18 of San José State's 27 points came from Luke Weaver
San José State walked in the underdog and walked out with the win. What actually happened.
The favorite had other plans — Eastern Michigan just didn't get the memo. San José State (0-1) knocks off Eastern Michigan (1-0), 27-21 at Rynearson Stadium. San José State won the closing stretch, which was all there was in it. Luke Weaver threw for 316 yards on 39 attempts with three touchdowns and ran 10 times for 10 yards.
We had this one the other way
Before kickoff we made Eastern Michigan the pick by about 18. The model missed the side: it favored Eastern Michigan by ~18, but San José State won by 6 as the underdog.
The big plays only went one way
San José State produced 7 plays of 15+ yards to Eastern Michigan's 2, chiefly Luke Weaver (involved in 7), Cooper Hoch (involved in 2) and Jase Nix (involved in 1). San José State scored on 38% of its drives to Eastern Michigan's 14%, chiefly Luke Weaver (18 pts), Cooper Hoch (12 pts) and Jase Nix (6 pts). That's what carried San José State.
How the two sides actually played on the night.
Three plays
Strip it back and a few snaps did the work. Luke Weaver's 51-yard throw to Cooper Hoch on 2nd-and-8 at Q2 01:35. Then Amareon Blue's 50-yard run for a touchdown on 4th-and-1 at Q3 11:52. Later, Luke Weaver's 40-yard throw to Cooper Hoch for a touchdown on 2nd-and-6 at Q4 11:19.
The names on it
Luke Weaver threw for 316 yards on 39 attempts with three touchdowns and ran 10 times for 10 yards — that score from inside the 20, four third-down conversions and a hand in seven plays of 15 yards or more. Cooper Hoch caught five passes for 115 yards, two of them for touchdowns, with that score from inside the 20. Jase Nix caught two passes for 39 yards, one of them for a touchdown. For Eastern Michigan, Amareon Blue ran 11 times for 81 yards and one score and caught three passes for 12 yards — two third-down conversions. Harold Mack caught seven passes for 72 yards, one of them for a touchdown, including that score from inside the 20. Noah Kim threw for 174 yards on 43 attempts with one touchdown and ran three times for 10 yards — that score from inside the 20. Dylan Lee was the disruptive one for San José State: 1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBUs, 6 tackles.
The order of events
Eastern Michigan struck first through Noah Kim, San José State led 10-7 at the half and the final points came on a late field goal by Trajan Sinatra.
Cumulative margin after each quarter (lead change). Above the line = SJS ahead, below = EM ahead.
The disruptive ones
Three names to keep: Dylan Lee (1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBUs, 6 tackles) for San José State, Caleb Dobbs (1 INT, 3 PBUs, 1.5 tackles) for Eastern Michigan and Ronn Hardin (1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 2 tackles) for Eastern Michigan.
Where it leaves them
Historically similar games since 2019 — close margin, both offenses held far below norm — and how often that offense outperformed this level the following week.
A program win for San José State; a gut-check loss Eastern Michigan won't soon forget. Amareon Blue was responsible for 6 of Eastern Michigan's points; there was not enough behind him.
Discussion
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