No. 14 Utah State beats SJSU 62-24 for 9th straight win

No. 14 Utah State beats SJSU 62-24 for 9th straight win

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Jordan Love threw for a career-high 491 yards and five touchdowns on 32-of-42 passing in just three quarters, and No. 14 Utah State totaled 804 yards in offense in a 62-24 win over San Jose State on Saturday.

Love’s 491 passing yards were the third-highest single game total for a Utah State quarterback. Darwin Thompson had 140 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries along with 115 yards and a pair of scores on four receptions for the Aggies.

The Aggies (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West) became just the 17th team in NCAA history to gain at least 800 total yards in a game. The 804 yards and 33 first downs were both school records.

Josh Love threw for 210 yards and a touchdown, along with a pair of interceptions, to lead San Jose State. Tre Walker added a career-high 209 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches for the Spartans (1-9, 1-5).

Utah State shook off a slow start and quickly buried San Jose State under an avalanche of yards and points before halftime. The Aggies piled up 453 total yards and 22 first downs in the first half. Jordan Love passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns before halftime.

The Spartans initially seized a 7-0 lead after capitalizing on a special-teams mistake by the Aggies. Utah State punter Taylor Hintze tried to get off a punt after fielding a low snap. The ball sailed right into the arms of Tre Jenkins at the line of scrimmage, and Jenkins returned the punt 41 yards for a touchdown.

Utah State evened the score on a 42-yard catch by Jordan Nathan that capped off the team’s second drive. Then, in the second quarter, the Aggies took over.

Gerold Bright took a screen pass and raced 24 yards to break a 10-10 tie in the first of four consecutive drives that ended in touchdowns. Jordan Love punched one in on a 1-yard keeper. Bright got his second touchdown on a 29-yard run that Tipa Galeai set up when he tipped a pass to himself for an interception at the Spartans’ 29. Thompson finished it off by hauling in a 7-yard pass from Love to give USU a 38-10 halftime lead.

Love threw his final two touchdown passes in the third quarter — a 37-yard strike to Jalen Greene and an 88-yarder to Thompson — to extend Utah State’s lead to 59-17 with 4:33 left in the quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

San Jose State: A promising start soon faded for the Spartans. San Jose State gave up multiple big plays to allow the Aggies to pull away. There’s plenty of work for coach Brent Brennan to do on both sides of the ball to make the Spartans competitive.

Utah State: Few defenses are equipped to handle Utah State’s speed and efficiency. The Aggies broke one school record after another while racing to another blowout win against a Mountain West foe. Utah State had eight scoring drives that lasted less than three minutes and three that took less than a minute off the clock.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Utah State should continue to climb in the AP Top 25 after a record-setting performance and could finally crack the Top 25 in the CFP Poll on Tuesday. It would position the Aggies for a potential New Year’s Six Bowl if they win out and UCF stumbles.

UP NEXT

San Jose State: Hosts Nevada next Saturday.

Utah State: At Colorado State next Saturday