San Jose becomes first 5-7 team this season to win a bowl game
Who says 5-7 teams don’t belong in bowl games?
San Jose debunked that theory with a 27-16 win against Georgia State in the AutoNation Cure Bowl on Saturday.
The Spartans were one of a handful of 5-7 teams that got into the postseason thanks to their APR score when there weren’t enough six-win teams to fill all the bowl slots.
While many disagreed with allowing 5-7 teams into the postseason, the Spartans made the most of it with an energetic fourth quarter that powered them to their second six-win season in the past three years.
San Jose State, like it has most of the season, relied on its running game to claim the victory. Star running back Tyler Ervin had 30 carries for 132 yards and quarterback Kenny Potter had 15 carries for 69 yards and a pivotal score in the fourth quarter. Potter scrambled 42 yards for what would ultimately be the game-winning touchdown with 9:15 remaining in the fourth and the Spartans down three.
Potter would seal the game with a 1-yard pass to Josh Oliver with 2:40 remaining.
While Ervin didn’t have a touchdown rushing, he did have the Spartans' first touchdown on an 85-yard punt return. For the majority of the game, that and a couple field goals were all San Jose State could muster on offense. Georgia State also struggled to score, but took momentum early in the fourth quarter with a safety and a 19-yard touchdown pass from Nick Arbuckle to Todd Boyd that gave the Panthers a 19-16 lead. But the lead was short lived.
Georgia State, which was playing in its first-ever bowl game as a meber of the FBS, had a four-game winning streak snapped. It finishes the season 6-7. San Jose State was playing in its first bowl game since 2012 and only its second bowl game since 2006.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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