San Diego State lost to then No.15—now No.12—Boise State Friday evening, 56-24. In what has become somewhat of a rivalry game between two of the better Mountain West football teams, the Broncos were fueled up and determined to make this game a blowout to remember.
The contest was lopsided from the start, as the Aztecs were outplayed and outmaneuvered in every facet of the game. Everything that unfolded was equally as ugly as the blue smurf turf in Albertson’s Stadium.
But despite all of that, the team did not go down without a fight. So there were some bright spots if you squint really-really hard.
Here are some winners and losers we took away from San Diego State’s brutal loss to Boise State.
Winner: Marquez Cooper
This is a tough one to start off with. But Marquez Cooper is the nation’s active rushing leader and those 4,698 career rushing yards moved him past Marcus Allen, into 41st place on that FBS all-time rushing list.
So when he popped off early in the season declaring he was the in a different class of RB than his rival at Boise State Ashton Jeanty, it made waves in the media. Though it wasn’t all that out of pocket.
Cooper’s 94 yards and 1 touchdown pales in comparison to Jeanty on this night. However when you figure Cooper earned that in half the amount of carries at 16, and was going against a more potent defensive front, you begin to put things in a little more perspective.
The decision not to establish the run certainly played a part in Cooper’s diminished role for this game, as Coach Lewis tried a different approach than the usual run heavy Cooper driven offense.
“I felt that we could use the pass to soften up the very strong front that they have, and be able to pull it apart and start the game that way.” Coach Lewis shared post game.
No matter what the talk will be after an embarrassing loss, especially after the quotes from Cooper months ago, his touchdown score in the 2nd quarter and long run of 42 yards later on, was a true display of his elite level RB skill-set.
No shame in your game Coop.
Loser: Coaches
“It’s not just one individual that leads to those outcomes it comes down to me putting the whole offensive unit in a better position through my play calls and setting us up for success.” Sean Lewis post game.
Good on you Coach Lew. Taking the responsibility for this game and holding himself accountable is the right thing to do. This team was not prepared to play and ultimately that is on the coaches ability to teach the game plan.
The flipside of that coin is that it must be the right game plan.
Friday night it was not. The Aztecs uncharacteristically began offensively attacking thru the air, almost admitting their offensive line was not up to the task for much. Quick passes is the name of the game for the most part in this AztecFast offense, and QB Danny O’Neil was just not recognizing his reads quickly enough.
The game’s first drive two of his first passes almost were picked off and in the team’s 3rd drive of the evening he was picked off finally and the defender took it in for the pic-6. O’Neil was not ready for this onslaught.
It’s one thing to knowingly roll with a freshman QB, fully aware that these tough, growing pains and learning situations would creep their way into your season’s fate. But it is another thing to not protect your QB with a sound gamplan.
Offensive lineman by most nature want to pave the way and block. By beginning the game in a passing mode in such an amped up & hostile environment, sets the O-Line back on their heels in protect & retreat mode.
The strategy set forth really missed an opportunity to show right out of the gate that this Aztecs team was going to be the physically dominant line in the trenches. A dedicated smash run game establishes Marquez Cooper for the RB duel, instills confidence in the road blockers of this unit, and protects the ball and the freshman QB.
But instead SDSU wanted to come out slinging to take the pressure off. Just not a physical tone setter. Of course, but what do we know.
We still subscribe from the old school mentality of Sir Rockford Long, that when a teams starts a true freshman, that usually accounts for numerically a loss in the season’s schedule. This is the path the coaches have set forth to endure. Hopefully this toughest of tasks and situations the coaches have put these guys through pays off in the end. But for one game in a vacuum, just not the way this Aztec fan would’ve gone.
Winner: Jordan Napier
The biggest bright spot for the Aztecs offensively continues to be that of freshman WR #19 Jordan Napier. Good game or bad game, the receiver has taken his opportunity and ran with it literally and actually.
Napier’s 8 catches for 79 yards and 1 TD led all receivers and gives hope of a future foundation and his connection with QB Danny O’Neil.
(Danny) Showed his toughness and resiliency. With the production he put down at the end of the game those guys all rallied around him and those are all lessons we need to continue to move forward and grow from and learn from.
