Tuesday, August 26, 2003
It was San Jose State's first shutout since 1988.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Scott Rislov threw for 321 yards and a touchdown as San Jose State defeated Grambling State 29-0 Saturday in the first college football game of the season.
Jeff Carr tied a school record with three field goals as the Spartans played in front of their first sellout in 13 years in the inaugural Literacy Classic.
Bruce Eugene threw for 210 yards for Grambling State, ranked seventh in the nation among Division I-AA schools.
The Tigers' first appearance in California since 1972 drew a stadium record 31,681 -- many of whom came to enjoy Grambling State's marching band.
Shutout
San Jose State recorded its first shutout since beating UNLV 42-0 on Nov. 19, 1988. The Spartans last played to a full house against rival Fresno State in November 1990.
The Tigers were shut out for the first time since losing to Louisville in 2000 -- 43 games ago.
The Spartans sealed the game with a pair of quick touchdowns early in the fourth quarter. With 13:09 left, Yonus Davis ran 2 yards for a touchdown that made it 19-0. The score was set up by Rislov's 31-yard pass to Kendrick Starling.
Less than a minute later, Gerald Jones picked off a pass from Eugene and maneuvered 46 yards into the end zone for a 26-0 Spartans lead.
Rislov completed 24 of 38 pass attempts without an interception.
San Jose State took a 7-0 lead with 5:13 left in the first quarter on a 20-yard pass from Rislov to Leon Pinky, who caught the pass at the 10 and bullied his way in.
Strong drive
Rislov completed all six of his passes on the drive for 87 yards as the Spartans covered 85 yards in 11 plays over 5:28. The Spartans needed to convert one third down on the drive as they marched down the field in hefty chunks.
Rislov, who has thrown a touchdown pass in 12 consecutive games, completed passes of 19 yards to Davis and 18 yards to Tuati Wooden to help set up Pinky's first career touchdown reception.
Carr kicked a 43-yard field goal with 11:49 remaining in the second quarter to pad the Spartans' lead to 10-0. He added a 47-yarder with 2:18 left in the third quarter and added a 25-yarder late in the game.
San Jose State had a touchdown late in the first half called back because of a penalty, and Carr's 46-yard field goal try with no time left went wide right.
Grambling State linebacker Fred Wicker suffered a torn right ACL in the first half.