San Jose State escapes season opener with win over FCS Portland State
Spartans need late touchdown from transfer quarterback Chevan Cordeiro to fend off Portland State in 21-17 win
SAN JOSE — It truly was a game that San Jose State did not deserve to win. But thanks to their defense forcing three turnovers and a late rushing touchdown from transfer quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, the Spartans escaped Thursday with a 21-17 win over FCS Portland State.
In front of 16, 291 fans at CEFCU Stadium, it looked like San Jose State was going to suffer its first loss to an FCS program since 2018. Two drives that started inside Viking territory stalled late in the fourth quarter and a third looked like it could, too.
But in his first start since transferring in from Hawaii, Cordeiro took a third down play from the 2-yard line to his left, then scrambled back to the right and through contact to plow his way into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the game.
It capped off a physically brutal night for Cordeiro, who was battered all night long behind an inexperienced Spartan offensive line. San Jose State started three underclassmen on the offensive line — two sophomores and a freshman alongside two seniors — and the Vikings feasted, sacking Cordeiro seven times.
Because the NCAA counts sacks as negative rushing yards for quarterbacks, Cordeiro finished the night with 14 rushes for one yard and two touchdowns. The Spartans scored their other touchdown on a Cordeiro 1-yard pass to tight end Sam Olson in the second quarter.
San Jose State had two chances to cash in on turnovers inside the Portland State 30-yard line in the late stages of the fourth quarter. Portland State muffed a punt that the Spartans recovered at the 29-yard line, but after a three-and-out, sophomore kicker Taren Schive missed his first-ever collegiate kick wide to the right from 30 yards out with seven minutes left.
Two plays later, senior linebacker Jordan Cobbs intercepted a pass at the Viking 23-yard line. San Jose State drove it to the 1-yard line and had two plays to score, but Cordeiro’s scramble attempt was stopped, then his fourth down play-action pass was broken up.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Spartans had 2:25 to drive 32 yards without any timeouts. Three Viking penalties (two pass interference, one facemask) helped the Spartans move the ball down to the 2-yard line, where Cordeiro threw two incompletions into tight coverage. It was on third down that he scrambled for the game-winning score.
The Spartans only held a seven-point lead at halftime, and they could have easily been trailing, as Portland State had two drives into the redzone result in no points. Cornerback Kenyon Reed made a diving interception to kill one drive at the 11-yard line and a goal-line stop as the second quarter clock expired kept the Vikings from tying the game at the half.