Aztecs finish undefeated at home, hammering Spartans

SAN DIEGO - Complete, utter dominance. The San Diego State Aztecs, led by their defense, captured their sixth victory at Snapdragon Stadium with a 25-3 win Saturday, finishing the regular season undefeated at home for the first time since 1996.

Opponents that face the Aztecs in San Diego continue to tank and unravel. At home this season, San Diego State has outscored its opponents 187-41, including shutouts of Stony Brook and California.

"Good teams defend their home soil," Aztecs head coach Sean Lewis said. "I'm very pleased we were able to do that this evening. A lot of hard work has led up to this moment, the journey we've been on and the climb we've been on, day by day, step by step on great evenings like this." 

With back-to-back home wins over the Spartans and Broncos, the Aztecs now control their path to hosting the Mountain West championship game. A win next week against New Mexico would secure it.

Once again, the Aztecs’ defense controlled the Spartans for 60 minutes, turning the game into a nightmare for an offense that was sacked four times and committed two turnovers. One of the defense’s primary focuses was limiting nationally recognized quarterback Walker Eget and top receiver Danny Scudero.

Eget, who left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury, entered the matchup ranked second in the nation in passing yards and passing yards per game. Scudero leads the country in receiving yards and receiving yards per game, and ranks third in touchdown receptions and fourth in total catches.

Even though Scudero finished with 12 receptions for 79 yards, he was held to 6.5 yards per-reception and was limited to no big plays on the night.

"Our guys for the most part did a very good job to keep a lid on a very explosive offense. To not allow them to score a touchdown is pretty impressive," Lewis said.  

On the other side, the Aztecs’ offense struggled for most of the night and was out-gained 268-248, and out of 134 combined plays, only one went for more than 20 yards.

Two plays into the game’s opening possession, safety Dwayne McDougle intercepted his third pass of the season, setting up the Aztecs deep in Spartan territory. Running back Lucky Sutton carried the ball on five of the six plays, including a one-yard touchdown that gave SDSU an early lead.

On their next drive, the Spartans moved downfield but missed a 43-yard field goal after kicker Denis Lynch lost his footing. 

Before going three-and-out following the miss, San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget left with a knee injury, bringing in freshman Tama Amisone, who finished throwing for 104 yards and was effective with his legs running for 75 yards on 13 carries.

San Diego State answered with a 12-play, 57-yard drive capped by a 35-yard field goal from Gabriel Plascencia. The Spartans responded with a long field goal drive of their own, burning five minutes off the clock.

After a second missed field goal by San Jose State’s backup kicker, the Aztecs put together another late-half drive. Donovan Brown hauled in a 52-yard sliding catch to set up SDSU inside the 5, and four plays later, Jayden Denegal scored on a one-yard sneak to make it 18-3.

Both offenses struggled to muster momentum in the second half, but the Aztecs’ defense continued its dominance, allowing just 104 yards after the break. Entering the game questionable, senior defensive back Chris Johnson closed out senior night with a sack and a jump-ball interception.

"Tonight meant a lot, man" Johnson said when reflecting on performance during senior as four year commit at SDSU. "We come a long way. I've been here all four years and pretty much all of those except now have been a pretty big let down."  

The Aztecs iced the game on a five play, 45 yard drive, capped off by a eight-yard touchdown run by Christian Washington.  

One major concern with one game left in the regular season is the production at quarterback. Denegal completed eight passes for just 81 yards on 16 attempts, marking his second straight game with fewer than 100 passing yards. This season, Denegal has surpassed 200 yards through the air only three times and has thrown multiple touchdown passes in two games.

The junior was without his usual top target, Jordan Napier, for the first time this year. Outside of Donovan Brown, the Aztecs’ other three pass catchers combined for five receptions totaling only 21 yards.

Running backs Sutton and Washington carried the offense, combining for 30 rushing attempts, 149 yards and two touchdowns. Sutton has topped 60 rushing yards in every game this season, and his one-yard touchdown Saturday gave him eight on the year. Washington has now posted back-to-back games with at least 70 yards and is averaging 8.9 yards per carry over his last 19 attempts.

San Diego State’s four sacks came from Ryan Henderson, who had two, along with Johnson and Niles King.

San Diego State heads into the final week of the regular season with a chance to clinch the Mountain West title against New Mexico. Kickoff for the season finale is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m.