San Jose State faces an uphill challenge in its quest to repeat as Mountain West champion.
A month-long road trip continued on a windy Saturday night in Honolulu with an uneven performance that resulted in a dramatic 17-13 victory at Hawaii to claim the third-annual Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy.
In the end, the Spartans (2-1, 1-0 Mountain West) needed a defensive stop as time ran out to seal a ninth consecutive conference win.
“We love the challenge, we love the climb,” said linebacker Nico Tolefree, who recovered a key fumble in the fourth quarter. “We tell ourselves every day the target is on our back and we love embracing that attitude. We went from being underdogs to being on top. … We love chasing another one and today was the first step.”
San Jose State’s offense, which was held scoreless in the first and third quarters while facing 20-plus miles-per-hour headwind gusts, found the end zone twice before halftime during a span of 3 minutes, 3 seconds.
That proved to be enough points on a night in which graduate transfer Will Grant – 11 punts, 489 yards – easily outgained the offense, which couldn’t muster 300 yards from scrimmage on 77 snaps.
“When you look at it, it was messy,” San Jose State coach Brent Brennan said. “And that’s coming off a bye and the long trip and all that stuff, but I couldn’t be happier for this team. For me, selfishly, having the Dick Tomey Trophy for another year makes me smile because I loved him and I miss him. So it’s pretty cool.”
Here are five takeaways that defined the conference opener for the Spartans:
MOTHER NATURE
Hawaii (1-3, 0-1) hosted the game at its newly-renovated on-campus facility, the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex, without any fans in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions – though the band still played on from the stands.
During Friday’s walk-through, it was evident wind would play a role.
“Having never played here, we didn’t know what it was going to be,” Brennan said. “Props to Hawaii, they found a way to build a pretty cool stadium on campus. But the wind was absolutely tricky.”
San Jose State quarterback Nick Starkel failed to complete half of his passes, finishing 23 of 50 for 235 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception.
Accuracy was certainly an issue.
“The conditions were definitely tough,” Starkel said. “The whole night, it was a constant battle. Hawaii did a good job making us throw the football into the wind and that’s something that we’ve got to be better at – and we know that.”
NEXT MAN UP
It didn’t help that San Jose State running back Tyler Nevens was unavailable, along with wide receiver Terence Loville and tight end Sam Olson for undisclosed reasons. Tight end Derrick Deese Jr. left the first quarter with an injury and didn’t return.
“It was a hard-fought win and I love how many different players showed up for us in this game in different ways,” Brennan said.
The Spartans turned to a couple of De La Salle graduates to fill Nevens’ void.
Kyree Robinson gained 55 yards on 21 carries, contributing three catches for 34 yards. Also, Shamar Garrett continued to handle kickoff and punt-return duties to go along with 27 yards from scrimmage on seven touches.
“Shamar Garrett is one of our best football players, so we’re just trying to find ways to get him on the field and put the ball in his hands,” Brennan said.
Meanwhile, backup quarterback Nick Nash relished a new role at wide receiver. He was targeted nine times and caught two balls for 18 yards.
“The addition of Nick Nash in the receiver room was huge,” Starkel said. “That happened in the dark over the bye week and I think he really made an impact today. I know personally, I live with him, he’s going to say he didn’t play to the standard. But for the first game ever playing receiver with one week of preparation I was really proud of what he put out there on film.
“And I’m proud of how this team is going and guys are stepping up.”
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Nash took a pitch on a fake reverse for a would-be 51-yard touchdown that was dropped just shy of the goal line.
“I think Nick is going to continue to be a Swiss-army knife for us,” Brennan said. “He has the ability to change the game with a single touch and he also throws it pretty well, too.”
MOMENTUM SHIFTS
San Jose State found the end zone in its first five possessions of the season. Over the next seven quarters, it only managed to do the same twice.
The Spartans turned the tide after a blocked punt by Robinson midway through the second quarter led to a 13-yard TD catch by Isaiah Hamilton.
On the ensuing possession, San Jose State forced a three-and-out, with Starkel almost immediately connecting on a 46-yard pass to tight end Dominick Mazotti just shy of the goal line originally ruled a fumble but possibly looked like a touchdown.
Instead of waiting for a replay review to confirm if it was a score, Starkel took a quick snap that caught Hawaii off guard and Jermaine Braddock was uncovered for a 1-yard TD with 2:23 left in the first half, as the Spartans took a 14-7 lead into the locker room.
“Because the potential for a bad play was even scarier because it’s a turnover, we just wanted to get a play run,” Brennan said. “And Nick just very alertly dealt the ball outside to Braddock.”
The Spartans added insurance points with 1:19 left in the game on a 21-yard field goal by Matt Mercurio, the product of a fumble recovery by Rico Tolefree moments earlier just outside the red zone.
“We were just beyond hyped,” Tolefree said. “We were rolling all night. We knew that this was a game that we had to step up. The wind was blowing everywhere and it was one of those grind-it-out games.”
He added: “And when that play happened, it was just ecstatic on the sidelines. We knew that we gave ourselves the best chance at the win right there.”
DIFFERENT TIMES
The previous six meetings in this rivalry lit up the scoreboard to the tune of at least 51 points, with Hawaii eeking out a 13-0 shutout in 2014.
Two years ago, in a 42-40 win by Hawaii at Aloha Stadium, neither team punted – a first for an NCAA Division I FBS contest.
Last year, it was a total of three punts.
This time around San Jose State punted on its first five possessions, while Hawaii punted on five straight drives in the first half before missing a 48-yard field goal as time expired before intermission.
DIFFERENT TIME ZONE
The month-long road trip for the Spartans continues next Saturday at Western Michigan. Kickoff against the Broncos (2-1), who are coming off a 44-41 triumph at Pitt, is scheduled for 11 a.m. PST.
“We’re going to approach it the same way we did this week,” Starkel said. “So we’re going to go out there a day early, we’re going to get acclimated to the time zone. We’re really doing everything that we can to ready ourselves and make sure that our bodies are ready for this next week.”
San Jose State co-captain Kyle Harmon, who led the Spartans with six tackles in the first half, was ejected for a questionable targeting call with 14:21 left in the fourth quarter and will miss the first half of next week’s game.
