San Jose State takeaways: All systems collapse in Wyoming after promising start

With San Jose State leading - at halftime Saturday at Wyoming s War Memorial Stadium everything seemed to be moving in the Spartans favor Wide receiver Danny Scudero had yards and four touchdowns in the first half latest a school record for greater part receiving touchdowns in a single match However after Scudero trotted across the goal line early in the second quarter for a two-yard touchdown his fourth of the day to give San Jose State a -point lead the Spartans were shut out for the rest of the encounter Wyoming - - Mountain West defeated SJSU - outscoring the Spartans - in the fourth quarter We had every opportunity to close out that battle and we didn t head coach Ken Niumatalolo stated We got to play better and I have to coach better That s a tough hard loss Almost everything went wrong for the final minutes of the event after such a promising start to the meeting for the Spartans - - Here are the biggest takeaways from the match THE DO-OVER DOWN The most of pivotal play in terms of momentum came when San Jose State faced a fourth-and- on the Wyoming with just over minutes left in the tournament Quarterback Xavier Ward who was filling in for the injured Walker Eget connected with wide receiver Matthew Coleman for a first down SJSU led - and this would have allowed the Spartans to continue a drive deep into Wyoming territory But the Spartans had a substitution enter the field late in the play clock failing to allow Wyoming the required time to substitute in response The authorities disallowed the reception and called for a do-over Facing the same fourth-and- again Ward s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage intercepted by Cowboys linebacker Brayden Johnson and returned for a touchdown This brought the number to - and marked the beginning of a - run for Wyoming We have to get that substitution in earlier Niumatalolo noted That was the play of the meeting right there We had ten guys on the field Wyoming gained all momentum from this play and never looked back EGET S INJURY TAKES LIFE OUT OF OFFENSE In the past three games combined Eget has thrown for yards touchdowns and no interceptions He has been playing his best football and it looked like that would continue with him and Scudero looking in sync early But in the third quarter with the Spartans inside the red zone Eget took a hit from Cowboys linebacker Tyce Westland resulting in a fumble recovered by the Cowboys Eget did not return to the challenge until there was left on the clock and would only get two more chances to drive SJSU down the field All of the Spartans points came with Eget under center The Spartans split time at quarterback between Ward and Tama Amisone during Eget s absence but neither gained much traction Ward went -for- for yards with an interception that was returned for a touchdown Aminsone who has been primarily used in rushing packages this season went -for- for yards His biggest play of the night was a -yard run I thought he did specific good things Niumatalolo revealed of Aminsone A couple of his balls were a little low but I thought he made chosen good decisions Eget has been a bright spot for the Spartans offense and without him healthy the offense could not find any rhythm DEFENSE CAN T CLOSE GAMES Over the past three games combined SJSU s defense has given up points in the fourth quarter alone against Wyoming against New Mexico and against Stanford In the match against Wyoming the Spartans gave up two touchdowns within the final five minutes of the competition Wyoming trailed - with to go when it started a drive at its own -yard line But then a pass interference and roughing the passer penalty spotted the Cowboys free yards The drive was capped off with Wyoming quarterback Kaden Anderson connecting with Charlie Coenen for a -yard touchdown tying the competition at - On the first play of the next Wyoming drive with just over a minute left Anderson threw a screen pass to running back Samuel Harris which he turned into a -yard gain Two plays later Cowboys running back Terron Kellman took a run up the middle for a -yard outcome to win the contest The Spartans defense has been susceptible to the big play all season including in the loss to Stanford where on a late fourth-and- SJSU surrendered a -yard reception Coming into Saturday the Spartans had allowed nine conversions on fourth-down attempts over the last three games The Cowboys started -for- on fourth down suggesting a turnaround by the Spartans But when it mattered greater part in the fourth quarter Wyoming converted on a fourth-and- and one play later was the Coenen touchdown to tie the challenge A TALE OF TWO HALVES FOR SCUDERO Danny Scudero had receptions for yards bringing his FBS-leading total to yards All of Scudero s record-breaking four touchdown receptions came in the first minutes of the encounter Related Articles Saturday Night Five Oregon tumbles USC rises UCLA rolls and the Big Ten goes off the rails San Jose State blows -point fourth-quarter lead falls - to Wyoming in wild finish Stanford s road woes continue as SMU rolls past mistake-prone Cardinal - Stanford says participant is responsive after leaving battle vs SMU in an ambulance What to know before San Jose State kicks off at Wyoming With Scudero having yards and four touchdowns in the first half he was on pace for an even bigger tournament Scudero took advantage of man coverage early on and Wyoming s switch to more zone in the second quarter slowed him down Even with the big performance Scudero had six drops including one on a third-and- on the Spartans first drive of the fourth quarter KICKING WOES CONTINUE Mathias Brown went -for- on his first two collegiate field goals on the season missing from yards and yards Brown took over the job from Denis Lynch who went -for- on the season This brings SJSU s total on field goals to -of- You make one of those early on you re up three scores the tournament feels totally different Niumatalolo reported Mathias and Denis are all we got so they just got to keep working