The San José State football team finished out the regular season on a six-game winning streak as the Spartans defeated the University of Nevada, Las Vegas 37-31 on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
UNLV (9-3, 6-2 MWC) came into Saturday as the No. 1 team in the conference and had the highest scoring offense in the Mountain West, but could not contain SJSU’s rushing attack.
Senior running back Kairee Robinson rushed for 165 yards on 16 carries and scored 2 touchdowns. Junior running back Quali Conley added 64 yards.
“There was a time when San José State wasn’t playing meaningful games in November, but now we are,” SJSU head coach Brent Brennan said. “I’m so proud of this team and this coaching staff.”
On the third play of the game, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro found junior tight end Sam Olson for a 56-yard touchdown to give SJSU an early 7-0 lead.
Cordeiro finished completing 19-of-26 passes for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Spartans took a 17-0 lead after Robinson rushed in for a 25-yard touchdown. SJSU led 20-10 going into halftime.
The Spartans took their largest lead of the game in the second half when Robinson scored his second touchdown of the game, this time on a 40-yard run down the left sideline that gave SJSU a 37-17 lead.
The score also gave Robinson the SJSU all-time single-season touchdown record as he scored his 20th touchdown of the season.
The Rebels nearly came back from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Freshman quarterback Jayden Maiava threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Corey Thompson Jr. that cut the SJSU lead to 37-31 with just over a minute left in the game.
The Spartans recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to seal the win.
“I’m just super proud of my guys,” Robinson said. “Just being able to get back to the basics of what we’ve been doing each and every week has been great. And to go from 1-5 to where we are now, you can see the results now.”
The Spartans will look for their first bowl game victory since the 2012 Military Bowl when they beat Bowling Green State University 29-20. Their opponent will be announced on Sunday.
