field and the opportunity to go up by two scores.
The Wolf Pack marched down to the Spartans’ 6-yard line, but as Nevada running back Toa Taua rumbled forward to try and score, sophomore Nehemiah Shelton forced him to fumble out of the end zone.
It gave the Spartans the ball, and more importantly, a chance for a new ballgame.
Completions to Hamilton and junior Tre Walker would bring SJSU to the cusp of the red zone.
A failed trick play, along with a dropped pass by tight end Derrick Deese Jr. would have put the ball near the goal line, but it left the Spartans with a third and 20
Love would look to Walker again for a 19-yard completion to make it fourth down and 1.
On fourth down Nevada would bring the pressure, forcing Love to throw a prayer towards the first down marker.
In a stroke of redemption, Deese would atone for his previous drop, boxing out his defender and snatching the ball out of the air for a three yard gain. Walker would finish off the drive with a 20 yard touchdown catch from Love.
On the following drive, Henry would convert multiple third-and-long completions, trudging downfield as Taua would score again to restore the Wolf Pack’s lead.
Not for long.
With the help of a Nevada personal foul on the previous score, SJSU had a shorter field to try and tie it up.
They did it in just over a minute, with Gaither and freshman Andre Crump burning the Wolf Pack defense for 40 and 22-yard gains, respectively.
Senior Dejon Packer would punch the score in.
Two-and-a-half minutes was all Nevada needed to finish off the Spartans for good.
On the backs of Taua and running back Devonte Lee, the Wolf Pack would ram their way to field-goal range for their freshman kicker.
As the clock hit zero Talton kicked the winner SJSU’s comeback fell just short.
Josh Love finished the game with 405 yards, remaining among the passing yardage leaders in the Mountain West conference.
Bailey Gaither led the Spartans with five catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.
The Spartans added on their FBS-leading turnover margin, now standing at 13, despite being without leading tackler Ethan Aguayo, who missed his second straight week with an injury.
The Spartans face San Diego State University at CEFCU Stadium at 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 19.
Follow Jarra on Twitter @JarraGojolo