Through three-quarters Saturday against Wyoming, SDSU’s offense appeared to regress from previous weeks. 

The Aztecs’ attack scored as many touchdowns as its defense during that time. Aside from one drive, they barely mustered resistance against one of the worst defenses statistically in the FBS. 

With 15 minutes left in the contest, SDSU only had 180 yards of total offense on 44 plays. Take away the eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the second quarter, and the Aztecs gained 105 yards on 36 plays. 

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Wyoming QB Evan Svoboda scored on a 51-yard run to give the Cowboys a 24-17 advantage, their second lead of the game. With no momentum and facing a 3rd and 10 on the subsequent possession, head coach Sean Lewis called an aggressive play call. Lewis split four receivers wide and called four verts, which puts pressure on opposing safeties because pairs of wide receivers cross down the field. 

At the snap, Danny O’Neil dropped back. Feeling the pressure on the outside, he stepped up in the pocket. Lewis credited O’Neil’s poise because quarterbacks tend to overthrow that pass because their momentum is moving forward. 

O’Neil set his feet and threw a good ball that allowed his intended receiver, Jordan Napier, the opportunity to make a play. The wideout tracked the ball, stepped inside of the UW defensive back, elevated, and made the catch. 

The freshmen hookup stunned the home crowd and the defense. One play later, the duo connected again for a touchdown to tie the game. 

Those completions began the offense’s dominant fourth quarter. Given the context, it was as improbable as it was needed.

In that final quarter, the Aztecs nearly matched its yardage output for the rest of the game. It gained 176 yards on only 18 plays in the fourth after needing 38 snaps to reach that through three quarters. 

O’Neil set a career-high with 254 passing yards. He equaled his 127 yards from the first three quarters in the final one. Marquez Cooper had 29 net yards, and 17 carries through 45 minutes of game time before bursting for 58 on eight touches in the last quarter.

“This group does a tremendous job persisting until they succeed,” Lewis said when asked to explain the turnaround. “We’ve seen that all the way through, whether that’s week one with the slow first half and the explosive second half and every single subsequent week.” 

“Today, there’s moments in the first half where things aren’t clicking. There’s obviously opportunities there in the third quarter where we got off schedule. But, then for guys to be able to clear it, refocus, and know and understand what they’re capable of. … We have really good football players … that can turn the tide of a game with their explosive plays. That, obviously, helps and that gives energy and enthusiasm to the whole squad and the whole team. There just a resilant group that and in the way that they persist is really impressive.”

What that fourth quarter might also do is springboard the Aztecs into a successful second half of the season. 

What the victory means 

Following the last-second loss to Central Michigan, the Aztecs needed two straight wins to have a realistic chance of reaching bowl eligibility. Having accomplished that with a pair of 27-24 fourth-quarter comeback victories, SDSU heads into its second bye week with momentum.

While they are one of four undefeated teams in the conference, the Aztecs’ close calls against Hawai’i and Wyoming suggest they are pretenders to the title. 

At the midway point of the year, Colorado State has the easiest path to the title game because it does not play any of the remaining undefeated teams. Barring an upset, the Rams will likely play the winner of Boise State at UNLV. 

SDSU needs a victory over Washington State in its next game to show the conference that it is a contender. Although it will not count in the Mountain West standings, a victory over the Cougars would resonate in Boise, Las Vegas, and Fort Collins. 

Winning on the road was the step for SDSU in developing a winning culture under its new head coach. Heading into an off week, the team will get a chance to heal before WSU. They also have another chance to reflect on how to elevate their play for the season’s second half.

“It was a good road win,” Lewis explained. “It was good to get our first road win and obviously our second conference win and to do it in a finish that comes down to a one-possession game. The resiliency and the character of the kids and the program continue to shine through.”

“Obviously, there’s a heck of a lot of room for improvement. I truly don’t believe we’re close to where we can be. As we talked about afterward, winners find a way to win, and we did that today, which is great to see, but there’s going to be opportunity to look at this tape and improve so we can continue to put ourselves in the best possible position coming out of this bye.”

