Teu breaks loose for 67 yards as San José State beats UTEP 24-11

Viliami Teu turned a close game into a three-touchdown lead with two scoring runs in the third quarter, and San José State's pass rush handled the rest in a 24-11 win at UTEP on Saturday night.

Teu ran for 156 yards on 20 carries, both career highs, and scored from two and 67 yards. The Spartans recorded 11 sacks while giving freshman quarterback Daniel Rolovich a victory in his first college start.

Rolovich completed 12 of 23 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. Carson Clark caught five for 104 yards, including the opening score and the long completion that launched San José State's decisive stretch after halftime.

The Mountain West's official highlights cover the Spartans' road victory:

Two quick answers after halftime

San José State led only 7-0 at the break. On the opening possession of the third quarter, Rolovich found Clark for 63 yards to the UTEP eight. Teu carried on the next three plays, finishing from the two for a 14-0 lead.

UTEP then held the ball for more than six minutes and reached field-goal range. That chance disappeared when Solomone Langi blocked Carlos Arreola's 42-yard attempt. Three snaps later, Teu ran 67 yards for his second touchdown, giving the Spartans a 21-0 cushion with 5:25 left in the quarter.

The contrast between those possessions was decisive. UTEP used 14 plays without scoring; San José State needed only three to add another touchdown.

Arreola made a 47-yard field goal later in the third. Trajan Sinatra answered from 26 early in the fourth before Nik Henry's eight-yard run and a two-point conversion brought UTEP within 24-11.

The pressure holds up

The Miners moved the ball again, reaching the Spartan 20 on their next possession. A sack helped push them back, and an incomplete fourth-down pass ended the threat inside the final two minutes.

Jayland McGlothen led the pass rush with 3.5 sacks. Dylan Lee added two sacks and 12 tackles, while Justin Stearns also had two sacks. San José State's official report said the team's total was its highest this century.

UTEP finished with more yards, 462 to 426, and more first downs, 27 to 17. Its opening drive illustrated the problem: a 64-yard completion from EJ Colson Jr. to Kam Thomas led to a missed field goal rather than points.

Raymond Moore III threw for 195 yards, and Jaden Smith caught 12 passes for 90. San José State improved to 4-3 and 2-1 in the Mountain West; UTEP fell to 1-6 after finding the end zone only once.