SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -Adam Tafralis passed for 330 yards and four touchdowns to lead San Jose State to a 34-14 win over UC Davis in the Spartans' home opener Saturday.
Kevin Jurovich caught seven passes for 135 yards and two TDs for the Spartans (2-3), who had no trouble moving the ball despite playing without injured running back Yonus Davis for the fourth straight game. San Jose State easily won the Northern California schools' first meeting since 1934, when they played to a scoreless tie.
That was four years before the birth of San Jose State coach Dick Tomey, who on Saturday notched his 304th career victory to move into a tie with Jackie Sherrill for 23rd place on the career list.
Aggies quarterback Tim Plough passed for 174 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted four times, including one by Spartans safety Jonathan Harris that was returned 35 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. UC Davis (2-3) will finish its four-year transition to Division I athletics this year.
Tafralis, who went 35-of-48 for a career-high 426 yards and three touchdowns while directing a fourth-quarter comeback against Utah State last week, was equally accurate against UC Davis. The Spartans' senior quarterback completed his first eight passes, was 12 of 14 in the first half and finished 25 of 34.
Yonus Davis, who rushed for 1,007 yards for San Jose State in 2006, hasn't played since spraining his ankle in a season-opening loss to Arizona State on Sept. 1. Since then the Spartans have struggled to run the ball.
The Spartans rushed for just 15 yards on 26 attempts against UC Davis and are averaging only 54.5 yards on the ground over the last four games. With Tafralis playing as well as he is, however, it hasn't mattered much.
The four touchdowns against the Aggies gave him 42 for his career and moved Tafralis into fifth place on the Spartans' career list.
San Jose State won at home for the ninth time in 10 games, but the Spartans opened the season with four straight road trips, becoming the last WAC team to play a home game this year.
UC Davis scored on its opening drive when Plough found Kale Turner for a 9-yard touchdown. Plough's throw was behind Turner at the 1, but the 5-foot-10 wideout made a nice play to grab the ball and score, helping give the Aggies a 7-0 lead.
The Spartans responded quickly when Tafralis threw the first of two touchdowns to Jurovich, a 17-yard pass that capped an eight-play, 64-yard drive. The two later connected on a 59-yard touchdown when Jurovich took a short pass from Tafralis, shook off three UC Davis defenders with a stutter-step at midfield, then raced untouched down the sidelines to give San Jose State a 27-7 lead.
Tafralis' second touchdown pass of the afternoon, a 47-yard deep throw to David Richmond, came one play after Duke Ihenacho blocked a punt.
