Matt Faulkner passed for 363 yards and two second half touchdowns, leading the San Jose State Spartans to a 27-24 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs in Western Athletic Conference action at Bulldog Stadium.
Faulkner completed 27-of-42 passes for San Jose State (5-7, 3-4 WAC), which closed out its season with back-to-back wins. Faulkner's top target downfield was Noel Grigsby, who caught eight balls, for 114 yards and one TD. Brandon Rutley added 58 yards rushing and a score.
Robbie Rouse led the way for Fresno State (4-8, 3-4), rushing for 151 yards and two TDs, as the Bulldogs rolled up 449 total yards in the loss. Quarterback Derek Carr was 19-of-28 passing in the game, for 276 yards with one TD and one interception. Isaiah Burse caught seven balls for 135 yards.
Fresno got on the scoreboard first, as Rouse scored from two yards out at the 8:07 mark of the first quarter. Kevin Goessling gave the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead with a 39-yard field goal four and a half minutes later.
Rutley got the Spartans on the scoreboard on the team's next drive, scoring on a 14-yard run to make it 10-7. SJSU tied things with just under nine minutes left in the first half thanks to an 18-yard field goal by Jens Alvernik.
Rouse's second two-yard touchdown run of the half in the waning moments sent FSU into the break up 17-10.
San Jose State cut the lead to 17-13 at the 9:51 mark of the third quarter, as Alvernik connected on a 34-yard field goal. Faulkner got to work after that as he threw two TD passes, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth to put San Jose State up 27-17. The first was a 38-yard score to Jabari Carr and the second was an 18-yard pass to Grigsby.
Fresno State recorded the last score of the game, a 24-yard TD pass from Carr to Jalen Saunders with 6:15 left in the contest.
This marked Fresno State's last game in the Western Athletic Conference, as the Bulldogs head to the Mountain West Conference for the 2012 season.
Game Notes
