Courtesy Photo of SJSU Athletics
The San José State football team came up short in its first road conference game, falling to the University of Wyoming 35-28 on Saturday night.
The Spartans now fall to 2-4 with the loss, while the Cowboys improve to 3-3. SJSU remains winless on the road.
It marks Wyoming’s first win over San José State since 2018, snapping a three-game losing streak against the Spartans.
Cowboys’ junior running back Terron Kellman secured the win with a 28-yard rushing touchdown, giving the team its first lead of the game with 40 seconds remaining.
The Cowboys put together a 21-point run in the fourth quarter.
San José State got off to a strong start, leading 28-14 heading into the fourth quarter thanks to sophomore wide receiver Danny Scudero’s career performance.
Scudero finished with 10 receptions for 180 yards and four touchdowns, setting a new program record for the most in a single game by an SJSU player.
All four of Scudero’s touchdowns came in the first half, with his final score, a two-yard catch set up by a 98-yard kickoff return from junior wide receiver Jahari Johnson.
SJSU head coach Ken Niumatalolo called the game a team loss and acknowledged his role in the outcome.
“It’s a tough one, that’s a hard loss, we got to play better, I got to coach better, we got to finish the game better, we had some foolish penalties and we got to take care of the ball,” Niumatalolo said. “Tip your hats to those guys, but in my mind we should have closed the game out way earlier than that.”
The Spartans had two turnovers while the Cowboys had three. However, San José State lost starting quarterback Walker Eget to a left shoulder injury in the third quarter.
Eget later returned for the Spartans’ final drive of the game, though his shoulder still appeared to be bothering him.
He finished the game completing 23 of 37 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, the most he has thrown for in a single game this season. It also marked Eget’s fourth straight game without an interception after throwing three across his first two games.
“Just got to be able to execute better as a team, couple penalties that hurt us, some that we can agree that were unfortunately uncontrollable, the refs see things that we don’t sometimes,” Eget said.
The Spartans had 10 total penalties that cost them 80 yards, while the Cowboys had six penalties for 60 yards.
SJSU also saw minutes from quarterback Xavier Ward for the first time this season.
However, he and the Spartans struggled after Eget went down.
Ward went 3 for 10 for 15 yards and threw one interception, which was a pick-six by senior linebacker Brayden Johnson.
SJSU freshman quarterback Tama Amisone also split snaps with Ward, attempting his first collegiate passes and finishing 5 for 8 for 30 yards.
The Spartans also experienced a familiar sight: missed field goals.
Sophomore kicker Mathias Brown, who replaced senior kicker Denis Lynch, attempted his first two field goals and went 0 for 2.
SJSU is now 4 for 12 on field goals this season but remains perfect on extra points at 18 for 18.
Despite allowing 35 points, the second-most this season, the defense still forced two interceptions for the second straight game.
Senior linebacker Taniela Latu recorded the first interception of his career, while senior defensive back Jalen Bainer added another after collecting two last week.
“It was a bit of a pre-snap communication between me and the safety. I just saw the play and was ready, and I was able to capitalize,” Bainer said.“He’s (Latu) a playmaker. It was a big-time stop when we needed to get the ball back, get it into our offense’s hands. That was a great play by Latu.”
The Spartans are scheduled to close out their two-game road trip on Friday facing Utah State at 6 p.m. at Maverik Stadium.