San Jose State vs. Tulsa final score: Spartans rush defense fails them again

Typical San Jose State. The Spartans have struggled mightily on the ground game and even since joining the Mountain West have given up over 200 yards per game. In their final year of the WAC they gave up a respectable 122 yards per game, but again that was the WAC with teams like Idaho and New Mexico State.

The Spartans showed some improvement from 2014 to 2015 and the hope was that in 2016 things would get better. Well, that is not the case after the first game of the year.

Tulsa’s ground game gets overlooked compared to their passing game but their rushing game under Philip Montgomery had the ground game middle of the pack in the American.

The Golden Hurricane used their ground game to demolish the Spartans, and started to run and run often to lead 24-7 after the first quarter and had 161 rushing yards in the period.

Playing San Jose State helped boost Tulsa’s average as they rushed for a total of 305 yards and scored three times on the ground, and that allowed Tulsa to run away and win easily, 45-10.

Leading the was D'Angelo Brewer who scored three times on the ground and rushed for 164 yards while averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

The game was tied at seven apiece in the 4:49 left in the first quarter but then Tulsa rattled off 17 points before the first period expired and then continued to put up another 14 in the second quarter.

After a field goal, the Golden Hurricane started the onslaught by driving 76 yards on seven plays to go up 17-7.

Then came the turnovers which are another reason that San Jose State struggled in this game. Spartans Quarterback Kenny Potter threw a pick-six to Jesse Brubaker who returned it 24 yards for the score. The Spartans also fumbled on the following possession after driving 47 yards, and then the Golden Hurricane turned that into a touchdown to go up 31-7.

The game was pretty much over at that point but Tulsa added another score before the half to go up 38-7.

There were not many positives in this game for the Spartans, and if we really want to look for one it might as well be Potter who completed 16 of 28 passes for 234 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

A lot of things need to change for San Jose State before their next game. They need both a rush offense and defense for starters, and a wide receiver to step up.

The Spartans should get things in order when they host Portland State next week.