San Jose State takeaways: Bad offense, curious decision contribute to loss

San Jose State lost to Wyoming 16-13 in a sluggish and gut-wrenching overtime result at CEFCU Stadium.

The Spartans’ performance Friday night revealed a deeper weaknesses this season for SJSU: Questionable coaching decisions, inconsistent offense and an inability to consistently stop the run contributed to the crushing defeat that spoiled the Spartans’ homecoming.

“Right now we’re going to call in all of our coaches and all of our leaders,” coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We got to find a way to move on. This one hurts because, like I said, we had every opportunity to win.”

Here are the takeaways from the loss that dropped San Jose State’s record to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West:

Offensive miscues

After all the previous struggles, the decision that cost the Spartans the game was going for it on fourth-and-one in overtime, tied 13-13. SJSU gave Wyoming the ball, needing a field goal to win in a short-field situation.

Niumatalolo said his belief in offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann factored into the decision.

“I’m in the quarterback meetings every day, and so I trust Craig,” Niumatalolo said. “But yeah, we got to find a way to get more points on the board; we got to block better up front and the whole thing.”

Coming into the game, the Spartans wanted to find offensive consistency. They’ve had a strong rushing attack but have struggling to pass effectively at points this season.

Friday night, SJSU took a step back.

Running back Jabari Bates had his lowest rushing total of the season (69 yards). Quarterback Luke Weaver passed for 251 yards but continued to struggle to get the ball into the end zone.

In the third quarter, SJSU settled for two short field goals, snapping the ball from Wyoming’s 4- and 10-yard lines. If the offense capitalized there, SJSU mostly likely wins in regulation.

It also didn’t help that SJSU’s second-leading receiver, Cooper Hoch, left midway through the third quarter. The wide receiver came into the game questionable.

“He had that long catch, and a guy fell on the back of his leg,” Niumatalolo said. “He tried his best to go back in there and battle, which kind of tells you who that kid is.”

Defensive performance

Through three quarters, SJSU’s defense had one of its strongest performances of the season, allowing just six points.

But the Spartans’ offensive inability to sustain drives led Wyoming to double SJSU’s time of possession. Wyoming had the ball for 37:42 while SJSU had possession for 22:18.

“Obviously, it’s tiring; it’s a lot mentally just to stay locked in, but I feel like my body held up fine,” SJSU linebacker Dylan Lee said. “I wasn’t that fatigued at the end of the game. It’s just some little things in there that we got to clean up; maybe we get on the field less.”

Despite losing the time of possession, SJSU’s defensive front had strong moments, finishing with six sacks and eight tackles for loss.

The pressure didn’t prevent SJSU from stopping Wyoming’s aggressive rushing attack. Quarterback Tyler Hughes finished with a career-high 92 rushing yards. Running backs Markell Holman and Samuel Harris each ran for more than 60 yards.

This factored in SJSU’s struggles to get off the field on third or fourth down and losing time of possession.

And, ultimately, the game.