San Jose State looks to bounce back from another ‘heart ripping’ loss

The heartbreaking losses keep piling up for San Jose State Friday night the Spartans rallied from an eight-point deficit to take a - lead early in the fourth quarter at Utah State and even after falling behind had the ball at midfield on two drives in the final minutes but could not complete the comeback in a - loss It was the fourth one total loss of the season for San Jose State - - Mountain West All of our losses have been like this head coach Ken Niumatalolo disclosed Gut wrenching heart ripping losses San Jose State's Walker Eget drops back to pass during the Spartans' loss - loss at Utah State on Friday night Photo courtesy of San Jose State The Spartans didn t arrive in Logan Utah in optimal position with both NCAA-leading receiver Danny Scudero and quarterback Walker Eget questionable to play because of injuries Eget put up a few solid numbers completing of passes for yards and two touchdown passes But Scudero who came into the championship leading the country with receptions yards receiving and eight touchdowns was held to six catches for yards and required medial attention multiple times during the loss San Jose State was projected to finish third in the Mountain West conference But now the Spartans need to go - in their final five games to become bowl eligible for an unprecedented fourth straight season And things don t get a lot easier Three of San Jose State s final five opponents are at present top five in the Mountain West Hawaii - - San Diego State - - and Fresno State - - San Jose State has a bye this week before returning to action Nov against Hawaii at CEFCU Stadium Here are the biggest takeaways from the loss at Utah State ANOTHER ONE GETS AWAY Friday was the third time in the past four games the Spartans lost despite leading at chosen point in the fourth quarter They were up by in the fourth quarter of the - loss at Stanford and could not protect a -point fourth quarter lead last week in a - loss at Wyoming Against the Aggies the Spartans led - until the Aggies - - MW kicked a -yard field goal with remaining But they still had their chances On their penultimate drive the Spartans stalled at the SJSU when running back Steve Chavez-Soto was stuffed on a fourth-and- After another Aggies field goal made it - the Spartans got the ball back with remaining Despite three false start penalties on the drive the Spartans got as close as the Aggies -yard line before a desperation throw from Eget on fourth-and-two was batted down in the end zone as time expired Our guys are hurting you can t not hurt after a loss like this Niumatalolo revealed We go into the bye week first and foremost to try and get healthy physically Then we have to get ready to strap it on again against a good Hawaii organization Hawaii is exceeding preseason expectations The Warriors were picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West and are off to a - start Despite the tough schedule ahead the Spartans play Hawaii and Fresno State at home Under Niumatalolo the Spartans are - at CEFCU Stadium The Spartans also have history on their side in they started the season - but won six consecutive games to earn a spot in the Hawaii Bowl RUNNING ENCOUNTER AND LELAND SMITH STEP UP Entering the meeting both Eget and Scudero were listed as questionable on the Mountain West Availability Summary But they both played through their injuries Scudero absorbed a few big hits requiring clinical attention on three separate occasions Scudero might be one of the toughest kids I ve been around Niumatalolo reported Eget and Scudero didn t practice all week but those guys came and battled and gave it everything they had San Jose State's Lamar Radcliffe rushed for yards and had a -yard touchdown reception in the Spartans' - loss Friday night at Utah State Photo courtesy of San Jose State Other elements of the Spartans offense stepped up with Scudero less than percent Chavez-Soto set a career-high on rushing yards including a -yard touchdown run He has stepped up in place of Floyd Chalk IV redshirting and Jabari Bates season-ending injury to stamp his spot rotating with Lamar Radcliffe in the Spartans backfield Radcliffe also had a big tournament with a career-high yards on carries They re just absolute tanks Eget commented Those guys really sacrifice everything for the gang Leland Smith set a career-high with receiving yards and snagged a -yard touchdown But once again Smith uncovered himself making an amazing catch that didn t count In the opener against Texas Smith caught a ball against a defender s helmet but was ruled out of bounds when he fell to the ground Against the Aggies Smith caught a ball in the end zone in tight contested coverage but it was ruled his toe hit the line in the end zone Related Articles Late-game issues cost San Jose State in its - loss at Utah State What to know before San Jose State kicks off at Utah State San Jose State might be without star QB and receiver for pivotal match at Utah State San Jose State takeaways All systems collapse in Wyoming after promising start San Jose State blows -point fourth-quarter lead falls - to Wyoming in wild finish It s pretty upsetting that the refs missed another one of his catches but you can t put a lot of blame there Eget noted But it really sucks when a lot of calls don t go your way especially when it comes to these close games DEFENSIVE BREAK DOWNS San Jose State had a season high total yards of offense The Spartans are now - when the offense goes over yards of total offense SJSU had total yards in a - loss to Stanford The defense has struggled closing out games and giving up too multiple big chunk plays A defensive breakdown allowed for a -yard pass conversion on a fourth-and- which led to the Aggies scoring on -yard end around instead of the Spartans leaving the field In the third quarter a blown-coverage led to a -yard receiving touchdown from former Spartan Anthony Garcia It was just chosen communication stuff and missed assignments Niumatalolo noted We can t give up those explosive plays