San Diego State (1-1) entered this week’s matchup with Cal following a loss to their soon-to-be conference mates Oregon State last Saturday. The University of California Berkeley (2-0) returned home for this matchup with SDSU on a high, defeating Auburn on the road in week two.
It’s only right that just three days after announcing their move to the PAC-12, the Aztecs clashed with a former member of the conference in the California Golden Bears. This matchup in the heart of northern California serves as the ninth all-time between the two teams, with SDSU and Cal both being 4-0 at home against one another.
A new face commanded the offense in Bear territory for the Scarlet and Black, as redshirt freshman Javance Topou’ata-Johnson got the nod with Danny O’Neil rehabbing a knee injury. Topou’ata-Johnson led the Aztecs into familiar grounds, as he grew up just outside Berkeley in Oakland, California. Topou’ata-Johnson was the 16th highest-ranked dual-threat quarterback in his recruiting class, coming out of high school as a three-star recruit.
“He did a nice job,” said head coach Sean Lewis on Topou’ata-Johnson’s first start. “There were highs and lows but the things we asked him to do he did.”
The Aztec defense applied early pressure on the Golden Bear offensive line. A sack from linebacker Tano Letuli stalled the first Cal drive leading to a punt, and a sack from defensive lineman Trey White on third and four forced Cal into a second consecutive punt the following drive.
After a quarter of defense, a big fourth and six completion from Topou’ata-Johnson to receiver Nate Bennett, with a targeting call on Cal, added onto the play, placed SDSU at the Cal 12-yard line. Following an incomplete fade attempt from Topou’ata-Johnson to receiver Louis Brown IV on third down, kicker Nick Lopez gave the Aztecs a 3-0 lead with 5:42 remaining in the first.
With Cal missing starting running back Jaydn Ott due to an ankle injury, running back Jaivian Thomas got the start and wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity. Thomas broke off a 37-yard run to the Aztec 18 before taking the next carry another 10 yards to the Aztec 8. A zone read from quarterback Fernando Mendoza did the rest for the Golden Bears, finding nothing but green grass for an 8-yard touchdown run, giving Cal a 7-3 lead with 2:25 remaining in the first.
The 8-play, 69-yard touchdown drive for Cal was a taste of SDSUs own medicine, going full tempo and running for large chunks of yardage down the field.
Despite allowing a touchdown on the previous drive primarily due to the run game, a big stop on fourth and short by SDSU linebacker Kyle Moretti gave the offense the ball back at midfield. Even with the field position, a QB hurry and a sack forced SDSU into a third and 24 which they were unable to convert, resulting in a punt.
SDSU defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt remained aggressive in the box. This pressure paid off, with a ball from Mendoza being batted in the air and into the arms of linebacker Tano Letuli to set the Aztec offense at midfield. This interception from Letuli comes just two weeks after his fumble recovery touchdown against Texas A&M Commerce.
The efforts from the Aztec defense were undermined by the offense’s inability to progress the ball. Two more holding penalties on the Scarlet and Black stalled out the following drive, with the second of the two negating a big fourth down conversion and forcing them into a punt. These flags served as two of the 13 penalties for 100 yards on the Aztecs in the first half. The 13 Aztec penalties served as the second-highest amount in one half for a FBS team in the past 20 years.
“I don’t think we’re an undisciplined team,” said Lewis, “I do know discipline and tip-toeing the line better is a solution we need to make as we go forward.”
The score of 7-3 carried into halftime, with the SDSU defense highlighting the first half, recording three sacks, an interception, and keeping the Cal offense 0-2 on fourth down.
The fresh legs of Thomas coming out of halftime gave the Cal offense early success, breaking through the a-gap and running 57 yards down to the Aztec seven-yard line. The Golden Bear backfield found the endzone two plays later, with running back Kadarius Calloway rushing for a seven-yard touchdown. The touchdown gave Cal a 14-3 lead with 9:36 remaining in the third quarter.
Midway through the third quarter and the SDSU offense’s struggles continued, with Topou’ata-Johnson often throwing on the run and struggling to develop the timing with his receivers. The disguised coverages of the Cal defense made the Aztec offense one-dimensional, attempting to rely on a run game facing a stacked box with the passing game yet to be developed.
As the Aztec offense struggled, Mendoza continued to find the soft spots of the SDSU zone whilst progressing the ball down the field. As the Aztec defense continued to send the expected pressure, Mendoza broke the contain multiple times and used his legs to pick up short yardage. The methodical drive was capped off with Mendoza adjusting to the linebacker blitz and finding tight end Corey Dyches up the vacated seam for a 20-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 21-3 Cal.
To serve as a sign for the type of night it was for SDSU in Berkeley, on fourth and two of the proceeding drive for the Aztec offense, Topou’ata-Johnson lost his footing during the routine dropback and was sacked. This sack turned the ball over on downs and gave Cal the ball at the SDSU 25. The Cal offense failed to find the endzone, but kicker Ryan Coe put an extra three points on the board, increasing the lead to 24-3 Cal with 13:33 remaining in the game.
With 11:05 remaining in the game, SDSU broke through and got a feel of the bright yellow turf in the endzone. The play began with Topou’ata-Johnson throwing a dump-off to receiver Jordan Napier in the flat. Napier then bolted for the sideline, breaking tackles before stiff-arming a defender and bringing another one on a ride with him into the endzone for a 40-yard touchdown to cut the Cal lead to 21-10.
The backfield of Cal continued to give the Aztec front problems as Calloway got involved for a long run of his own, taking an outside zone 60 yards to the SDSU 15. Mendoza then took the problems to the air, finding receiver Nyziah Hunter on a 15-yard back shoulder fade to push the lead back up to 31-10 Cal.
The Cal touchdown served as the final scoring play of the game, with SDSU falling 31-10 on the road, their second consecutive loss. Linebacker Trey White was the bright spot of the game for the Scarlet and Black, recording two and a half sacks and six tackles.
San Diego State will look to get back in the win column after their bye week, as they go back on the road against Central Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 28. Kickoff time is TBA.
