A rough start led to a bitter loss at San Jose State football’s homecoming game, with San Diego State scoring a touchdown immediately after the kickoff, setting the stage for its 27–17 victory for the Aztecs Saturday at CEFCU Stadium.

San Diego State running back Kaegun Williams slipped through the Spartan defense and returned the opening kickoff, which the Spartans had not allowed since 2009.

Head coach Brent Brennan said the Spartans hit the ball into the wrong place and did not adjust in time to stop Williams’ run.

“They thoroughly, thoroughly whooped us in the kicking game and it impacted the game tremendously,” Brennan said.

Although the Spartans bounced back with their own touchdown in the first quarter, SJSU’s defense was not enough to stop the Aztecs’ advances and its offense could not match San Diego State’s.

Sophomore defensive lineman Cade Hall said the Spartans could not maintain high morale after a resilient response in the first quarter.

“We have moments where the energy is up and we played like it,” Hall said. “It is just a matter of keeping it consistent.”

Less than two minutes after the Aztecs’ opening touchdown, Spartan freshman running back Kairee Robinson tied up the score with a touchdown, the first of his college career.

“Just being able to make a play for my team is the best feeling ever,” Robinson said. He also said that the rest of the game did not go how the Spartans hoped.

Coach Brennan singled out Robinson as a shining example of improvement in the Spartans’ offense.

 “It’s exciting to see a freshman go in there and run the football against a group like that,” Brennan said.

After a strong offensive opening, Spartan senior quarterback Josh Love lost precision and confidence in the last few minutes of the first quarter, getting sacked and throwing incomplete passes that sailed over receivers heads.

A combination of good defensive coverage from San Diego State and pressure on Love kept him from focusing and cutting loose, coach Brennan said.

“We gotta protect, I gotta make the right moves and we gotta catch the football and we gotta do our job,” Love said.

The only thing that kept the game competitive were some equally wild passes from Aztecs quarterback Ryan Agnew.

Although Agnew did throw several incomplete passes throughout the game, the Spartans were not able to capitalize on those opportunities and turn them into turnovers.

The Spartans didn’t intercept any passes but San Diego State linebacker Caden McDonald caught a pass from Love in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, cutting SJSU’s last chance to catch up short.

Coach Brennan explained the Spartans’ lack of interceptions by citing the Aztecs’ high turnover margin.

“They are not going to give those opportunities away,” Brennan said.

The Spartans did appear to secure one turnover late in the third quarter – or so they thought.

Officials ruled that a muffed punt that bounced off of a San Diego State player at the Aztecs 37-yard line was negated because he was blocked into the ball. 

The decision infuriated Brennan and the rest of the Spartans sideline as the head coach punched the air and screamed towards the field in anger. 

After the game, Love said he was not sure what happened or what the referees saw.

“That was ridiculous,” he said.

San Diego State running back Juwan Washington scored a touchdown with less than 5 minutes left in the third quarter, bringing the score to 20–10.

Washington’s score concluded a 20-play drive from San Diego State, the longest drive of any Football Bowl Subdivision team
this season.

Brennan recognized how hard it was for the team to defend for such a long drive.

“Obviously, they get fatigued because they’re on the field for too long,” Brennan said.

The team needs to look in the mirror, Love said, and practice hard before its game at Army on Saturday.