HONOLULU - Jared Strubeck kicked a 47-yard game-winning field goal with 1:49 left in the game and the San Jose State defense forced five second-half turnovers to rally the Spartans to a 20-17 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night.
The Spartans (3-2, 1-0 Western Athletic Conference) forced a total of six turnovers as the Warriors (1-3, 0-1) unraveled late, losing at home for the first time in 10 games.
The victory snapped the Warriors' 15-game conference win streak.
Strubeck also booted a career-best 50-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 with 9:32 remaining. The kick barely made it over the crossbar as the Spartans erupted in celebration. Strubeck was just 3-of-8 coming into the game.
Kyle Reed's 10-yard TD pass to a wide-open Jeff Clark in the corner of the end zone cut Hawaii's lead to 17-14 at the end of the third quarter. San Jose State started the drive at the Hawaii 8 after Kyler O'Neal stripped Hawaii quarterback Inoke Funaki and then pounced on the ball.
Funaki, who was intercepted three times and fumbled once, was replaced by Tyler Graunke in the fourth quarter. Graunke also threw an interception late in the game that led to the Spartans' game-tying field goal.
Dan Kelly's 37-yard field goal pushed Hawaii's lead to 10 just before the half. But he missed a 55-yard go-ahead field goal late in the game.
Hawaii took a 14-7 lead on Kealoha Pilares' 1-yard TD dive early in the second quarter. He setup the score by taking a shovel pass 23 yards to the Spartans 1.
Early in the third, Spartans coach Dick Tomey chose to go for it on fourth-and-4 from the Warriors 16 instead of attempting a 33-yard field goal that could have trimmed the lead to a touchdown. They didn't make the first down.
But Tomey put his kicker in when the game was on the line.
Reed finished 14-of-28 for 152 yards and two TDs.
Funaki was 16-of-27 for 173 yards.
Besides one big play on its opening drive, San Jose State was stymied by Hawaii's aggressive defense in the first half and forced to punt five straight times.
The Spartans scored on their second play of the game with a little trickery. Running back Brandon Rutley took the snap and threw a lateral pass to Reed, who was lined up as a receiver on the left side.
Reed then lobbed the ball to David Richmond streaking across the field for the 77-yard touchdown, SJSU's longest play of the season.
The lead didn't last long. Four plays later, Hawaii tied the game on a 34-yard TD run by Pilares. The Warriors started the drive on the Spartans 45 because of a poor kickoff.
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