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San Diego State University’s football program aspires to one day compete in the College Football Playoff (formerly BCS). The Aztecs are hoping it’s sooner than later.
They took a lesson on Saturday from Virginia’s James Madison University, which actually competed in it last season. JMU received the No. 12 seed in the expanded 12-team draw. The Dukes advanced as the Sun Belt champion with a 12-1 season after defeating Troy, 31-14, in the conference championship game.
JMU met No. 5 Oregon and lost 51-34 in the opening round to conclude a history-making 12-2 season. The Aztecs (9-4) settled for a bowl game.
The Dukes (3-0) appear ready to return after handing SDSU (1-2) a 26-13 non-conference setback. JMU led 19-0 at halftime.
“Heck of a job by JMU,” SDSU head coach Sean Lewis conceded. “I thought our boys battled really hard. Our defense did a really nice job of giving us a chance early on, generating some turnovers as we went. We had some unfortunate turnovers of our own. We’ve got to do a good job of decision making there, so we can value the football.
“I think we’ve got to continue to learn and refine who we are and who we’re going to be.”
The Aztecs scored two second-half touchdowns to escape Snapdragon Stadium with a bit of grit. Javion Kinnard scored on a three-yard run to make the score 19-7. Nathan Acevedo made a miracle catch (off an opponent’s helmet) midway through the fourth quarter for the 26-13 final.
The hosts appeared to finally make an offensive turnaround after Kinnard’s touchdown. But the Dukes came right back to score on a 20-yard pass from Camden Coleman to Cole Keller to push the visitors’ lead to 26-7.
Coleman passed for 246 yards with two touchdowns. He also scored one rushing TD.
It was tough going for the Aztecs all night long without the services of leading rusher Lucky Sutton, who was at the game but deemed questionable.
SDSU definitely missed their main man.
Kinnard stepped up with 33 carries for 181 net yards and one TD. He did break a 41-yard run at one point. However, the four other Aztecs to carry the ball gained just 20 yards on 11 carries.
Kinnard carried the ball exactly 75 percent of rushing plays. It got pretty predictable for the JMU defense as who to stop.
The offense did produce 209 passing yards. Quarterback Jayden Denegal completed 18 of 33 attempts for one touchdown but was intercepted twice and sacked twice.
Kinnard even had a hand in the passing game with four catches for 70 yards, compiling 75 yards after catch. Make no mistake, he’s a speedy fellow and likely worth more attention in the SDSU offensive scheme.
Acevedo had six catches for 66 yards and one TD. Bert Emauel Jr. had three catches for 50 yards, including one for 34 yards, which turned out to be the longest pass play of the night in front of 26,487 fans.
Denegal targeted nine receivers, seven of whom caught passes. But three receivers only caught one pass each for 17 yards. Another had two catches for six yards.
It just wasn’t enough after a 28-10 setback at UCLA the week before.
When the Aztecs did get into the red zone, they just didn’t seem to come up with the right play selection.
Kinnard was the showman this week with 251 all-purpose yards. Acevedo was next with 89 all-purpose yards.
Kinnard’s tally is the most by a SDSU player in Snapdragon Stadium history and the most by an Aztec since Rashaad Penny had 283 in 2017.
On the defensive front, the Aztecs did sack Coleman three times. Sione Hala and Tano Letili keyed SDSU with 10 tackles apiece.
The Aztecs don’t get any rest as they play at Toledo this Saturday (9 a.m. Pacific Time).
