San Jose State defeat Mustangs at home 34-23

After a 34-23 loss Saturday to San Jose State in Gerald J. Ford Stadium, SMU dropped to 0-6, 0-2 in the conference. What could have been written off as a bad start now has to be classified as a bad season.

The Mustangs returned to Ford Stadium after three straight road games. SMU drew its smallest crowd of the season. The poor turnout did not prevent the Mustangs from rolling to an early lead behind junior tailback Keylon Kincade and senior fullback Kris Briggs.

SMU took a 20-7 lead when Trent Stephenson capped an 8-play, 44-yard drive late in the second quarter. SMU took the lead into the break, having out-gained the Spartans in total yardage, 233 to 133, with 189 rushing yards.

Head coach Phil Bennett felt that the Mustangs played the first half as planned. His team dominated time of possession, which Bennett thought was the key to stopping the San Jose State offense.

“We kept the ball away from them,” Bennett said. “It’s hard to score when you don’t have the ball.”

SMU began a trend of surrendering points after halftime. A 75-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Charles Pauley started the avalanche that would eventually bury the Mustangs. SMU has surrendered big second half plays often this season, and they have seemed to demoralize the team’s spirit.

“I think it’s obvious that we’re a fragile football team,” Bennett said. “We have trouble finishing. I’m never going to blame the players – that’s my job. I did a poor job finishing.”

SMU answered with a 30-yard field goal, which would be its last points of the contest.

With 1:19 left in the third quarter and SMU leading 23-14, the Mustangs made a play that would have all but sealed the game in their favor.

San Jose State quarterback Scott Rislov was hit and the ball came out. SMU scooped up the ball and ran in a go-ahead touchdown. Officials, however, ruled the play an incomplete pass and intentional grounding. The Spartans went on to score a touchdown in the same drive, moving to within two points, 23-21.

SMU failed to take care of the ball in critical moments. The Mustangs’ fourth fumble of the game came late in the third quarter when Briggs lost possession of the football at mid-field. The Spartans recovered and with 11:14 left in the fourth quarter, connected on a touchdown and gained their first lead of the game.

On the ensuing possession, SMU drove to the San Jose State 15-yard line but lost 11 yards on the next three plays. On fourth down, Bennett elected to go for it. Wallis’ throw to senior receiver Cody Cardwell fell incomplete in the end zone.

Wallis finished the game having rushed 11 times for 49 yards and completed 6 of 17 passes for only 70 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The interception came when SMU had its final opportunity with about three minutes left in the game. On the first play from scrimmage, Wallis tried to throw a quick out to his receiver, but Bennett said the ball was “only five feet high.” The defensive end made the interception and took it 33 yards for a touchdown and the final score of 34-23.

“I really believed we were going to drive down the field and score to win the game,” said Bennett. “Tate released the ball the too low. He threw it head-high.”

Bennett has criticized Wallis’ game-time breakdowns in his throwing technique. The last drive saw freshman quarterback Richard Bartel into the game for the first time this season.

Bennett never seriously thought about going with Bartel until the game’s closing because the Mustangs were ahead. While he admits to getting away from the running game, his decision to stay with Wallis is one that may be harder to make next game.

“I don’t feel that Richard Bartel has done the things in practice, so I feel uncomfortable playing him,” Bennett said. “From that standpoint, Tate has earned the position.”

SMU’s four fumbles and crucial interception put San Jose State in position to knock off the hopeful Mustangs. SMU outplayed the Spartans two and a half quarters. Kincade tallied 30 carries for 121 yards and one touchdown. Briggs ran 18 times for 99 yards. The potent tandem was not able to prevent the team’s second half collapse, only gaining a combined 47 yards after halftime.

“We pretty much gave them the game,” senior linebacker Vic Viloria said. “A good team is going to learn how to finish teams. We came out tonight, and we gave up big plays, we turned over the ball. We’ve got to learn how to win. We’ve got to learn how to close teams out and put them away.”

SMU will again travel for its next game against Fresno State. The Bulldogs are 3-3, 2-0 in the conference and coming off a 32-30 win over No. 25 Colorado State. The Mustangs hope to find their first win of the season buried under the sod at Bulldog Stadium.

Bennett is slowly opening up to the possibility of changing his rotation, specifically the quarterback position.

“If it gets to the point that we can’t win, we may have to look at other people to see if they are possible ‘gamers,'” Bennett said. “I’m not much on the term ‘gamer,’ but I’m fixing to find out.”

The Mustangs will battle against Fresno State University 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 at Fresno State. Bennett and team will be trying for its first win against a team that beat, previously ranked Colorado State University, 32-30.

San Jose State defeat Mustangs at home 34-23

San Jose State defeat Mustangs at home 34-23