The San Diego State football team fell to their eighth loss of the season after a 24-13 defeat by the San José State Spartans on Saturday, Nov. 18 in San Jose at CEFCU Stadium.
Quarterback Jalen Mayden went 15 for 24 through the air with 117 passing yards and two interceptions. Running back Jaylon Armstead had 21 rushing attempts for 134 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Phillippe Wesley led the team in receptions and receiving yards with 4 catches for 48 yards.
San José State (6-5, 5-2 Mountain West Conference) started with the football but quickly punted to the Aztecs (3-8, 1-6). SDSU scored on their first drive of the game, which consisted of 13 plays for 77 yards, ended by an Armstead one-yard rushing touchdown.
San José State answered on their next drive, going 71 yards down the field that took up the rest of the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter, the Spartans ended their 10 play drive with a 10 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chevan Cordeiro to tight end Dominick Mazotti, tying the game 7-7.
After SDSU punted on their next drive, the Spartans began to move the ball down the field again. With 6:40 left in the half, Cordeiro threw a deep ball that was picked off by Aztec cornerback Chris Johnson, who returned it 44 yards to the Spartans 33-yard line.
SDSU was able to take advantage of the turnover and were able to get in field goal range to set up kicker Gabriel Plascencia with a 46-yard attempt. Plascencia was able to convert the field goal and the Aztecs led 10-7.
San José State quickly responded and drove 57 yards down the field, which included a 20-yard pass play to Spartan wide receiver Nick Nash. Kicker Kyler Halvorson knocked a 35-yard field goal attempt through to close out the half with the score tied 10-10.
SDSU began the second half with the football and put together a 49-yard drive. On fourth-and-one at the San José State 26-yard line, Armstead was stopped short of the first down marker and the Aztecs turned the ball over on downs.
San José State took over, and on second-and-12, Cordeiro completed a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Isaac Jernagin. On the next play, running back Quali Conley scored a 20-yard rushing touchdown to give the Spartans a 17-10 lead with 6:16 left in the third quarter.
On the next drive for San Diego State, Mayden threw an interception to linebacker Byrun Parham, who returned it for 20 yards. The Aztecs were able to force a three-and-out. San José State led at the end of the third 17-10.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Aztec possessed the football as a heavy rain began falling. The team put together an impressive drive that included a fourth-and-inches play that was converted on a 21-yard rush by Armstead.
Armstead was able to reach the end zone on a 3-yard run, but it was called back by a holding call.
After the penalty, the team was unable to find the end zone again and settled for a 21-yard field goal, cutting the Spartan’s lead to 17-13. On the kickoff, SDSU was able to pin San José State on their own 6-yard line.
The Spartans proceeded to drive 94 yards down the field that included runs of 21 yards and 57 yards by Conley. The drive ended with a five-yard rushing touchdown by running back Kairee Robinson. The Spartans extended their lead 24-13.
On the ensuing drive for San Diego State, the team was able to move the ball down the field once more. They converted another fourth-and-one play on a 22-yard rush by Armstead, but three plays later Mayden threw his second interception, taken by safety Tre Jenkins.
The Spartans were able to run out the clock after a 32-yard run by Conley. Head coach Brady Hoke spoke about the team’s performance after the game.
“I thought the offense and the running game got going and it was good to see,” Hoke told reporters after the game. “Defensively, inopportune for a missed assignment (on the) 57-yard run down the field.”
SDSU managed to put up 300 yards of total offense, with 183 of them being rushing yards. San José State had 355 of total offense with 174 being passing yards and 181 being rushing yards.
San Diego State’s final game of the season is against Fresno State at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m.