RENO, Nev. — After battling back from a 21-point deficit, San Jose State tied the game at 38 with less than
3 minutes remaining.
After a seven-play drive, the game clock ticked down to three seconds when Nevada sent out its field-goal unit for a 40-yard try to win
the contest.
Wolf Pack freshman kicker Brandon Talton split the uprights as time expired, adding to his perfect field goal streak and cementing the Wolf Pack win against the Spartans, 41-38.
The Spartans dug themselves into a hole early in the game. In the first 10 minutes, Nevada scored a touchdown, capping off its first drive. Less than a minute later, Wolf Pack junior defensive back Austin Arnold intercepted Spartan senior quarterback Josh Love and returned the ball 40 yards to the end zone, increasing Nevada’s lead to 14.
“I wasn’t sometimes on the same page as the whole line,” Love said after the game. “I had some throws I could have made in the first half, that got away from me and I should have made them.”
The first half ended with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Love to freshman wide receiver Isaiah Hamilton, closing what was a 21-point gap to 14 as the Spartans trailed 24-10.
“We’ve been in this situation before . . . We knew we were capable of getting points, but we just had to go back out there, execute and be calm,” junior linebacker Tysyn Parker said.
Both teams exchanged touchdowns at the start of the second half. First came a 75-yard touchdown strike from Nevada quarterback Malik Henry to receiver Romeo Doubs.
SJSU answered 35 seconds later with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Love to senior wide receiver Bailey Gaither, bringing the score to 31-17.
Capitalizing on Nevada quarterback Henry’s second interception, San Jose State scored two possessions later.
Senior running back DeJon Packer bulldozed into the end zone to score a touchdown with six minutes and nine seconds to play in the
third quarter.
With Packer’s score, the Spartans crawled within seven points after outscoring Nevada 21-7 between the final 27 seconds of the second quarter and end of the third.
Six minutes and 40 seconds into the fourth, SJSU finally drew even with the Wolf Pack as junior wide receiver Tre Walker made an acrobatic leap above the goal line in between a flurry of three defenders colliding into each other. He hauled in a 20-yard pass and fell into the end zone to tie the game 31-31.
The touchdown capped off a 10-play, 80-yard drive, marking the first time the game was tied since its start.
In the final 4 minutes of play, the teams again exchanged touchdowns on back-to-back drives leading to the game-winning field goal by Talton, nixing the Spartans’ comeback bid.
“It’s an unreal feeling, it’s hard to explain,” Nevada kicker Talton said.
The true freshman improved to 12 for 12 on the season in field goals.
“There’s some guys that had some great individual performances, I am really proud of some of the plays those guys made and how we fought back,” Spartan head coach Brent Brennan said. “I am disappointed that we didn’t finish it.”
Love had another strong outing with 405 passing yards, but SJSU struggled rushing the ball with 15 total yards.
In Nevada’s case, it found much more success in the run game as sophomore running back Toa Taua ran for a total of 170 yards and one touchdown.
“Obviously that’s been an issue for us and we have to figure that out,” Brennan said in reference to his team’s rushing attack.
The Spartans have not won on the road in Reno since 2000 and were hopeful to change that storyline heading into the weekend, but now they will have to wait a few years to try again.
SJSU will travel back home to host San Diego State Saturday at CEFCU Stadium for homecoming.
The Spartans continue to lead the NCAA in turnover margin at plus-12, but the Aztecs are right behind them with plus-10, tied for second in the country.