Loser: Defense
For an Aztecs team that was allowing just 22 points per game on average, the simple fact is that Boise doubled that to not only reach their average points scored—they added 12 points to it.
Now being a 23 point underdog is one thing, but had the Aztecs lost 26-3 to keep that spread accurate, we all would be feeling low but not THIS low.
The Boise offense had their way with this defense. Anything they wanted, they got it. Legendary offensive play-caller Dirk Koetter proved why he is one of the best in the biz when his team came out and performed their scripted plays to perfection.
The Aztecs pass rush was non existent for most of the night. Receivers were often unaccounted for as sophomore QB Maddux Madsen picked apart his competition on his way to 24-32, 307 yards, and 4 touchdowns.
The Aztecs sold out to stop Heisman candidate RB Ashton Jeanty and Maddex thrived off of it. Though Jeanty, playing on a bum left elbow & all, still gashed the Aztecs defensive swarm for over 149 yards, two touchdowns, on 31 carries.
The drive of the game late in the 2nd quarter had a glimmer of hope for the Aztecs as they pulled to within 28-10 of the Broncos and showed some momentum. They had Boise on the ropes several times but in similar fashion as last week’s failure to bring Wazzu QB Mateer down on a for sure 3rd down sack, the Broncos’ Maddux escaped a blitzing SDSU LB Letuli’s mad dash, evaded the blitz and continued the drive.
Maddux would go on to find WR Latrell Caples for his 3rd TD catch of the first half and put any stop to any attempt SDSU had to make it a game. 35-10 at the half. Gutted.
Winner: Special Teams
Ok we’re really stretching to find a 3rd winner here, but gotta do it. Another week the special teams have performed to the best of their abilities. Gabriel Plascencia was perfect on all three of his extra point attempts, and nailed the team’s first points of the game with a 27 yard field goal in the 2nd half.
Tyler Pastula also showcased his boot as he successfully hit 4 punts on the evening–two inside the 20-yard line and a longshot of 79 yards to flip the field on the Broncos.
Let’s face it guys, these special things matter in aiding a team that is struggling to find their way. Having that consistency gives a team a chance.
But it was the returns and fake punt by the special teams that once again proved to be an asset. Chris Johnson had 46 yards on a return and Mekhi Shaw 14 crafty yards on another. Even the Nation’s sack leader, Trey White was utilized in a fake punt return to gain a badly needed first down.
Loser: The Brand
The Aztecs held a 4-3 advantage in head to head competition over the Broncos after their Thanksgiving week victory back in 2021. Since then they have now lost 3 straight against the potato heads.
Though both teams will soon depart the Mountain West for a revamped Pac-12 Conference come 2026, unless things quickly change, it will be Boise State football who will be rolling into the league with all the momentum as the class of their peers. This is unacceptable reality for an Aztecs program situated in Southern California.
The abundance of resources both financial and recruiting wise in Southern California dwarfs any metric that Boise, Idaho can compare. The failure of sustained success by the program up on the Mesa can only be held accountable by those leading the efforts.
Just hours before the game played in Boise was to take place, reports circulated of yet another failure of SDSU’s Snapdragon Stadium with regard to it’s playing surface. The SD Wave, the women’s professional soccer team that plays in the new soon to come campus footprint of SDSU, made the decision to relocate their final home game match because of unsafe playing conditions.
Not the kind of media attention you want locally for recruits to see, as the Aztecs play a National contending rival and their sports media department showcasing that opponents Nationally recognized playing surface, over 900 miles away.
Now let’s keep it real, not many of us actually thought the Aztecs beating the Broncos at any point of the season was the probable outcome. But the reality of the lopsided game has now put Coach Lewis’ team in a position where they must win 3 of their last 4 games to reach bowl eligibility. That is something they have not been able to do all season long.
SDSU’s next opponent New Mexico 3-6 (2-3) come to San Diego this Friday night. The Lobos having lost their last two games after winning three in a row, are certainly an opponent the Aztecs will be favored in. Whether that translates into a victory is uncertain.
The Aztecs who have played up or down to their level of competition will have to prove they can bounce back after suffering for the first time a loss they were clearly dominated in from the very beginning.
If this team truly has a desire to go bowling and make their mark on the Legacy of Aztecs football, this next four game stretch will prove it.
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