The bye week helped the offensive side of the ball, but it was not enough to get the Aztecs back in the win column.
SDSU fell short, 22-21 to the Central Michigan Chippewas Saturday afternoon at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
In the previous two losses, SDSU scored a combined ten points. After the bye week, it took the offense just over a quarter to surpass their two previous scoring outputs.
On their second drive of the game, quarterback Danny O’Neill launched a throw to wide receiver Louis Brown IV on a go route down the right sideline for a 43-yard gain.
The big play set up running back Marquez Cooper’s touchdown run right up the middle of the defense.
Cooper took a season-high 34 carries for 111 yards on the day.
SDSU’s offense received help with field position when SDSU cornerback Chris Johnson lowered the boom onto punt returner Donte Kent and linebacker Brady Anderson recovered the football on Central Michigan’s 20-yard line.
It was Johnson’s third forced fumble of the season and the second turnover he has contributed to.
SDSU (1-3) took advantage and O’Neill beat Central Michigan’s cover zero look with a pass to tight end Jude Wolfe, who juggled the football before securing it in for the Aztecs’ second touchdown of the game.
More big plays were generated by the Aztecs’ offense – on a stretch zone concept, Cooper took a carry for a 47-yard pickup. Two plays later, O’Neill took a low snap and connected with Wolfe again in the back of the end zone.
SDSU had four offensive plays that went over 20 yards which helped them take a 21-13 lead at intermission.
After racking up 13 penalties in the first half against California in the previous game, SDSU had zero penalties in the first half.
In the second half, the Aztecs lost momentum as they could not stand tall on two fourth-down plays. The special teams unit allowed a fourth-and-four to be converted off a fake punt pass. Then, Chippewas running back B.J. Harris punched in a touchdown run on fourth-and-goal.
The Aztecs forced an incomplete pass on the ensuing two-point attempt to prevent Central Michigan from tying the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, O’Neil again connected with Brown IV on a go route for a 41-yard gain. Brown IV finished with a career-high 149 reception yards.
Head coach Sean Lewis spoke about the development of Brown IV and the offensive unit as a whole.
“We continue to build our relationships in the throw game,” Lewis said. “We get our timing down and those relationships continue to evolve, it should not be only LB (Louis Brown IV) but other guys that get comfortable across all levels of the offense.”
SDSU had two chances to pad their lead but kicker Nick Lopez pushed two kicks – one went wide right and the other wide left, keeping the door open for Central Michigan in a two-point game.
Ensuing possession, cornerback Bryce Philips jumped a route, intercepted quarterback Joe Labas’ pass, and returned it to Central Michigan’s 11-yard line.
Lopez missed his second kick and Central Michigan took the ball back in a two-point game.
The Aztecs had Chippewas (3-2) on another fourth down situation and Labas converted again, this time to wide receiver Chris Parker for a 16-yard gain to move the sticks and get into field goal range.
Chippewas went 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.
Labas completed another two passes to set up kicker Tristan Mattison’s game-winning 46-yard field goal.
Safety JD Coffey produced a career-high 15 tackles and defensive lineman Trey White also had a career-high three sacks.
Consistency was the biggest key for Lewis.
“We’re looking for consistency in all of our position groups,” Lewis said. “And that’s an area right now where we need to continue to evaluate and continue to assess as we move into conference play.”
White echoed the same thing.
“I would say the biggest thing was just being consistent,” White said. “Starting with practice, we got to stack days and not have a rollercoaster every week.
SDSU returns home next week to host Hawai’i at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 5:00 p.m.
