Live updates: San Jose State football hosts Colorado State in Mountain West battle

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Into the final stretch of the season we go.

The Colorado State football team is in San Jose to try and disrupt the Mountain West title chase of the San Jose State Spartans.

The Rams (2-6, 2-2 Mountain West) are still in the early stages of a rebuild, while San Jose State (5-2, 3-1 MW) is chasing a West Division title.

The teams meet at 8:30 p.m. Mountain on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Follow along with updates from Coloradoan reporter Kevin Lytle live from San Jose.

Final

San Jose State 28, CSU 16

4 takeaways:Colorado State football coughs up chance at upset of San Jose State

San Jose State seals it

Kairee Robinson's 1-yard TD run with 2:22 to go will seal it.

San Jose State responded to CSU's TD drive by going 86 yards in six plays.

SJSU lead is 28-16 with 2:22 to go.

CSU touchdown

Jackson Stratton comes in on a 4th and long after Clay Millen leaves injured and on first play he heaves a 40-yard TD pass to Tory Horton.

It appeared to be offensive pass interference, but no flag was thrown. The two-point try fails.

CSU cuts San Jose State lead to 21-16 with 4:21 to go.

CSU fails in red zone...again

Again the red zone is costing CSU. The Rams drive all the way to the San Jose State 1, but can't score and turn it over on downs from the 3.

CSU has four red zone trips this game and three total points from them.

San Jose State touchdown

Cordeiro again makes a play on the move, finding Elijah Cooks for a 35-yard touchdown to put San Jose State up 21-10 with 13:46 to go.

End third quarter

San Jose State leads CSU 14-10.

CSU has a 3rd and 3 at own 27 to start 4th.

CSU interception

CSU safety Ayden Hector with an interception, a very difficult catch. Third pick of the year for Hector. Just the second pick of the year for Cordeiro.

CSU ball at own 20, down 14-10 late in 3Q.

Avery Morrow over 100 rush yards

CSU running back Avery Morrow passed the 100-yard rushing mark in the third quarter. It's the fourth time in the last five games he's gone over 100.

CSU fails in red zone

Again the Rams drove into the red zone but a costly turnover gives the ball to San Jose State.

Clay Millen throws into traffic and it's picked off in the end zone. First turnover of the game is a big one.

San Jose State takes lead

Spartans go right down the field to open the second half. San Jose State's Kairee Robinson with a 5-yard TD run to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

San Jose State lead is 14-10 with 10:51 left in third quarter.

Halftime

CSU drives inside San Jose State red zone, but time runs out for a final play.

Rams lead Spartans 10-7 at half. San Jose State will receive second-half kickoff.

CSU has outgained San Jose State 202-99. Clay Millen is 9-12 for 119 yards. Avery Morrow has seven carries for 78 yards.

Cordeiro is 13-22 for 85 yards.

CSU field goal

A mixed bag on this drive. A great drive to go down the field for CSU, so in some ways a field goal is a great result. But after being first-and-goal from the 5 it's disappointing to not get a TD.

The drive ends with a 26-yard field goal for Michael Boyle.

CSU had two huge third-down conversions on the drive. The first came on a 3rd and 24 from inside CSU's own 5 when Millen hit tight end Tanner Arkin for 26 yards and he held on after taking a huge hit.

Then Millen connected for 41 yards to Justus Ross-Simmons on a 3rd and 10. A 21-yard strike to Horton the next play put CSU at the SJSU 5.

From there, Ross-Simmons almost made an acrobatic TD catch but it fell incomplete. Then a negative run play and then third-down incomplete. CSU lead is 10-7 with 3:27 until half.

It was an 11-play, 71-yard drive.

Chevan Cordeiro leads TD drive

Chevan Cordeiro, who has an argument as top QB in the Mountain West, makes magic happen. He basically wills San Jose State to a TD drive.

Cordeiro ran for 4 yards on a 4th and 2 at CSU's 24. Then on a 4th and goal from the 2 he drops a dime on a long crossfield throwback pass to Dominick Mazotti for a 2-yard TD.

San Jose State and CSU now 7-7 with 9:07 until half.

End first quarter

CSU leads San Jose State 7-0 after 15 minutes.

Rams have a second-and-18 from own 11 to start second.

CSU has forced punts on all three San Jose State drives. The last one ended with a Mo Kamara strip sack, but SJSU fell on the ball.

