The San Jose State Spartans jumped out to a 17-0 lead Saturday and held on for a 37-31 victory over UNLV in a battle for first place in the Mountain West.
With the victory, its sixth in a row, San Jose joined UNLV and Boise State atop the league standings with a 6-2 record. Which two teams will meet in the Mountain West championship game next Saturday was to be determined by league officials.
The verdict, based on computer rankings, will be announced Sunday morning, according to college football insider Brett McMurphy. McMurphy reports that UNLV is assured a spot in the game and will either host Boise State or travel to San Jose.
The Spartans and Boise State both have 7-5 records. Boise State won the head-to-head matchup, 35-27 on Oct. 7 in Boise, but apparently much more is involved.
The Spartans haven’t lost since that day in Boise, an accomplishment to which many contributed.
Saturday in Las Vegas, senior running back Kairee Robinson carried 16 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns. His 40-yard run, which gave the Spartans a 37-17 lead early in the fourth quarter, was his 20th touchdown of the season, breaking the school record held by Deonce Whitaker.
Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro completed 19 of 26 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
The first scoring strike, 56 yards to tight end Sam Olson, came on the opening possession of the game. UNLV fumbled the ensuing kickoff and SJSU converted the turnover into a 10-0 lead.
After UNLV went three-and-out, Cordeiro drove the Spartans 80 yards in eight plays, the last a 25-yard run by Robinson.
UNLV (9-3 overall) closed to within 20-17 in the third quarter. After Robinson’s second touchdown made it 37-17, the Rebels scored twice and got the ball back for one last chance with 51 seconds to play. A fourth-down play from the Vegas 40 failed and the Spartans ran out the clock, awaiting a fate to be decided off the field by a computer in the Mountain West offices.
more to come on this breaking news story