SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – The Aztecs did the unthinkable Saturday night when they not only beat CAL, but shut out the Golden Bears 34-0. The all-time series is now even again at 5-a-piece and showed how home field matters in this series as home teams have won every single game.
On the night the Aztecs were clear and away the better team and on a night where everything came together in their favor. While we certainly did not have this kind of dominant performance on our bingo card coming in, we are definitely not complaining. It was perhaps the liveliest Aztecs football game seen at the young Snapdragon Stadium and that was made possible by a few factors. Here are a few of them.
THE OFFENSE STRIKES BACK
Offensively the Aztecs were led by standout sophomore WR Jordan Napier who logged 9 catches for 154 yards and a TD. After a scoreless 1st quarter Napier had the game’s biggest play when he hauled down a deep pass by QB Jayden Denegal. Though the ball was under thrown Napier adjusted to come down with it and then got behind the defender to race down for 80 yards.
He should have scored on that play but it was called correctly by the official that he had stepped out of bounds at the 10 yard line. Tip of the cap to coach Lewis for calling a play moments later that would give a toss handoff to Napier who then navigated his way into the end zone and he earned the TD officially on his stat sheet.
Denegal answered the call as a leader by completing 15 of 18 passes for 189 yards and a TD. He was efficient, accurate and conducted himself within a game plan that sought to control the flow of the action when they held possession.
His ability to guide the offense down field was only overshadowed by his ability not to guide the offense into bad positions with costly errors. Avoiding those big mistakes is half the battle in football and Denegal showed on this night that he is up to the task after a rough outing two weeks ago.
The run game was solid as well with both Lucky Sutton (12 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD) and Christian Washington (9 carries, 48 yards) averaging over 5 yards per carry. With Denegal chipping in with some timely carries of his own in the RPO game, Coach Lewis did a decent job dedicating his offense to the run but also keeping things balanced.
Overall they had a fairly conservative approach with in game decision making and they executed it well. Lewis’ offense scored a perfect 4-4 inside the red zone. The third down percentage wasn’t great at 3 of 10 and there were too many procedure penalties that prevented them from really pouring it on the Bears. These miscues will frustrate Lewis if this was any other game.
But it wasn’t any other game—it was this game—and this game was first and foremost dictated by the defense.
RATTLING A YOUNG QB
The Aztecs defense definitely knew they could execute a shut out performance, having already accomplished this feat in the season opener vs Stony Brook. Get this Aztec Nation, you are yet to have seen an opponent score one single point against the red & black at Snapdragon Stadium this season. (shhh don’t jinx it!)
The Aztecs frustrated the CAL offense all night with disguised coverages that took away the first option for true freshman QB Jaron Sagapolutele (17-38, 208 yards, 2 INT). The Aztecs line of Trey White (1), Ryan Henderson (1), and August Salvati (2 sacks) supplied the pass rush which had the CAL QB on the run most of the night.
When completions were made, several tacklers were right on them with perfect timing and perfect angles to shut the play down without many yards after the catch. The CAL rushing game was pretty lackluster at 65 yards. When the occasional big play was conducted and the Bears threatened inside Aztecs red zone, the defense was there to shut them down and they left no doubt.
TURNOVERS
And that’s when Defensive Coordinator Rob Aurich’s unit did what they have over emphasized all season, but never made happen yet—cause turnovers.
In the 3rd quarter it was an onslaught of Aztecs defenders barreling their way down the field to score points at the expense of the CAL offense. Dwayne McDougle’s 35 yd fumble return for a TD was a gift sent down from the football God’s that you cannot get any easier. The ball popped out of the line of scrimmage scrum and McDougle was right there to scoop up the perfect bounce and lead the untouched caravan into the end zone.
It was the team’s first turnover of the year.
Two possession later the CAL offense was driving and though down three scores there was still plenty of game left to compete and get back in the thing. With the ball at the 20 yard line Sagapolutele dropped back, surveyed the field and stood tall in the pocket. After trying to initially look off the Aztecs secondary coverage with his body posture, he let a casual toss fly towards the goal line only for SDSU CB Chris Johnson to time his closing coverage perfectly.
Johnson raced in front of the CAL receiver to jump the route, pick off the pass, and his full speed momentum caught everyone flat footed behind him as down the sideline he went 96 yards for the second defensive score. The 2nd turnover for this Aztecs defense.
Boosting the score to 27-0 was the door slamming on the Golden Bears. It was a wrap that took all their heart out of them as on the very next possession the Aztecs Safety Dalesean Staley picked off Sagapolutele for the second time on the night. The SDSU Defense made it known loud and clear, Snapdragon Stadium is Aztecs territory.
It was a total and complete victory as the special teams also performed fantasticaly. Kicker Gabriel Plascencia continues his perfect streak by knocking down two first half field goals that helped the Aztecs to a 13-0 halftime lead. Plascencia an Oakland native missed last season’s game vs his hometown CAL team, has been absolute nails since then leading up to this point in his SDSU career.
Punter Hunter Green had six punts and nailed two inside the 20 yard line. His 44 yard average successfully kept the CAL offense without many short fields to begin from.
SDSU now improves their season record to 2-1 and face a familiar opponent for coach Lewis next week—the Northern Illinois Huskies of the MAC. It will be a bit of a homecoming for the 2nd year head coach and there will be a large cointingent of Aztecs fans to make the trip.
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