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SANTA CLARA >> In the NFL confines of Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, an announced crowd of 15,627 witnessed Army grind up an inconsistent, undisciplined San Jose State team into a 52-3 loss and an 0-6 record.
With some gritty defensive and offensive play in the first half on both sides of the ball, the Spartans’ only real bright spot was holding Army scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season; until Army exploded at the end of the first half with 12-play, 6:22 minute TD drive. Army ended with 341 total rush yards.
Spartan quarterback Montel Aaron started with Josh Love out under concussion protocol. Though Aaron (118 yards passing on 12 of 17) had the offensive moving in the first half, his rust showed with missed passes and questionable decision-making, but two second half fumbles defined his day.
The first half was about the Spartans shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly. Three offensive line penalties in one long offensive drive nullified progress thoroughly, though Spartan kicker Bryce Crawford salvaged it with a 49-yard field goal. Key missed tackles on both defense and special teams allowed Army to continue drives and being down 14-3 at halftime.
Then the second half came, and it was a mess for the Spartans — the worst half of football this season, by far.
“We gotta young team that needs to mature.” said Spartans coach Brent Brennan. “We need to grow up, and we need to understand the work, time and effort required. We’re beating that to death, but sometimes getting your butt kicked is the fastest way to figure that out.”
Army’s run and scrum completely wore down the Spartans and the clock. But it was San Jose State’s QB carousel between Aaron and Michael Carrillo that sealed a loss, when each committed two fumbles – giving Army 24 points off four second half QB turnovers.
What can the Spartans possibly take away from its sixth straight loss?
To the outside world, there isn’t much to care about. The Spartans now being one of four winless teams in the nation.
Though the turnover margin has been much better this year, going minus four against Army was a painful regression.
Running back Tyler Nevens is a speckle of hope, but 36 yards of total running won’t get anything done, especially without Love buoying the offense.
Thai Cottrell continues to showcase his kick return skills with 73 yards of his 102 all-purpose yards. Also, a couple a great Cottrell receptions were momentum-type catches in the red zone negated by penalties.
DL Bryson Bridges and LB Ethan Aguayo were tackling machines with 15 and 12 tackles, respectively, but the defense was on the field way too long.
“As a defensive linemen, this is a game you kind of dread because you know they’re coming straight for your legs.” said Bryson. “But no matter what the circumstances, we still have each others’ backs. Even when they kept trying to run the dive over and over, it really just speaks to our resilience.”
But against Army, the Spartans as a team completely failed.
