Las Vegas, NV —If you were looking for a barn burner this was the game to witnessed, San Jose State held off a late comeback attempt for a 37-31 victory at Allegiant Stadium.
San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro threw two touchdown passes; Kairee Robinson ran for two touchdowns for the victory. The Spartans won its sixth straight game and earned a share of the Mountain West Conference title by beating the Runnin Rebels on Saturday.
The Spartans took control early, utilizing Cordeiro’s 56-yard scoring pass to Sam Olson on the fourth play from scrimmage to take the early lead. Jacob De Jesus fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Spartans’ Jay’Vion Cole recovered the ball at the UNLV 23-yard line. That led to a 25-yard field goal by Kyler Halvorsen.
The Rebels (9-3, 6-2) had already clinched a piece of its first conference title, but the loss leaves UNLV, San Jose State (7-5, 6-2) and Boise State (7-5, 6-2) in a three-way tie for first place. The computer computations will determine which two teams will play in the conference championship game.
Cordeiro completed 19 of 26 passes for 249 yards for the Spartans and he was throwing dimes all over the turf. Robinson finished with 165 yards on 16 carries. Wide-out Nick Nash had three catches for 98 yards.
Thomas punched it from the 3-yard run trim UNLV’s lead to three points early in the third quarter. Cordeiro marched his troops for a 3-yard touchdown toss to Isaac Jernagin. Halvorsen kicked his third field goal of the day and SJSU took a 30-17 lead into the final frame of the game.
San Jose State’s offense is spearheaded by senior back Kairee Robinson, who is on the verge of a 1,000-yard season (959 yards) while averaging a 6.8 yards per attempt. He’s also got 16 touchdowns on the ground and two more receiving, making him an all-around weapon out of the backfield.
Robinson’s 40-yard touchdown run with 11:27 left to play in the contest gave the SJSU a three-score lead. The Rebels answered with Thomas’ 2-yard scoring run and Jayden Maiava’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Corey Thompson Jr. to get within 37-31 with 1:27 remaining.
Maiava totaled 229 yards on 19-of-29 passing for the Rebels. Running back Vincent Davis Jr. ran the ball nine times for 88 yards. Ricky White caught five passes for 111 yards.
