San Jose State wasted Danny Scudero’s record-breaking night, blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and ultimately squandered the game as Wyoming rallied for a wild 35-28 victory in Laramie, Wyoming on Saturday night.
The Cowboys (3-3, 1-1 Mountain West) scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns in the final 2 1/2 minutes,
With the game tied at 28-28, the Cowboys went 80 yards in just 33 seconds to score the game-winner with 40 seconds left in the game. Quarterback Kaden Anderson found running back Samuel Harris for a 52-yard gain on a screen pass. Then running back Terron Kellman scored on a gutsy 28-yard run while breaking multiple tackles to make it 35-28, putting the final dagger in the Spartans.
San Jose State (2-4, 1-1) came out of the gate flying on offense, scoring 28 points in the first half. Scudero, a redshirt sophomore wide receiver, was again a huge part of their success.
Scudero finished the game with 10 receptions for 180 yards and a career-high four touchdown catches, all in the first half. His four touchdowns broke San Jose State’s single-game record of three TD catches in a game, set nearly 50 years ago. Since then, 14 Spartans have equaled the record since Rick Parma set the mark in 1978, with Eljiah Cooks being the last one to do it in 2022.
Scudero hauled in all of the Spartans touchdowns as he gained at least 130 receiving yards for the fifth time this season. The former Archbishop Mitty High star added to his NCAA-leading yards receiving total, which is up to 845 yards on 50 receptions through just six games, with six regular-season games to go.
Despite his success, Scudero also played a role in the Spartans’ struggles — he had six drops in the game.
Still, he had a whopping 151 yards receiving and all of his TDs in a huge first half, triggered by SJSU quarterback Walker Eget. However, the Spartans lost Eget for most of the second half. He left the game with an injury after taking a hit from Wyoming defensive end Tyce Westland, and would not return until the Spartans’ final drive of the game.
Backup quarterback Xavier Ward took over on the Spartans’ next drive as the offense began to stall without Eget. San Jose State missed two scoring opportunities when kicker Mathias Brown missed a 53-yard field goal, and then misfired on a 47-yard field goal attempt on the following drive.
Ward went 3-for-10 passing for just 15 yards and one costly interception – a pick that Wyoming’s Brayden Johnson returned 65 yards for a touchdown, bringing the Cowboys within 28-21 with 10 minutes to play.
Spartans freshman Tama Amisone also got a chance to ignite the offense from under center. He went 3-for-8 for 30 yards passing but, like Ward, couldn’t generate any points as all 28 SJSU points came under Eget’s direction.
SJSU will hit the road again next Friday at 6 p.m. when it travels to play Utah State (3-2, 1-0 MW) at Maverick Stadium, where the Aggies are 3-0 this season.