SAN JOSE, Calif. >> Bryce Crawford let fly with the 30-yard field goal and half of his San Jose State teammates began storming the field in celebration. Unfortunately for them, the kick sailed wide left and the game against Hawaii remained tied on Saturday night.
San Jose State eventually fell to the Rainbow Warriors 44-41 in five overtimes before a sparse crowd at CEFCU Stadium. The Spartans fell to 0-4 for the year and 2-15 in two seasons under head coach Brent Brennan. The team desperately wants a win, needs a win, but despite a breakout performance by starting quarterback Josh Love, came up short again on Saturday.
Love came into the season in a three-way battle for the starting job with Montel Aaron and Michael Carrillo. Love and Aaron were still listed as co-No. 1s on the depth chart on Saturday. Love ended up going the distance, completing 28 of 49 passes for 451 yards and three touchdowns against no interceptions.
Love is a 6-foot-2 junior out of Long Beach Poly. He started one game as a freshman in 2016 and five as a sophomore. However, the coaching staff hadn’t been willing to hand him the keys to the car.
In San Jose State’s first three games, Love was 29-for-60 for 347 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Aaron was 31-for-54 for 377 yards and two touchdowns without a pick.
It would appear that Love has the keys now. He completed huge pass after huge pass, moving the Spartans down the field repeatedly. Late in the first quarter, Love found Bailey Gaither for a 42-yard bomb down the right side. The play set up Boogie Roberts’ 2-yard touchdown run and gave San Jose State a 7-3 lead.
“There was man coverage there, they like to play a lot of man,” Love said. “With Bailey’s speed and Josh’s size and athleticism, I feel we can beat those guys.”
Two drives later, Love found Gaither again, this time for a 55-yard touchdown pass and a 14-3 lead.
“He ran a post,” Love said. “Same thing, man on man, he’s one of the fastest guys in the conference. I just got to put it up for him.”
The play was the longest pass of Love’s San Jose State career. That mark didn’t last long. On the Spartans’ next possession, Love hooked up with Josh Oliver on a 70-yard completion down the left side. That set up a 24-yard Crawford field goal and a 17-3 lead.
“He ran a wheel route,” Love said. “I saw the mismatch on him with the safety and I just delivered it down the field. I just stepped in the pocket, give him a chance.”
Said Brennan, “A big part of that is your playmakers making plays, and I thought lots of guys did that tonight. Bailey, Josh Oliver was fantastic, Josh Love getting the ball to the right people, spreading it around a little bit.”
The only bad news was that Hawaii fought back. Crawford missed three field-goal attempts in overtime, including a 47-yarder that could have extended the game into a sixth overtime. The Spartans also had a fourth-and-6-inches at the 3 in the fourth overtime but chose to have Crawford kick. He made that 20-yard field goal, but Hawaii’s Ryan Meskell made a 35-yard kick to keep the game going.
“There was a lot of good in that game,” Brennan said. “I think that’s the hard part. You don’t get the win, so we all feel like crap, but there was a lot of good in that game.”
