SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nick Nash had three touchdowns, Emmett Brown threw three touchdown passes and San Jose State defeated Sacramento State 42-24 on Thursday night in Ken Niumatalolo’s debut as coach of the Spartans.

Nash caught 10 passes for 170 yards with two touchdowns. The former quarterback also threw one pass — a 26-yard touchdown to Jacob Stewart in the second quarter.

Brown, a sophomore who transferred from Washington State, completed 20 of 34 passes for 298 yards.

Floyd Chalk IV, a junior who transferred from Grambling State, had 87 yards rushing and two scores for the Spartans.

Sacramento State rolled up 160 yards in the first quarter, led 14-7 and had the ball inside the 10-yard line at the end of the period. On fourth down from the 1, San Jose State’s John Norwood forced and recovered a fumble to keep the Spartans within seven points.

San Jose State trailed 17-14 at halftime but took the lead for the first time when Brown found Nash from 11 yards for a score early in the third quarter.

The Spartans took the lead for good, 28-24, thanks to Chalk’s first of two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento State’s Elijah Tau-Tolliver had 110 yards on the ground and scored twice, but the Hornets, who rank 10th in the FCS, suffered four turnovers.

The all-time winningest coach at the Naval Academy, Niumatalolo led Navy to 10 bowl games in 15 seasons. He took over at San Jose State after Brent Brennan took the job at Arizona. —— Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football