San Diego State lost its last game of the 2024 season against the Air Force Falcons on Saturday night. The Aztecs finished the year 3-9 in Sean Lewis’ first season as the team’s head coach. 

The Aztecs lost their final six games, finishing tenth in the Mountain West standings. Their overall record against Mountain West opponents was 2-5. 

It was senior night for the Aztecs as players such as Marquez Cooper and Mekhi Shaw played their final game in the Scarlet and Black. 

Cooper spoke after the game about the team’s game plan against Air Force and spoke highly of Sean Lewis’ ability to change SDSU’s football program. 

“The game plan going into this week, I couldn’t have been more excited for it,” he said. “I just want y’all to understand that he’s going to change this program around and coach Lewis changed my life and I appreciate him.”

Air Force began the game with the ball and drove right down the field and scored on their very first possession. The team ran the ball the entire drive, which was a common theme for the Falcons as they only threw the ball twice in the game. 

One of those passes occurred on their first possession during a trick play. Air Force wide receiver Brandon Engel completed a 52-yard pass to Jared Roznos, which set up a one-yard rushing touchdown to running back Dylan Carson. 

SDSU answered Air Force with a touchdown drive of their own during their first possession. Danny O’Neil completed all six of pass attempts during their first scoring drive that ended with a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Cooper. 

Air Force answered right back with another touchdown on their second possession of the quarter. Falcons’ quarterback Quentin Hayes scored a one-yard rushing touchdown to give Air Force a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The Scarlet and Black unfortunately punted on their next drive, giving the ball right back to Air Force. They extended their lead to 17-7 after a converted 44-yard field goal. 

SDSU got right back into the game with another scoring drive by O’Neil to end the half. O’Neil led the team to a 14 play 83 yard drive that ended with a two-yard rushing touchdown by Cooper, cutting the Falcons lead to 17-14 at the half. 

Coming out of the half, the Falcons tried to fool the Aztecs with an onside kick but failed. However, SDSU failed to take advantage of the good field position and turned the ball over on downs while in field goal range. 

Air Force proceeded  to dominate the third quarter with their ground game and one effective pass play. 

During their first possession of the third quarter, Hayes threw his first and only pass of the game that resulted in a 76-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cade Harris, extending the Falcons lead to 24-14. 

The Aztecs got good field position again once again after a solid kick return and an Air Force penalty that put them at the Falcons 43-yard line. 

SDSU failed to take advantage again of the good field position and turned the ball over on downs once more. 

Air Force continued to run the ball down the Aztecs’ throats and scored once more on a Carson 14-yard rushing touchdown, extending the Falcons lead to 31-14. At this point, Air Force had scored on five of their six possessions. 

The score remained the same at the end of the third. SDSU tried to mount a comeback at the beginning of the fourth quarter. O’Neil threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Cooper with 13:54 left in the game. 

SDSU tried for two points but failed to convert it, leaving the score at 31-20. The Aztec defense would get a crucial stop in the middle of the fourth and got the ball with 9:31 left. 

Despite the time-consuming drive, the Scarlet and Black failed to convert a fourth-down play with 2:24 left. Air Force took over with 2:24 left and ran out the clock with first down via penalty, securing their 31-20 victory. 

Despite the loss, O’Neil had  his most consistent performance. He went 24-32 with 230 passing yards and one touchdown.

Coach Lewis spoke after the game about O’Neil’s performance and his future with the team. 

“He’s made some really good decisions and made some really good growth,” Lewis said. “There’s lots of areas for him to continue to improve and to grow, and that’s every single individual that’s in our program.”

The Aztecs finished the 2024 season with a 3-9 record, which is one game worse than the previous season where they finished 4-8.