Players of the Game

In a 27-24 fourth-quarter comeback road victory, numerous candidates deserve consideration for Player of the Game. Trey White had a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss. Kyle Moretti led the team with seven tackles and chipped in a TFL. Danny O’Neil’s play was sensational down the stretch. In the final analysis, three Aztecs elevated themselves most. 

Junior Eric Butler played the vast majority of snaps at safety. He recorded only a pair of tackles, but his 43-yard interception return for a touchdown matched the offense’s total for three quarters. Without Butler’s key play, the contest’s back-and-forth nature would have become one Wyoming dominated. Chris Johnson also had a first-quarter pick, but his inability to get it into the end zone elevated Butler to the honor.

“It’s crucial,” Lewis answered when asked how important the defense’s early performance was in giving the offense time to improve. “Not only the pick-six by EB but also the interception by Chris (Johnson) to set us up in a very positive field position. … Those turnovers are huge. Being on the plus side of the turnover margin again and getting points off of that is another way to play complimentary football.” 

Wide receiver Jordan Napier is the second recipient. His pair of fourth-quarter receptions ignited a stagnant offense. With SDSU down seven and facing a 3rd and 10, Lewis dialed up a deep pass to him, and his reception turned the tide. 

Lewis said postgame that Napier missed a similar opportunity during practice this week. The staff worked with him, and the young receiver made the catch when it mattered. Instead of celebrating or flexing for the camera, Napier helped the refs place the ball so the Aztecs could increase their tempo. On the next play, with Wyoming flat-footed, O’Neil found Napier for a 27-yard score.

“His overall competitive maturity and how he’s shown up each and every single day in the building for the past month, there has been a noticeable change,” Lewis said. “And, it’s a testament to his approach and his increased level of focus and knowing the impact he can have on the game.”

The final Player of the Game was nearly a footnote in the “Quick Takes” section below. Ryan Henderson had a good game throughout but did not figure into the stat sheet until the final five minutes. He ended Wyoming’s final two possessions with sacks. 

The first, on 3rd and 3 with about three minutes remaining, he brought down Svoboda for a nine-yard loss, cleaning up a play started by Krishna Clay. It forced Wyoming to punt. The Aztecs nearly ran the clock out but relinquished the ball with only 21 seconds left. 

On the game’s final play, Henderson converged on the QB with Domonic Oliver for a half-sack after Ezekiel Larry tripped Svoboda. 

“There’s things that don’t show up in the stat sheet throughout the course of the game, but (Henderson’s) having an impact,” Lewis said. “He’s getting pressures. He’s getting hurries. He’s being disruptive. Because he’s willing to persist, he’s willing to keep showing up, he’s willing to have that resilent focus and that resilent and relentless effort, then he’s able to have the opportunity to get paid because of that.”

Unsung Hero

Tyler Pastula made a case for Player of the Game, but due to his position, he is the definition of an Unsung Hero. When people recall this win over Wyoming, it is doubtful many will recall Pastula’s performance, but SDSU would not have won the game without his excellence. 

He punted seven times, averaging 47.1 yards per kick. He had a Matt Araizaesque 75-yard bomb that flipped the field position for the Aztecs. It was tied for the tenth-longest punt in program history.

Pastula pinned Wyoming deep on two occasions. On his final punt, the Cowboys rushed 11, and he quickly got the ball away to avoid the block before the ball slowly rolled to the seven.

“When you have the weapons that we do to be able to flip the field (and) win the field position battle, that’s huge,” Lewis said. “In a lot of those spots, we were able to flip the field, pin them back, and even at the very end, they’re going to go eleven up and we handle the mechanics to be able to protect that thing clean. (Pastula) does a great job knowing and understanding the timing of the operation. How to control the extra unblocked hat and then doesn’t put too much of it so it doesn’t go into the end zone? All of those details, he takes great pride in his performance and knows how impactful it can be to the game.”

