Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.
SAN JOSE, CA - New Mexico State quarterback Chase Holbrook broke the school’s all-time passing record on a 50-yard pass play to Derek Dubois in the opening minutes of the game against San Jose State, but the Aggies couldn’t match the Spartans scoring, as NMSU fell 51-17 Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
The Aggies fall to 4-7 and 1-5 in WAC play on the season, while the Spartans move to 4-6, 3-3 on the year.
Holbrook finished with a game-high 318 passing yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Derek Dubois led the Aggie receiving corps with 87 yards on four catches, while Justine Buries carried the ball 14 times for 62 yards. Dante Floyd led the Aggie defense with 12 tackles, recording his 100th tackle of his career and had three tackles for a loss.
Wide receiver Brandon Allen broke the schools record of consecutive games with a catch (42) as he hauled in four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.
“I’m proud of Chase and Brandon because they’ve both worked really hard,” head coach Hal Mumme said. “They certainly gave their best effort tonight, maybe not in terms of results but in terms of effort and heart.”
SJSU quarterback Adam Tafralis was 19-for-31 for 317 yards and two touchdowns, both to Kevin Jurovich who had 10 catches for 233 yards. Tafralis added one more touchdown on the ground, as San Jose State rushed for 190 yards in the game.
The Aggies got things started driving 79 yards on eight plays, as Paul Young capped off the drive with a 27 yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. The Spartans quickly answered with a three play, 54 yard drive as running back Dante Collins ran the ball in from two yards out to give SJSU a 7-3 lead with 9:52 remaining in the first quarter. The Spartans ended the quarter with a 42 yard field goal by Jared Strubeck, ending a streak of 11 straight field goals missed by the Spartans. SJSU led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Strubeck then added another field goal to start the second quarter after a five play, 27 yard drive by the Spartans, giving SJSU a 13-3 lead. The Aggies quickly responded with a six play, 79 yard drive capped off by a 46 pass from Holbrook to Brandon Allen. It was Allen’s third touchdown of the season. Allen also broke the school record for consecutive games with a reception (42) on the Aggies second play of the game. He broke Duane Gregory’s record set from 1994-97.
The Spartans then scored on two long touchdown passes from Adam Tafralis to Kevin Jurovich. The first was a 36 yard pass, as the second came from 45 yards out. SJSU ended the second quarter with a 38 yard field goal by Strubeck, his third of the half. The Aggies went into the locker room down 30-10.
The third quarter opened up with both teams forcing the other to punt twice. The Spartans then capped a four play, 35 yard drive with a one-yard Tafralis touchdown run with six minutes left in the quarter. The score remained the same at the end of the quarter as SJSU held a 37-10 lead on the Aggies with a quarter to play.
The Spartans opened up the fourth quarter with a two yard touchdown by Collins, his second of the day, as SJSU held a 44-10 lead with 14:22 left in the game. The Aggies answered with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Holbrook to Wes Neiman, cutting the Spartan led to 44-17 with 11:23 to go in the game. It was Neiman’s second touchdown catch of the season. The Aggies then forced the Spartans to give up the ball on downs, as Brandon McKinney recorded his second sack of the season. The Aggies could not convert on the ensuing drive.
With 1:29 left in the game, SJSU added on one more touchdown, a 14-yard Cameron Island touchdown run to make it 51-17.
Holbrook has now thrown for 7,795 yards in his career with 58 touchdowns. He is just 519 yards shy of breaking the school’s all-time record for total offense.
The Aggies will be back in action on November 17 against Utah State at Aggie Memorial Stadium. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. (Noon).
