SAN DIEGO – Just six days after San Diego State’s grind it out 6-3 victory over Northern Illinois on the road, the Aztecs came out swinging at home when they dominated the Rams 45-24 under the Friday night lights at Snapdragon Stadium. It was a statement game for the program under Sean Lewis who has now strung together 3 straight wins in a row and have surpassed last season’s total victories.
Newsflash: This 2025 season isn’t even halfway through the schedule yet. Let that sink in Aztecs fans.
For a program coming into this year under the heat of a very checked out fanbase, the hearts and minds of the Aztec faithful are beginning to slowly turn towards what’s going on down on the Montezuma Mesa. Funny how winning will do that.
On this rare Friday night game Lewis’ Aztecs came in sharp and with an edge.
“I really thought the the offensive staff did a tremendous job of refining the plan, to match the skill set of what we’re learning, that we are becoming and to build a plan that made sense on the short week that we could execute at a high level.” said head coach Sean Lewis immediately after his team’s 45-24 victory over Colorado State. “And the kids did a great job owning it.“
Here are a few factors that stood out to us as Sons of Montezuma was there on hand to witness the big win in person.
Offensive Efficiency
As coach said it there above, the offensive gameplan was pretty plain to see. The Aztecs under Sean Lewis are not shy about wanting to pound the rock when it comes to the run game. On the night the Aztecs established the ground attack by dedicating 47 rushes to just 18 passes. Not the immediate thought when you see the final score.
SDSU ate up 282 yards on the ground thanks to a very balanced mix of Lucky Sutton (21 carries, 113 yards 1 TD), Byron Cardwell Jr. (15 carries, 121 yards, 2 TDs) and Christian Washington (8 carries, 21 yards, 1 TD). A talented trio like this is a great foundation to base a gameplan on and Lewis & staff went with the hot hand all night.
But don’t let the run production fool you. As the old addage goes, the run opens up the pass. QB Jayden Dengal (13 of 16, 256 yards for 2 TDs) was incredibly efficient while taking advantage of the success on the ground. His passes deep downfield to his receivers were absolute dimes.
The first connection in the opening quarter was a 45 TD pass & catch to Donovan Brown (2 catches for 55 yards, 1 TD) and it softened up the Rams defense—leaving them a step behind all night. Later in the 2nd quarter Denegal did it again when he connected with Jordan Napier (7 catches for 153 yards and 1TD) for the 42 yard score.
It was a crucial answering score for the Aztecs to put them up 21-7, after the Rams became the first team to actually score any points against SDSU this season at home. The balanced attack was on point all night as the Aztecs scored points in essentially 7 straight possessions—minus the single play to run out the clock at the end of the first half.
The Aztecs had by far their best 3rd down conversion rate offensively going 7 of 11 and also 1 of 1 on their lone 4th down try. A big time improvement compared to their last home victory over CAL in which they went just 3 of 11.
Additionally SDSU’s 541 total yards is by far their highest output this season as well, compared to 464 yards totaled vs FCS Stony Brook.
The efficiency was a far cry from last weekend’s low scoring frustration, but also should point towards the quality of defense played by NIU. Jayden Denegal was benefitted greatly by a much more productive pocket to pass from this game. His time to pick apart the defense was correctly spent hitting the best options in his limited attempts. It all points towards the messaging Sean Lewis has delivered from day one in Fall Camp—spending more time on task performing the reps with Denegal and his receivers within the offense.
Short Week Toughness
Regrouping after travel and the short week of preparation may have been a slight give & take. The give: the victory over NIU was a fortunate one that left the offense knowing they needed to be better. No doubt they had to wear it the last few days on campus. The short turnaround allowed the team to keep the fire burning by rolling into a new challenge and quickly focus on ridding themselves of last weekend’s faults.
The take: Imagine thinking that having a 21 point margin of victory showed any sign of drop-off. If we are being ultra critical, the defense allowed their first scores at home and second most points in a game this season. But let’s be honest, the Rams’ scores mostly came in the 4th quarter.
The quick turnaround may have had a twinge effect to the 2nd and 3rd team defenses ability to be fully prepared, but not much to be concerned about.
Overall for the defense, Trey White earned his first multi-sack game of the season when he bagged up two on the evening. Owen Chambliss continued to lead the team in tackles with 7 and 1.5 TFL’s. Chris Johnson and Bryce Phillips hounded the Rams receivers on the corners and aiding the run game. Despite allowing a 100 yard rusher in Jalen Dupree, the defensive interior handled business when they needed to.
Gabriel Plascencia’s Successful Streak Continues …
Gabriel Plascencia has now hit 19 straight successful field goal kicks, the 2nd longest currently in the nation, behind BYU’s Will Ferrin at 22. To add to his hot streak, Plascencia’s only field goal of the night also happened to be the longest kick in Snapdragon Stadium’s short history at 53 yards. It was the first score on the Aztecs opening possession of the 2nd half and pushed the lead to 31-10.
In conclusion, the win was a statement game for a few reasons. The victory marked the most all around effort to date. All three phases of the game dominated their opponent. It was a contest that SDSU were favorites to win at home—and if there’s one clear attribute of this 2025 Aztecs team, they have performed on a different level of proficiency in-front of their fans, friends and family.
The win puts them 1-0 in Mountain West conference play right out of the gate. Next Saturday vs Nevada will be another road test and one they will be favorites again to win. The next step in being victorious vs the Wolfpack will show if they are truly head strong enough to be workmanlike in executing their game plan.
If Sean Lewis can have his upstart Aztecs advance to 5-1, they then will have a bye week to prepare for Fresno State on the road. Hold on to the Old Oil Can or another year and then the talk about being a Conference Championship contender can truly begin.
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