SAN JOSE – San Jose State fell 28-10 in the Battle for the Valley against Fresno State late Saturday night in a matchup that revealed the Spartans’ strengths and weaknesses as the team heads into its much-needed bye week.
The Spartans (2-2) were held to a season-low 335 yards of offense and turned the ball over a season-high four times, but trailed by just a field goal late in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs pulled away for good.
After passing for nearly 800 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception in the first three games, quarterback Luke Weaver was intercepted four times, twice in the final six minutes.
“It’s just bad decisions by me, bad footballs, bad spots, and a couple of careless decisions,” Weaver said. “I gotta make it so my guys can make a play on the ball, and I didn’t do that tonight.”
San Jose State Spartans’ Jabari Bates (6) runs with the ball against Fresno State Bulldogs’ Camrin Cole (13) and Fresno State Bulldogs’ Gerayas Grimes (27) in the second quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Up next for the Spartans is a bye week before their Mountain West Conference opener on Oct. 3 at Hawaii.
Here is what stood out from the Spartans against the Bulldogs in the final meeting between the longtime rivals until September 29, 2029.
Spartans defense shines
San Jose State’s defensive front finished with six tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits and held the Bulldogs under four rushing yards per carry until garbage time.
The Spartans’ front set the tone early, helping force four punts in the first half.
“Our defense played lights out today. That’s a testament to Bojay (Filimoeatu SJSU defensive coordinator),” SJSU head coach Ken Niumatatlolo said. “They gave us the chance to win. We had the ball twice at the end with a chance to go up.”
Fresno State Bulldogs’ Jayden Mandal (7) throws the ball against San Jose State Spartans’ Jeremiah Tuiileila (45) in the third quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
SJSU held Fresno State to five for 16 on third downs, and Bulldogs quarterback Jayden Mandal finished the game with 186 passing yards.
The Spartans’ defense got standout performances from linebacker Dylan Lee, who led the team with 11 tackles, and Jeremiah Tuiileila, who had two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.
Costly penalties
Running back Jabari Bates rushed for what appeared to be a 66-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. But instead of going ahead 10-3, an illegal formation penalty wiped out what would have been the Spartans’ most electric play on offense. The Spartans wound up trailing 6-3 at halftime.
“The hard part about this penalty is that it should never happen,” Niumatalolo said. “It’s just an alignment thing. Those are the kinds of things that you can’t do.”
The penalties continued to plague SJSU throughout the night. They ended the game with seven offensive penalties.
San Jose State won its previous two games despite committing 13 penalties against Eastern Michigan and five against Cal Poly. The Spartans are averaging 6.5 per game and will look to clean that up during bye week.
San Jose State Spartans’ Luke Weaver (3) throws the ball against Fresno State Bulldogs’ Martin Owusu (8) in the first quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
SJSU offense struggled to find rhythm
The Spartans ended with 335 yards of total offense, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
SJSU’s only drive of more than 50 yards was early in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Carson Clark scored on the team’s only touchdown on a 92-yard drive that cut the deficit to 13-10.
Trajan Sinatra’s 45-yard field goal capped the Spartans’ opening drive of the game, then they punted or turned the ball over on the next nine possessions before Clark’s score.
Weaver faced pressure all night from the Bulldogs. He was sacked five times along with four quarterback hits.
“Luke had a hard time finding his rhythm, obviously,” Niumatalolo said. ” We were a little discombobulated. Like the one that he missed at the end, Luke would’ve gotten it in the first three games.”
San Jose State Spartans’ Luke Weaver (3) is tackled by Fresno State Bulldogs’ Maverick Noonan (95) in the first quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Bates continued on his heater, rushing for 94 yards on 19 attempts.
Bates is averaging 103 rushing yards per game.
Wide receiver Anthony Ivey also emerged after a slow start to the season, finishing with a career-high and team-high 150 receiving yards.
Up next
The Spartans have two weeks to prepare for their conference opener in Honolulu and the Dick Tomey Legacy Game.
The Warriors (1-2) opened the season with losses at Stanford and at home against UNLV before a 29-19 win over New Mexico State two weeks ago. Hawaii had a bye last week and plays at Wyoming before playing host to the Spartans.
SJSU has won the past five meetings between the schools, dubbed the Dick Tomey Legacy Game since 2019 in honor of the former Spartans and Warriors head coach, including a 45-38 thriller last season in San Jose.