Pastula’s most unsung moment occurred early in the game. Long Snapper Ryan Wintermeyer had the closest thing to a bad snap in four seasons on a field goal attempt in the first quarter. He sent a laser that sailed high to Pastula. The punter rose from his knee, caught the ball, and placed the snap in sequence for Gabriel Plascencia to kick the field goal.

“(Holder) is his role in that moment and he takes great pride in that,” Lewis said. “So it’s a high snap, ‘so what, now what. I’m going to field it and put it down, and we’ll put it through the pipes, and away we go.’”

Quick Takes

• With few hotels in town large enough to accommodate an entire traveling squad, SDSU’s support staff stayed in Cheyenne and drove to the stadium on game day.
• Pregame, the kickers enjoyed the elevation. Nick Lopez was drilling kicks from the Cowboy logo at midfield.
• Marquez Cooper impacted the game with his legs but also helped the team by preventing an interception on SDSU’s opening possession. He caught a tipped pass that was ripe for a turnover. Cooper was also terrific in pass protection all afternoon.
• Kicker Gabriel Plascencia led the team out of the tunnel with the Aztec Shield. He also opened up the scoring with a 22-yard field goal.
• Wyoming made an effort to get the ball out early. It neutralized the Aztecs’ pass rush but led to the first-quarter interceptions. 
• Danny O’Neil’s second-quarter drive, in which he led SDSU on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown, was terrific. It was the best drive of his young career.
• Two plays after Trey White recorded his tenth sack of the season, Wyoming doubled him at the line with a tight end and tackle. He forced the Cowboys QB out of bounds for another sack. 
• White is the only FBS player to reach double figures this season.
• After O’Neil threw his first interception of the year late in the first half, he slammed his helmet down on the sideline. Center Brayden Bryant picked it up sheepishly. Bryant’s bad snap the play prior opened up O’Neil to a big hit. 
• Flea Flickers are supposed to be rare plays, but Wyoming ran it twice in the first half. Add in the fake punt, and the game’s opening two quarters were entertaining. 
• Long drives continue to haunt SDSU’s defense. UW had a 12- and 15-play drive that accounted for 10:49 of their 30:43 total time of possession.
• O’Neil’s third-quarter read/option keeper nearly went for a first down. He needs to duplicate this play often, with so much attention given to Cooper. That play and O’Neil’s deep ball partly explain why holes developed for Cooper in the fourth.
• With the time of possession swinging in Wyoming’s favor, the refs called an illegal forward pass by O’Neil near the end of the third. The call was reviewed and overturned. It only added five yards back to the Aztecs but provided SDSU’s defense with needed rest. 
• On the final play of the third quarter, when Wyoming converted a 3rd and 7, SDSU rushed three. White was not one of them. He was 15 yards up the field, about two yards further than UW’s John Michal Gyllenborg, after the wide receiver made a 13-yard grab. 
• The key fourth-quarter hold on Wyoming corner Tyrecus Davis on Louis Brown IV that led to SDSU’s go-ahead field goal was particularly egregious because O’Neil did not look in Brown’s direction.
• O’Neil missed Jude Wolfe on the third and goal before the final field goal. The tight end beat his man with a terrific release. 
• One of the weaknesses of the 4-2-5 is defending the read/option. Svododa exploited that on a couple of long runs. 
• How hard is it for SDSU to win in Wyoming? The 2024 team is only the eighth squad to do it in 20 chances
• 1995 was the last time SDSU won consecutive contests by the same three-point margin.
• The Aztecs have never had back-to-back wins by the same result in their DI history. It defeated Hawai’i and Wyoming by the same 27-24 score.

Paul Garrison

My earliest sport’s memory involve tailgating at the Murph, running down the circular exit ramps, and seeing the Padres, Chargers and Aztecs play. As a second generation Aztec, I am passionate about all things SDSU. Other interests include raising my four children, being a great husband and teaching high school.