After San Diego State football’s 37-3 demolition of crosstown foes University of San Diego, senior running back Chase Price summed up a consensus felt within the Aztec locker room.
“Everybody has to get better,” he said.
Price had nine carries for 63 yards and on more than one occasion, found himself one defender away from breaking a long touchdown. The same was true for junior running back Donnel Pumphrey, who didn’t go completely wild as everyone might’ve thought.
Pumphrey had just 74 yards on 20 rushes, good for 3.2 yards per carry, one of his lowest game totals in his career. His story was the same as Price’s; Pumphrey seemed a couple feet away from breaking a long run several times.
For the offense in general, though, it was shaky.
SDSU’s offense managed one touchdown against the lower-division USD squad playing in a game where maybe everything was a bit too big for the Toreros. Aztec players and coaches gave credit to USD’s defense for making it difficult, but it was obvious SDSU’s offense was misfiring for one reason or another.
Senior quarterback Maxwell Smith humbly acknowledged he has to get a lot better, as well, but he’s very optimistic.
“We’re going to be much better,” he said.
Smith went 9-21 for 100 yards and an interception that he said his receiver, Price, slipped on the play. Smith was almost never under pressure; he got hit a few times, but said it was to be expected. The one time he was under pressure, he took off for 27 yards.
“I don’t think we can play much worse than that,” Smith said.
The wide receivers, who were heralded in the fall and spring for having made huge improvements, were anonymous Saturday night. Junior wideout Eric Judge had two catches for 29 yards, but wasn’t the top receiver.
Sophomore running back Rashaad Penny had two catches for 39 yards, including a 32-yard catch from redshirt-freshman quarterback Christian Chapman in the fourth quarter.
Maybe more interesting was the fact that the running backs were frequent targets in the passing game against USD, something SDSU head coach Rocky Long is trying to emphasize this season.
Explosive UC Berkeley looms for SDSU
Next up for the Aztecs is UC Berkeley and its high-flying passing attack, which manhandled Grambling State 73-14 on Saturday.
It’ll be one of the most interesting matchups this season: strength vs. strength.
SDSU’s passing defense only allowed 109 yards through the air from the Toreros while also grabbing five interceptions: three from junior cornerback Damontae Kazee and two from junior linebacker Calvin Munson.
But the Aztecs’ consensus rings: They’ll have to be better to keep up with the Golden Bears.
SDSU found itself with great field position many times in the game, yet failed to find the endzone. Thankfully, senior kicker Donny Hageman came through as a safety valve again, going 3-3 on field goals.
However, that might not get it done against Cal, a team that averaged 38.3 points per game last year.
Lomax leaves game
Redshirt-sophomore safety Trey Lomax left the game in the first half for what was described as a knee injury. His status is unknown. Junior safety Kenrick Mathis played the rest of the game.
Senior right tackle Pearce Slater appeared to injure his knee in the first half, but stayed in the game.
Mountain Best
Mountain West football teams went 10-2 in the first weekend of college football, with SDSU’s win over USD being the 10th.
Boise State’s win over University of Washington might’ve been the biggest in terms of strength of opponent. The biggest win point-wise was University of New Mexico’s 66-0 thumping of Mississippi Valley State on Saturday.
Teams from the Mountain division of the conference, which had four teams win 10 games last year, put up some big numbers on the scoreboard. Air Force routed Morgan State 63-7 and Colorado State smashed Savannah State 65-14.
UNLV might’ve lost, but put up a surprising fight against Northern Illinois, eventually falling 38-30.
