The San Diego State Aztecs fell to the Utah State Aggies on Saturday afternoon at Maverik Stadium. The Aggies’ victory was thanks to a season-high 322-yard team rushing performance spearheaded by junior backup quarterback Bryson Barnes and his 193 ground yards on 15 attempts.
With their fifth loss in a row, the Aztecs fall to 3-8 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.
To start the game, SDSU was firing early on the defensive side of the ball. Utah State was unable to score in the first quarter. Sacks by Tupu Alualu and Trey White, who was third in the FBS with 11.5 total sacks before Saturday, halted the Aggies’ only two drives in the opening period.
Utah State’s leading rusher, Rahsul Faison, had a light workload due to injury, so freshman Herschel Turner assumed RB1 duties for most of Saturday’s game. Bryson Barnes also had to take over as quarterback for the Aggies because of the injury to starter Spencer Petras.
Losing their two offensive backfield starters hurt the Aggies early, as they would fall behind 13-0. The Aztecs scored on two Gabriel Placencia field goals and an angry 14-yard rushing touchdown run by Marquez Cooper.
Plascencia’s two field goals extended his streak to 12 straight field goals made. His season percentage is 92.9%, which is currently a single-season Aztec record.
During the game, Marquez Cooper eclipsed 5,000 career rushing yards, a feat only accomplished by 22 other people. He spoke of his phenomenal accomplishment postgame.
“I was told that I would never get 1,000 yards in college, now I’m at 5 [thousand], so I’m thankful for that,” Cooper said in his press conference.
Utah State would get on the board late in the second quarter by way of a four-play, 65-yard drive capped off by a Bryson Barnes 19-yard touchdown scamper.
SDSU would punt on their ensuing drive, allowing the Aggies to take a 14-13 lead into halftime, thanks to a spectacular grab by sophomore Grant Page from Bryson Barnes.
After halftime, the wheels began to fall off for the Aztecs as Bryson Barnes was having his way between the tackles. He broke off runs of 39 and 63 yards on many zone read plays which burned the Aztecs in the second half. To complement Barnes’ ground proficiency, Herschel Turner added 52 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.
The Aggies’ 322 rushing yards was the most the Aztecs have allowed all season. Sophomore star Trey White commented on his team’s effort to stop the run, specifically the read option, in his presser.
“I don’t know when it’s going to get through our head, that’s been our problem all year,” said White. “Guys just don’t care to get it fixed”.
Trey White remains atop the FBS total sack leaders with his 12.5 sacks on the season (one in Saturday’s game). He also had the Aztecs’ only two tackles for loss, cementing himself as the most consistent force in the Utah State backfield for the day.
Sophomore safety Dalesean Staley was also a standout, leading San Diego State in tackles for the first time in his career tallying 11 tackles total (seven solo).
In addition to a stellar run attack, Bryson Barnes threw for 139 yards and three touchdowns on 13/15 passing. The leading receivers were Kyrese White, who had six receptions for 67 yards, and Grant Page, who had six receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite the aforementioned two sacks and an early Brady Nassar interception, the Aztecs ultimately struggled to stay consistent on defense. Early on, SDSU would frequently find themselves one down away from getting off of the field, but the Aggies seemed to gain first downs often; Utah State was 7/13 (53.8%) on third downs.
The inconsistencies on defense also allowed Utah State to score a whopping 41 unanswered points.
On the offensive side of the ball, Danny O’Neil was 23/31 for 199 yards with a lowly 32.8 QBR. He added 8 rushing attempts for 37 yards, as well as the longest dash of his young career, a 34-yarder.
Junior transfer Louis Brown IV snagged a team-high seven receptions for 114 yards, including a 42-yard dime from the freshman O’Neil.
SDSU broke Utah State’s 41-point scoring streak when Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson took over at quarterback for the final drive of the game. He located senior Mekhi Shaw for a 12-yard touchdown to bring the final score to 41-20 in favor of the Aggies.
Tupou’ata-Johnson finished with three completions on five attempts for 25 yards through the air with one touchdown, as well as four rushing attempts for 16 yards.
Looking forward, the Aztecs will look to take home a victory in their final game of the season at Snapdragon Stadium on Nov. 30 as they host Air Force.
