The San Jose State football team’s undefeated season is no more after Ball State University dominated the Arizona Bowl 34-13 Thursday morning at Arizona Stadium.
The Cardinals (7-1, 5-1 MAC) not only won their first bowl game in program history, but snapped a four bowl game win streak for the Spartans (7-1, 6-0 MWC) dating back to 1990.
No. 19 AP ranked SJSU was outscored 27-0 in the first half as Ball State jumped ahead and never looked back.
“There's a lot of disappointment in our locker room right now with our players and our coaching staff,” head coach Brent Brennan said in a Zoom postgame conference. “We just let them get out too far and we couldn't make it up. Just too many mistakes to overcome against a good team like this.”
The Spartans came into the game shorthanded as five starters and both the offensive and defensive coordinators were named unavailable before kickoff, according to SJSU Athletics.
Most notably of those not playing was defensive lineman Cade Hall, who won the 2020 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
When asked about why those players and coaches were listed as “unavailable,” Lawrence Fan, associate athletics director for football communications and special projects, said he couldn’t get into specifics.
“I don't regret bringing the team back home [for Christmas] because that was the best thing to do for our players,” Brennan said.
The Spartans also lost another starter as tight end Derrick Deese Jr. was sidelined for the rest of the game after a hard tackle in the first quarter had him land on his head.
With many of the core players that contributed to the undefeated season gone, SJSU looked like a different team.
As the Spartans tried to overcome the holes in the team, their own mistakes and turnovers throughout the game sunk them into a bigger hole.
Whether it be quarterback Nick Starkel throwing 3 interceptions in the game, kicker Matt Mercurio missing field goals or receivers dropping passes, the Spartans couldn’t catch a break.
The only two scoring plays for SJSU came in in the second half. Cornerback Charlie Bostic lll returned a punt 99 yards and Starkel connected with receiver Jermaine Braddock for an 8 yard touchdown.
“You know, the turnovers [and] the interceptions that's part of this game,” Starkel said in the Zoom postgame conference. “I gotta take full responsibility. When I have that ball in my hand i’m the one responsible for it.”
A silver lining for the Spartans was the defense holding Ball State to one touchdown after the first quarter.
Safety Jay Lenard led the Spartans with 12 tackles and a forced fumble. Linebackers Tysyn Parker and Kyle Harmon each had 7 tackles, while defensive lineman E.J. Ane and cornerback Nehemiah Shelton each recovered a fumble.
“It’s next man up,” Harmon said in the Zoom postgame conference. “[With] the players we had today we just didn’t get it done.”
SJSU finished its historic 2020 season with a 7-1 record and its first Mountain West Championship as the team looks to come back next season even better.
“I guarantee you we will be a force to reckon with next year and everyone is really excited with the progress,” Harmon said.
