No. 17 Utah wins 16th straight, holds off San Jose State with big 4th quarter in 24-14 win

No. 17 Utah edges Spartans with big 4th quarter

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Terrance Cain passed for 248 yards and hit Jereme Brooks for a go-ahead 51-yard score early in the fourth quarter, and No. 17 Utah finally shook free of San Jose State late in its 16th straight victory, 24-14 Saturday night.

Matt Asiata rushed for 94 yards and an early score for the Utes (2-0), who persevered through 45 frustrating minutes before three late scoring drives kept alive the longest winning streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Utah racked up 499 total yards, but repeatedly failed to finish its drives until the final minutes.

Jordan LaSecla passed for 269 yards while playing the final three quarters for the Spartans (0-2), who put a scare into an elite opponent one week after a 56-3 thrashing at USC. Kevin Jurovich had eight catches for 146 yards for the Spartans, who repeatedly picked on the Utes’ undersized cornerbacks for long gains in man-to-man coverage.

As their inconsistent offensive effort showed, the Utes are still trying to figure out how to replace several key components of the team that finished last season unbeaten and ranked No. 2 after routing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. They’ll need a much better effort next weekend on their trip to Oregon if they hope to keep alive the second-longest streak in school history.

The Utes have matched the school’s winning streak from 1928-30, and they trail only the 18 straight wins surrounding Utah’s undefeated run to a Fiesta Bowl victory with coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Alex Smith from 2003-05.

Eddie Wide rushed for a 15-yard TD to put Utah ahead 21-7 with 9:03 to play, but the Spartans drove 77 yards for LaSecla’s 1-yard TD pass to Marquis Avery 4 minutes later. Utah made one last lengthy drive, essentially putting it away on Sausan Shakerin’s 46-yard run to inside the San Jose State 5 with 1:55 to play.

Cain rushed for 69 yards for the Utes, who lost two fumbles, missed two field goals and turned the ball over on downs at the San Jose State 1 in the first half. The Spartans got a 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter by Brandon Rutley, who injured his ankle on the play and didn’t return.

Utah’s frustrations were encapsulated on the San Jose State 1 with 2 minutes left in the first half. Asiata took a direct snap and surprised everybody by throwing to Cain, left unmarked in the end zone on fourth down — but Asiata’s pass was well over Cain’s head.

The large, red-clad Utah fan contingent at Spartan Stadium grew nervously silent after the third missed field goal early in the third quarter by Ben Vroman, who isn’t looking like much of a replacement for All-American kicker Louie Sakoda.

The Utes finally broke through when Cain stared down a blitz and connected across the middle with Brooks, who made an outstanding run through traffic to the end zone with 13:44 to play.

After Shakerin’s rambling run, junior college transfer Joe Phillips relieved Vroman and hit a 25-yard field goal with 13 seconds to play.

When San Jose State had the ball, two brothers faced each other on the line: Spartans guard Ailao Eliapo frequently had to block his older brother, Utah nose tackle Kenape Eliapo. Several dozen friends and family members wore T-shirts to the game reading, “Eliapo Brothers Battle!”