College football: San Jose State edged by Nevada

Unaware that the ball was set to be snapped, starting quarterback Josh Love was shocked when it ricocheted off of his arm and 19 yards behind him on the first play of the night.

Unbenounced to Love, the uncharacteristic miscue would be a theme for the San Jose State Spartans, on Saturday.

Despite a late-game comeback bid to overcome an early 21-point deficit, two additional turnovers proved to be too costly as the Spartans (4-3, 1-2 Mountain West) who fell 41-38 to the hosting Nevada Wolf Pack at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nevada.

“It’s just a really tough way to lose a game on the road,” coach Brent Brennan said after the game. “None of ya should feel good about what happened because we had a chance to win the game and we didn’t.”

Along with that, here are three takeaways from San Jose State’s 10th loss to Nevada in 11 games.

Sloppy start, turnovers prove costly

The Spartans landed in Reno this weekend as the No. 1 team in turnover differential this season, plus-11 with 15 takeaways to just four of their own turnovers.

Typically responsible with the ball in their hands, San Jose State increased their own turnover total by 50 percent, coughing up the rock twice against Nevada.

While the opening snap was not converted into a Spartans’ turnover thanks to Love’s quick action to jump on the snap gone awry, the need to catch up led to the senior quarterback’s second interception of the season.

After the Wolf Pack drove 66 yards on six plays to give themselves a 7-0 lead with 10:17 to play in the first, Love tried to get San Jose State’s offense going by throwing to his junior tight end Billy Bob Humphryes.

Unfortunately for Love, he was baited into throwing into quadruple coverage, only to be picked off by Nevada defensive back Austin Arnold, who took the pick back for six points.

“That’s my fault, I wasn’t making the plays I need to make,” Love said. “I wasn’t making the line calls and changes I needed to make.”

Down by 14 points early, San Jose State’s deficit grew to 21 after the Wolf Pack scored an additional 10 points following a Spartans 44-yard field goal from Matt Mercurio.

Reeling themselves back into the game by outsourcing Nevada 21-7 in the last minutes of the second quarter through the third, San Jose State found themselves down by just seven points at the beginning of the fourth when Nevada was forced to punt.

Ready to get the ball back with the momentum on their side, San Jose State attempted to field a funky punt from the Wolf Pack when another turnover reared its ugly head.

Hitting a Spartan helmet, San Jose State muffed the kick, allowing the Wolf Pack to recover the ball on the SJSU 45 yard line.

While Nevada ultimately fumbled the ball on the goal line, giving the ball back to the Spartans, the loss of the possession prevented San Jose State from tying the game until seven minutes later.

Giving away the ball there also allowed put the ball in Nevada’s hands in the final minutes of the game, leading to its 40-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired.

Resilient effort by the Spartans’ offense

In the first half, San Jose State’s offense was forced to punt on five of their seven possessions thanks to an inept running game forcing Josh Love to throw while playing catchup to clicking Nevada squad.

Down 24-3 late in the second quarter, the Spartans began to find traction, driving 61 yards on three plays as Love connected with wide receiver isaiah Hamilton for a 37-yard score to close the half.

“I think it was good just because it gave us a boost before half time,” Brennan said. “There was so not-so-good-looking football from us … I thought coming out of the half we played good football.”

And so began a comeback bid for San Jose State, which was led by a Spartans offense, which posted 67 percent of its yardage in the second half.

After the Wolf Pack came out of the break roaring with a 75-yard bomb from quarterback Malik Henry to wide receiver Romeo Doubs for a touchdown, San Jose State responded with a two-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 60-yard score from Spartans wide-out Bailey Gaither.

With 258 yards on 15 receptions heading into Reno, Gaither led the Spartans in yards per catch (17.2) through six games. With five more catches for a game-high 130 yards on Saturday, Gaither’s yard per catch average jumped to 19.4.

As the Spartans’ defense began to squeeze mistakes out of the Wolf Pack, forcing a third quarter interception and a fourth quarter fumble, San Jose State’s offense was able to score 28 points in total during the second half. This toal comes as their largest this season.

“I love the fight in our team,” Love said. “We made plays when we needed to.”

Those 28 points would not be enough, however, as Nevada was able to score 17 points of their own, including the 40-yard game winning field goal by Wolf Pack kicker Brandon Talton.

“We didn’t fold. We dug in and made it a real fight,” Brennan said. “I think it’s a sign that we have real good men on our team and they like to play and they’re going to fight their tails off no matter what the situation is.”

Running game flops, Nick Nash Hurt

The Spartans running game has been disappointing, at best, this season.

In fact, over the course of their last three games, San Jose State has averaged 55 yards on the ground. This includes a mere 15-yard performance on Saturday.

While the Spartans were able to find the end zone on the ground twice, averaging 0.93 yards per touch was less than ideal.

“[Our running game has] been an issue for us and we have to figure that out,” Brennan said. “As a coaching staff we are not doing a good job finding a way to run the football.”

Hit with two tackles for loss and countless runs for no gain, the Spartans were smothered by a Wolf Pack defense who brought pressure early and often.

Clogging running holes and stifling ball carriers, Nevada held San Jose State to their lowest running total since 2018 when SJSU ran for just nine yards against Washington State.

This, along with the fact that San Jose State was playing from behind for most of the afternoon, was a big reason why the Spartans all but abandoned the running game all together in the second half.

The lone bright spot of the Spartans rushing game on Saturday was backup quarterback Nick Nash, who led the team in rushing with 232 yards before Nevada.

Leading SJSU again on the ground with 23 yards on three carries, Nash suffered a lower body injury in the early minutes of Saturday’s game.

In an attempt to spin out of a tackle to gain a few more yards on 1st-and-10 with 5:33 to play in the first quarter, Nash was laid out by a pair of Nevada defensive linemen. Unable to put weight on the injured leg, Nahs was forced to be carried off the field by San Jose State’s medical staff.

As a true freshman, Nash has been weapon for San Jose State’s offense. Posing a threat as both a passer and runner, Nash’ lanky 6-foot-1, 184-pound frame has given opposing defense fits. This was evident during a 22-yard gain one play before Nash was mowed down.

Unable to disclose what the specific injury is or what a timetable may be for his recovery, Nash’s status moving forward is unknown.

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