RUSTON, La. — San Jose State finished its season Saturday with a 2-10 record — and without solving the same issues that dogged the Spartans in September.

Those issues included a fitful offense with no consistent quarterback play, a defense that couldn’t make a big stop when necessary, and special teams that didn’t contribute much positive to the mix.
Saturday, that added up to a 55-20 loss to Louisiana Tech.
“They just flat-out outplayed us in every aspect of the game,” Spartans running back Patrick Perry said.
On a day when Dick Tomey was coaching the final game of his 29-year career — he announced his retirement three weeks ago — the Spartans had hoped for so much better. They had showed signs of improvement in the previous two games, a victory over New Mexico State and an overtime loss to Hawaii. Plus, Louisiana Tech (4-8) was riding a five-game losing streak.
But by halftime, the Spartans were beaten. Louisiana Tech took a 45-14 lead and coasted home, with running back Daniel Porter scoring three touchdowns, rushing for 199 yards and setting a school career record (3,352 yards) on his 28th and final carry of the day.
The Bulldogs’ 45 points in the first two quarters were just two short of the all-time San Jose State school record for points allowed in the first half, set in 2003 when Boise State scored 47 en route to a 77-14 victory. This game never got that out of hand. But it also was never in doubt, especially after Louisiana Tech scored its fourth touchdown. The Spartans didn’t score more than 25 points in a game this season.
“This team has been through a lot,” Tomey said. “I’m going to remember how they played the last two weeks at home where they competed against good football teams and left it all out on the field. Today, we just ran into a good football team — and at some positions we just ran out of players because of the injuries.”
The Spartans had a decent first quarter, trading touchdowns with Louisiana Tech to conclude the period tied at 14. A perfectly placed 16-yard pass from starting SJSU quarterback Kyle Reed to a leaping Marquis Avery resulted in the game’s first score. The other Spartans touchdown of the period came on a 2-yard third-down pass from Reed to Jalal Beauchman, on a drive aided by two Louisiana Tech penalties.
“We started out pretty well,” Reed said. “We were hanging with them. Then things got out of control, and we couldn’t keep up.”