CSU defense starting well

Rams have forced punts on both of San Jose State's first two drives. The latest came when SJSU got the ball just inside CSU territory.

Good start for Rams after being picked apart by Boise State a week ago.

Colorado State strikes fast

Three plays, 75 yards and a quick touchdown for Colorado State.

Avery Morrow busts through the line for a 56-yard TD run, untouched. Just the start a 24.5-point underdog needs.

CSU leads 7-0 with 13:43 left in the first quarter.

Kickoff time

San Jose State won the kick and deferred. Rams will receive the first-half kickoff.

CJ Onyechi joins captains

CSU defensive end CJ Onyechi joined usual captains Paddy Turner, Jacob Gardner and Dequan Jackson for the coin toss. A'Jon Vivens was the fourth player voted captain before the season but he has left the team.

CSU injury updates

CSU running back Avery Morrow is a full go after being banged up in Boise last week. Center George Miki-Han is in uniform, but wasn't working with the No. 1 offense in warmups. It appears he's still not fully ready and Keegan Hamilton will remain at center.

Tory Horton is good to go after battling illness during the week. Cornerback Greg Laday has been battling injury but is in uniform as well.

CSU slow starting

One big thing for CSU to improve is its slow starts. The Rams are digging early holes this season.

CSU is being outscored 72-20 in first quarters through eight games. The Rams are being outscored 157-47 in the first half of games.

Turnover battle

Turnovers are almost always a key for an underdog looking to pull a big upset and this one likely won't be any different.

San Jose State is the best team in the Mountain West in protecting the ball. The Spartans have only lost the ball three times (one interception and two fumbles) in seven games. San Jose State has a plus-nine turnover margin.

CSU has forced 11 takeaways in eight games but is minus-three in turnover margin. If CSU is in the game late, it will almost certainly have to come via a positive day in turnovers.

CSU injury updates to watch

Once warmups begin, there are a few key CSU players to look for. I'll have immediate updates on Twitter @Kevin_Lytle.

Running back Avery Morrow was banged up last week against Boise State and finished with just five carries. He practiced all week and is expected to play.

Center George Miki-Han missed last week's game. CSU hopes he can go but we won't know until full warmups.

Receiver Tory Horton battled illness this week. He's expected to play but his full health and availability is worth watching.

Also, note that Jay Norvell said he expects true freshman receiver Mekhi Fox to be more involved in the game plan this week.

CSU November woes

There are a ton of reasons Jay Norvell has been brought in to Colorado State. There are a number of stats to show how far off the pace the program was under his predecessors.

CSU’s November numbers are one of those eye-popping set of statistics. If you don’t win in November, you can’t win anything of significance. That’s when conference title races are won and when CSU typically plays its rivalry games.

Well..

CSU is 3-14 in November the previous five seasons combined. Included in that is an 0-8 road record (CSU hasn’t won a November road game since Nov. 26, 2016 at San Diego State. CSU has been outscored 570-414 in that time.

Looking for offensive breakout

It's no secret that CSU's transition to the new offense hasn't been smooth sailing. The Rams are near the bottom of the FBS in scoring at 12.5 points per game and have yet to hit 20 points in a single game.

There are a lot of reasons for it. Offensive line was the No. 1 position CSU couldn't afford injuries and the opposite has happened. The Rams have used four different starting centers and six offensive line starting combos. The receiver room is junior Tory Horton and a bunch of true freshmen and walk-ons. At one point the offense had three walk-ons on the field last week.

CSU's offense has an argument as the youngest in the nation. So, it's a slow build. But the final four games need to show some tangible growth.

“I’m still confident we’re going to have a breakthrough offensively. Our kids are getting more reps," CSU coach Jay Norvell said. "I think we have an opportunity to make some big plays and have our young guys step up."

Plenty of connections

Jay Norvell has frequently commented this season about how it seems CSU is facing a player or coach (or both) who is plenty familiar.

Same thing this week. Three San Jose State receivers — Elijah Cooks, Justin Lockhart and Charles Ross — came to the Spartans from Nevada, where they were recruited by and played for Norvell and staff.

Cooks leads the Mountain West in receiving yards (621) and Lockhart is second on the team in receiving yards (389). SJSU receivers coach Eric Scott coached receivers at Nevada under Norvell from 2017-20.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Live score, updates: Colorado State football team faces San Jose State