In celebration, the Hawaii-reared quarterback — covered in lei and emotion — raced out of the locker room, posed for pictures with family and friends, then waded into the mosh pit of adoration.
“It was fun,” San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro said of his successful homecoming in a 35-0 rout of Hawaii at the Ching Complex.
For four seasons through November 2021, Cordeiro was the Rainbow Warriors’ two-time captain and starting quarterback. In December of that year, he entered the transfer portal after saying he’d lost the “joy” of football during then UH coach Todd Graham’s two-year tenure. Cordeiro signed with the Spartans, Graham resigned a month later, and two weeks after that, Timmy Chang was named his alma mater’s head coach.
On a UH homecoming night that was unintentionally set up for Cordeiro, the sixth-year senior ruled his old field — and former team.
“I was a little emotional before the game,” Cordeiro said. “After that, I took my deep breaths and focused on the game plan, and focus on the coaching, and trust my boys. And we got the ‘W.’”
Complemented by a grinding running game, Cordeiro was 16-for-26 for 251 yards and two touchdowns to Nick Nash, a converted quarterback.
Cordeiro was particularly efficient in key situations. The Spartans’ first possession ended when Cordeiro’s third-and-goal lob to Nash was caught out of bounds. Although former Warrior Kyler Halvorsen’s ensuing field-goal attempt from 31 yards was wide left, the Spartans converted their next nine third-down plays the rest of the half.
On their final drive of the second quarter, Cordeiro completed two passes in third-and-12 situations — 21 yards to Nash, 35 yards to Charles Ross — setting up the first of two Kaireee Robinson scoring runs for a 21-0 advantage.
“It all comes down to us,” UH safety Peter Manuma said. “We’ve got to get off the field on third down and give the ball back to our offense. We’ll take the blame on this one. It was us messing up mentally, and that led to us messing up physically.”
The Warriors had no response in absorbing their first shutout since a 38-0 loss to Utah State in 2017. This also was the first time the Warriors were blanked at home since 1998. The Warriors finished 0-12 that season.
Saturday night’s outcome, before 9,205 at Ching, ensured the 2-7 Warriors a sub-.500 regular season. The Warriors, who play at Nevada next weekend, have four games remaining.
“You just bite down and work harder,” Chang said. “You have to get everybody on the right page. You’ve got to get everybody doing the right things.”
The first half’s opening and final play bookended the game’s theme. UH’s Cam Stone mishandled the opening kickoff at the 5, then was struck on the helmet while grasping for the loose ball that SJSU’s Justin Lockhart recovered at the 6.
The half ended with six seconds remaining when UH wideout Alex Perry was called for a false start. The automatic runoff ended the second quarter.
In between, the Warriors incurred missed tackles, disconnects on pass plays, and a costly emotion-based penalty. On third-and-8 from the SJSU 9, Cordeiro threw incomplete to Nash. But UH linebacker Jalen Smith was caught yelling at Cordeiro after the play. It was ruled unsportsmanlike conduct, and the 15-yard fine gave the Spartans a first down. Nine plays — and two third-down conversions — later, Quali Conley ran 5 yards to break a scoreless tie.
“We had them pinned down there, and we gave them a cheap penalty, and they end up scoring and going up 7-0,” Chang said. “That was kind of the start. On offense, we just didn’t get it going. We really didn’t have a bead on offense.”
The Warriors also were without three running backs. Tylan Hines, a dual-threat back, has missed five games because of an ankle ailment. Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei is recovering from a foot ailment. Jordan Johnson entered the transfer portal this week.
“Whenever you don’t have guys, you’re affected,” Chang said.
Landon Sims, who was a tight end in spring training, and Solo Vaipulu, who moved from guard/center, split the carries — and backfield blocking. But Matthew Shipley, who ran 17 yards on a fake punt, finished as the Warriors’ leading rusher.
“It’s definitely interesting,” Shipley said.
Shipley said he has worked on that fake for several practices. “Coach (Thomas) Sheffield did a good job drawing it up,” Shipley said. “The shield did a great job blocking for me. … We practiced it until we got it down. We knew it was going to work from the look they gave us.”
But two plays later, the Spartans dropped into a three-across zone. Noticing the deep coverage, two receivers abbreviated their routes. But Brayden Schager, under pressure, launched a deep pass that cornerback Jay’vion Cole intercepted in the end zone. Cole then ran it out for a 51-yard return. Chang lamented Schager and the receivers were “not on the same page.”
Schager was 17-for-29 for 132 yards before yielding to backup quarterback Jake Farrell with 6:45 to play. Farrell was 3-for-8 for 14 yards and an interception on that lone 11-play drive.
Chang reiterated Schager remains as the No. 1 quarterback, and that it was helpful for him to get a sideline view of the offense.
GAME STATS
FIRST QUARTER
SAN JOSE STATE
>> Quali Conley 5 run. Kyler Halvorsen kick.
>> Drive: 12 plays, 93 yards, 6:40 elapsed time.
>> Time: 4:07. Score:
San Jose State 7, Hawaii 0
SECOND QUARTER
SAN JOSE STATE
>> Nick Nash 8 pass from Chevan Cordeiro.
Halvorsen kick.
>> Drive: 13 plays, 86 yards, 8:10 elapsed time.
>> Time: 5:16. Score:
San Jose State 14, Hawaii 0
SAN JOSE STATE
>> Kairee Robinson 2 run. Halvorsen kick.
>> Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 2:25 elapsed time.
>> Time: 0:38. Score:
San Jose State 21, Hawaii 0
THIRD QUARTER
SAN JOSE STATE
>> Robinson 52 run. Halvorsen kick.
>> Drive: 1 plays, 52 yards, 0:11 elapsed time.
>> Time: 12:15. Score:
San Jose State 28, Hawaii 0
FOURTH QUARTER
SAN JOSE STATE
>> Nash 24 pass from Cordeiro. Halvorsen kick.
>> Drive: 6 plays, 60 yards, 3:37 elapsed time.
>> Time: 6:45. Score:
San Jose State 35, Hawaii 0
TEAM STATISTICS
SJSU HAW
First downs 22 14
Total Net Yards 468 198
Rushes-yards 45-217 20-52
Passing 251 146
Punt Returns 0-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns 0-0 1-1
Int. Ret. 2-51 0-0
Com-Att-Int 16-26-0 20-37-2
Sck-Yards Lost 2-9 4-32
Punts 2-55.0 7-35.7
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 5-41 5-40
Time of Poss. 35:11 24:49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—San Jose State, Robinson 17-146, Q.Conley 19-73, Jernagin 1-5, Bates 1-3, (Team) 2-(minus 3), Cordeiro 5-(minus 7). Hawaii, Shipley 1-17, Sims 4-15, Vaipulu 1-14, Farrell 2-9, Morris 1-3, Schager 11-(minus 6).
PASSING—San Jose State, Cordeiro 16-26-0-251. Hawaii, Schager 17-29-1-132, Farrell 3-8-1-14.
RECEIVING—San Jose State, Nash 6-86, Q.Conley 4-48, Ross 2-55, Mazotti 2-26, Olson 1-29, Robinson 1-7. Hawaii, Perry 4-42, McBride 3-32, Panoke 3-15, Sims 3-10, Nishigaya 2-17, Vaipulu 2-5, Cenacle 1-21, Mokiao-Atimalala 1-4, Ashlock 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—San Jose State, Halvorsen 31.
