During Monday’s press conference, SDSU head coach Sean Lewis proclaimed, “We’re going to look as good as I think an Aztec football team has ever looked come Saturday.”

Clearly, he was not referring to the quality level of football from his team. (He was referring to the new red alternate uniforms the team wore). 

The offensive woes continued for Lewis and the Aztecs (1-2) as the James Madison Dukes (3-0) defeated them, 26-13. The loss snapped the Aztecs’ seven-game home winning streak. 

Coming off a second-half collapse against UCLA last Saturday, the Aztecs played even worse in the first half tonight. They trailed 19-0, allowing 281 yards to the Dukes while only mustering 59 passing yards, a week after only passing for 45 yards. They played better in the second half, scoring two touchdowns, but too little, too late. 

QB Jayden Denegal (18/33, 209 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT) struggled to move the chains through the air. With Lucky Sutton sidelined with an injury, Javion Kinnard (33 car, 181 yds, 1 TD) picked up the heavy workload on the ground, accounting for 144 (88 rush, 56 rec) of the team’s 163 yards in the first half. Of Denegal’s 59 passing yards, 53 were yards after the catch on Kinnard’s two receptions.

When asked about Denegal’s confidence level as the starting quarterback, Lewis said there was an “opportunity for it to grow.”

“I think there’s an opportunity for all of us to grow. There’s an opportunity to rally around him, put the work in and be better around him.”

Kinnard began cramping up in the fourth quarter and had to be taken out on two different drives. He said postgame that he could not remember the last time he had this many carries in a game. 

“It’s been awhile but you got to be prepared,” he said, adding, “I have been waiting for moments like this.”

“(Kinnard) is a heck of a player,” said Lewis. “He works extremely hard. He is a very explosive playmaker.”

The Dukes took the opening drive 75 yards on six plays and took a 7-0 lead. Camden Coleman (19/27, 246 yds, 2 TD) rushed it in from four yards out. The biggest play was a 52-yard pass to Braeden Wisloski (5 rec, 90 yds), the only pass attempt of the drive.

The Aztecs’ first possession looked promising. Denegal broke two tackles behind the line of scrimmage on a 3rd down play and ran for the first down to keep the drive alive. Later, Denegal scrambled and pitched a shovel pass over the defense to Kinnard for a 27-yard reception down to the JMU 21. On the next play, however, another shovel pass attempt by Denegal fell short of the intended receiver (Emanuel, Jr.) and was intercepted by DJ Kelly. 

Lewis said postgame that the situation warranted Denegal to take the short run and not get greedy with a big play down the field.

“There’s no need to make the superhero play.”

13 plays later, the Dukes added to their lead. Morgan Suarez knocked in a field goal from 46 yards out to extend the lead to 10-0. Suarez added to the lead on a 32-yard field goal early in the second quarter. 

“We can’t start slow,” LB Sione Hala said postgame about the defense. “It is unacceptable. We need to start better, start fast.”

Lewis decided to go for it on 4th and 6 from the JMU 31, but a false start by LG Evan Lawrence pushed the Aztecs too far back to go for it. Lewis opted to send Tashi Dorje out to punt instead of trying a 54-yard field goal.

Jelani McLaughlin recovered a fumble by George Pettaway (20 car, 82 yds) at the SDSU 44 to give some life to the Aztecs. But, the drive ended when a run by Emanuel, Jr. on a 4th and 2 was stuffed by the Dukes at their 35. 

After getting the ball back late in the first half inside their ten-yard line, the Aztecs looked to get the offense some momentum before the half. The Dukes’ defense had other plans. JT Hooten intercepted a deflected pass and ran it down to the SDSU 9. Kevin Roberts tipped the pass intended for Ryan Wolfer at the line of scrimmage, and Hooten corralled in the easy pick. Coleman found Cole Keller (3 rec, 40 yds) two plays later for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Dukes a 19-0 halftime lead. 

After a 3-and-out to start the second half, the Aztecs’ offense finally came to life. A 34-yard reception by Emanuel, Jr. (3 rec, 50 yds) put the Aztecs inside the five, and Kinnard ran it in from three yards out to get the Aztecs on the board. 

The biggest play of the second half came on a 4th and 1 from the JMU 47 at the start of the fourth quarter. The snap to Coleman was over his head and bobbled, but he was able to pick the ball up, turn, and throw downfield to a wide-open Corey Scott for a 20-yard reception on the right sideline.

“We knew exactly what they were going to do,” Hala said postgame about that critical sequence. “We (saw) it all week. We rep’d it in scout. They only run one play when they get in that formation.”

“A good player made a good play.”

Lewis attributed it to “that’s life” and “it happens,” while acknowledging that the defender assigned to Scott likely lost his focus on his assignment when the ball was on the ground.

Three plays later, Coleman and Keller connected again for a score (20-yarder). 

Instead of taking over on JMU’s side of the field, only down 12, the Aztecs went down 19 again. 

Nathan Acevedo’s 14-yard TD catch in the end zone cut the lead back to 13. Acevedo (6 rec, 66 yds) drew a pass interference penalty but was still able to catch the ball on the backside of the defender’s jersey as the two players jostled and went to the ground. 

The Aztecs’ offense drove the field again, looking to make it a one-score game. But a 4th down pass by Denegal into the end zone went off the fingertips of Jordan Napier. 

Hala and Tano Letuli led the Aztecs with ten tackles. Hala added a sack and a pass breakup. Josh Hunter recorded nine tackles and forced a fumble. 

Quick Notes

• OL Zach Thomas (2016-2021) was the Honorary Warrior for the pregame festivities
• Denegal led the team out of the tunnel pregame, holding the Warrior Shield
• WR Jordan Napier wore number 24 instead of 2 for tonight’s game 
• CB Jason Oliver received his first snaps this season after recovering from a fall camp injury to his foot
• P Tashi Dorje averaged 45.4 yards per punt on five attempts
• EDGE Djibril Rahman recorded back-to-back sacks late in the second quarter to push the Dukes out of field goal range

The Aztecs head back on the road, traveling to Ohio to take on the Toledo Rockets (2-1) next Saturday. Kickoff is at 9 am PT on CBS Sports Network.  

Andre Haghverdian

Avid sports fan and historian of basketball, baseball, football and soccer. UC San Diego and San Diego State alumni living in America’s Finest City. Diverse team following across multiple sports leagues, but Aztecs come first in college athletics.