The San Diego State Aztecs held off Mountain West Conference rival University of New Mexico this past Saturday, defeating the Lobos 35-30.

SDSU received the ball first for its 23rd consecutive game and immediately scored on a 75-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Quinn Kaehler to junior wide receiver Ezell Ruffin.

[quote]”We’ve come out almost every game I’ve started and run the ball,” Kaehler said. “We used the play action and the safeties really came up, and that left Ezell pretty much one-on-one with the corner and he made a really good move and got open.”[/quote]

Ruffin finished the game with an impressive stat line, hauling in seven catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Kaehler also played well against the Lobos, completing 16 of 21 pass attempts for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

“I think that Ezell Ruffin is coming into his own,” head coach Rocky Long said after the game. “Going into the season, we hoped he would develop into that kind of receiver. He has improved dramatically from the first game of the season to now catching the ball.”

But the biggest factor for the Aztec offense was junior running back Adam Muema, who had his third 100-yard rushing performance of the season against New Mexico.

Muema was consistently able to get big gains on runs up the middle and to the outside. New Mexico’s 116th ranked defense had no answer for Muema, who finished the game with 233 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. After being injured early in the season, Muema seems to be back at full speed.

[quote]”I was most certainly comfortable out there,” Muema said after the game. “It was hard getting through these injuries, but my team helped me and I got through them.”[/quote]

However, the Lobos wouldn’t go down quietly. With the Aztecs’ offense rolling, New Mexico needed to score touchdowns to keep itself in the game.

The Lobos’ offense was on point during the fourth quarter when it drove down the field to rapidly score touchdowns on back-to-back possessions. With just under nine minutes left in the game and down by 11, New Mexico covered 72 yards in 3:22 on six rushes and one 40-yard pass to score on a 5-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Teriyon Gipson.

The Lobos attempted to cut the Aztecs’ lead to three with a two-point conversion, but SDSU senior defensive back Nat Berhe tackled the Lobo runner at the 1-yard line.

“Late in the game it was important to score touchdowns,” Long said. “They weren’t stopping us and we weren’t stopping them, so you can’t settle for field goals.”

While New Mexico’s defense had trouble containing Muema, the same could be said about the Aztecs’ defense against the entire Lobo backfield.

All game long the Lobos found success running the ball with a triple-option attack, where two running backs would line up in the shotgun formation with mobile sophomore quarterback Cole Gautsche. Whether Gautsche handed the ball off, pitched it or carried it himself, the Lobos’ third-ranked running game looked the part against the Aztecs.

“I thought both offenses played really well,” Long said. “And I thought both defenses really struggled.”

Coach Long also noted the Aztecs’ defensive struggles against the read-option.

[quote]”It’s very difficult to get ready for the triple-option,” Long said. “They put in a new play in the counter triple-option, which we hadn’t seen until today, and we never even slowed that down … Thank goodness the offense was good enough to win the game today.” [/quote]

With the win over New Mexico, the Aztecs are still in contention for a bowl game. They face the San Jose State University Spartans next Saturday on the road at 7:30 p.m. PST.

Photo by, Jordan Owen Senior Staff Photographer