By BJ Querubin – Staff Writer
Every (under)dog has its day.
This day, the UNLV Rebels (3-8, 1-6 MW) upset the San Jose State Spartans (4-7, 1-6 MW) 38-35 to notch their first conference win and snap their four-game slump.
Even as seven-point favorites, the Spartan offense had to be spectacular in order to stay in this game, and spectacular they were.
However, more of the same seems to occur to this Spartan ball club — playing up or down to their level of competition, the offense having to make up for the defense’s miscues and always walking off the field empty-handed.
Here are three things we learned about SJSU’s football team in Saturday’s exciting conference bout:
Spartans defense continues to collapse
Despite the Spartans being one of six teams tied for second in the nation in turnover margin, their defense has let them down for the third week in a row.
The Spartan defense against the run is atrocious, and it costs the team winnable games if they could string together one stop in the fourth quarter.
The man SJSU did not have an answer for was junior running back Charles Williams, who had an incredible 186 yards on 27 carries along with three touchdowns — one of the three scores came late in the final 1:15 to win the game.
Another Rebel the Spartans couldn’t cover was sophomore wideout Randal Grimes, who gashed their defense for 130 yards and a touchdown on only six receptions.
Even though Grimes had an outstanding game, he was alone in his efforts. SJSU’s pass defense played a good game, holding freshman quarterback Kenyon Oblad to only 203 yards and picking him off once.
Resiliency is the recipe
In a game where the Spartans dug themselves in 21-6 hole in the first half, the offense scratched and clawed themselves back into a position to win.
In the third quarter, the Spartan offense rallied with a 22-point explosion and the defense held UNLV to three points to take a 28-24 lead, their first of the game.
6 of those 22 points came from a player you wouldn’t expect.
Junior left tackle Jack Snyder broke away and snuck into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown run. Who says linemen can’t score?
Despite veteran quarterback Josh Love starting the game by throwing three picks, he would try to redeem himself in the second half.
Amidst a last-minute comeback after being down 38-35, the Spartans were in a great position to take the lead or tie the game after Love made an 80-yard completion to Tre Walker.
That’s when the unthinkable would happen.
After marching all the way down to the five-yard line, Love threw his fourth interception on a tipped pass that would end the Spartans’ final road game in a loss.
Although this game didn’t end the way he wanted, Love still finished the game with 465 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Bye-bye bowl eligibility
SJSU needed to win Saturday’s game in order to potentially reach a .500 record and make a case for a bowl game after the season.
Of all the heartbreaking losses, the Spartans have suffered, this one hurts the most, especially when their bowl aspirations were all but 15 feet in front of them.
The final play from SJSU’s offense was a summary of the season in a nutshell—coming so close, but never finishing.
The Spartans’ last hope is to regroup and come back home in a heated rivalry game against Fresno State.
Follow BJ on Twitter @BeeJayCue