San Jose State’s David Fales Close To Record Territory

Nov 2, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Jose State Spartans quarterback David Fales looks to throw the ball after being chased out of the pocket during an NCAA football game against the UNLV Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The San Jose State Spartans have lost two straight games and have dropped to 5-5 overall, still one win shy of becoming bowl eligible in their first season in the Mountain West Conference. But quarterback David Fales goes into Friday night’s game against Navy at Spartan Stadium on the cusp of a couple of prestigious records.

Fales is 153 yards away from Adam Trafalis’ school career record of 7,548 passing yards and one touchdown away from matching Steve Clarkson’s record of 56, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

What’s more impressive is that Fales is doing all that damage to the Spartans record book in just two years at the school.

Fales came to San Jose State after two seasons at Monterey Peninsula College, where he transfered after a redshirt season at Nevada. But he’s not sure how he’ll feel about taking possession of those marks.

“I don’t really know yet,” Fales said. “It’s pretty amazing to see the list of names on all those records and to be considered amongst them is an honor. It hasn’t really hit me yet, I guess.”

This season, Fales has thrown for 3,202 yards and 22 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. He has completed 60.4 percent of his throws. Last year, He threw for a school single-season record 4,193 yards and 33 touchdowns, completing 72.5 percent of his passes and throwing only nine picks.

That was last year, when the Spartans were competing in the now-defunct (at least for football purposes) Western Athletic Conference, where San Jose State was 11-2 overall and finished second to Utah State in the conference with a 5-1 mark.

The move to the more rugged Mountain West has brought with it a reduction in Fales’ statistical lines.

Friday night’s start will be Fales’ 24th for the Spartans, whereas Trafalis started 38 games in four years to set the yardage mark and Clarkson started 28 games to set the touchdown pass record.

If the Spartans can get their sixth win and become bowl eligible, they would be in position for one of the six bowls the Mountain West is tied in with.

The conference is contracted to send teams to the New Mexico, Las Vegas, Famous Idaho Potato, Hawaii, Poinsettia and Armed Forces bowls. Four MWC teams are already bowl eligible: Fresno State (9-0), Boise State (7-3), San Diego State (6-4) and Utah State (6-4). Colorado State is 6-5, but because the Rams have 13 games scheduled, they must get to seven wins. UNLV is 5-5 and Wyoming is 4-6 and still in the hunt for bowl eligibility.