San Diego State has been measuring progress incrementally through the first half of the football season.

Saturday night against Washington State things went by leaps and bounds. And pain. Growing pains.

The Aztecs thrilled an announced crowd of 26,937 (18,375 turnstiles) at Snapdragon Stadium with an exciting group of football fans eager to see. And they were about to upset a Washington State team that arrived as a two-touchdown favorite and took a 12-point lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.

But Washington State scored a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter, the second on a pass from SDSU quarterback Danny O’Neil, for a 29-26 victory over the Aztecs.

“The team played incredibly hard tonight,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “We have to be much better in certain situations, in critical areas. We can continue to improve everything, but I thought we fought very, very hard. It was great to see the boys perform against a really good team.

“We will continue to grow, we will continue to improve and we will continue to make progress as we move forward.”

After the Cougars took the lead with 5:03 remaining, SDSU (3-4) had one final possession to regain the lead. But the drive stalled at the Aztecs’ 41-yard line and Lewis elected to punt instead of going for it on fourth-and-22. The crowd applauded the decision.

Lewis said the thought was “to be able to turn the field and lean on your defense that had played very, very well and to be able to make a stop and get the ball back, especially since a field goal put us to would have brought an extension. .”

SDSU had all three timeouts remaining, as well as the two-minute timeout. All those stoppages didn’t stop Washington State (7-1) from holding the football until time expired. Washington State even kicked it back to SDSU with 22 seconds left, but the Aztecs called for a rough kicker and the Cougars kept the ball.

After trailing 14-12 at halftime, SDSU seemed to have everything going for it in the second half.

The Aztecs defense forced Washington State to punt on four straight possessions. SDSU also covered a loose ball when the Cougars muffed a punt.

The greatest excitement came from two specific plays:

A leaping 27-yard touchdown catch by SDSU wide receiver Nate Bennett – on a pass from wide receiver Jordan Napier, of all people – in the third quarter and a 1-yard leap into the end zone by SDSU running back Marquez Cooper (18 carries , 78 yards, 2 touchdowns) in the fourth quarter the Aztecs rallied.

Cooper’s score gave SDSU a 26-14 lead with 13:39 left in the game.

Washington State quarterback John Mateer (19-for-27, 257 yards, 2 TDs/20 carries, 45 yards, 2 TDs) came right back with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Hernandez that made the score 26-21.

A 2-yard score by Mateer and a two-point conversion put the Cougars on top 29-26 with 5:03 remaining.

“It definitely hurts,” said Letuli, who had 10 tackles to his name. “They all hurt. But we have also seen good things.”

Bennett added: “It stings. If not, there is a problem. Ultimately, we shouldn’t let it influence us too much. We just have to learn from it.”

SDSU emerged from a down week rested and ready against Washington State.

The Aztecs didn’t even make it to kickoff before players started walking toward the sideline.

Starting wide receiver Louis Brown IV, starting tight end Jude Wolfe and third-string quarterback AJ Duffy did not dress. All three watched in street clothes as punishment for a violation of team rules.

O’Neil (22-for-34, 195 yards, INT) and starting right guard Tyler McMahon were hurt on the same drive late in the first quarter.

SDSU edge rusher Darrion Dalton had to be helped off the field in the second quarter.

The defense was already playing with too few players, so to speak.

Linebackers Tano Letuli and Owen Chambliss both started with protective coverings on their surgically repaired right hands.

That’s all the Aztecs needed against an opponent that was favored by two touchdowns coming into the game.

The Cougars looked as advertised as they completed their first drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass on a flea flicker, with Mateer connecting with tight end Cooper Mathews for a 7-0 lead.

SDSU’s injuries began to pile up with five minutes left in the first quarter, moments after the Aztecs defense stopped Washington State on a fourth-and-3 play at the SDSU 28-yard line.

On the first play of the next drive, O’Neil was sacked for a seven-yard loss by Washington State’s Ansel Din-Mbuh.

The true freshman QB from Indianapolis was left lying on the torn turf. Trainers came out and examined O’Neil’s left shoulder as Lewis looked on. O’Neil left the field under his own power and was further examined on the sideline before heading to the locker room.

Four players after O’Neil was injured, McMahon went down when a Cougars player rolled on his left ankle.

McMahon’s ankle was taped and he was sidelined in the second quarter, although backup Saipale Fuimaono remained at right guard. McMahon returned late in the second half and was reinstated when right tackle Nate Williams left the field with a left foot injury.

SDSU backup quarterback Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson took over when O’Neil was injured and guided the Aztecs on a drive that ended with Gabriel Plascencia’s second field goal of the quarter.

Plascencia’s 28-yarder cut the Cougars’ lead to 7-6 as time expired in the opening period. Earlier, the kicker made a 46-yard field goal on a drive that was extended by a fake punt. That play also stirred the crowd when point guard DJ Herman received the snap and slid a pass to Ja’Shaun Poke for a 21-yard gain.

Washington State increased the lead to 14-6 midway through the second quarter on a drive that took half the quarter before Mateer squirmed across the goal line on a fourth-and-1 keeper.

O’Neil returned in the final two minutes of the first half to lead the Aztecs on a six-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a 7-yard touchdown run by Cooper.

SDSU’s two-point attempt failed and the Aztecs went into the locker room trailing by two points.

Remarkable

• The Aztecs return to Mountain West play Friday at Boise State. Kickoff is 5:00 PM PT (Fox Sports 1).

The Broncos (6-1, 3-0 MW) sit atop the conference with Colorado State (5-3, 3-0) after a 29-24 win at UNLV. Boise State running back Asthon Jeanty carried 33 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. He leads the nation with 1,376 rushing yards and is second with 18 rushing touchdowns.

• SDSU edge Marlem Louis played a game as a father for the first time. He and his wife welcomed their first child, Marlem Louis Jr., on Tuesday.

• SDSU, second in the nation with 10 penalties per game, was whistled for eight penalties for 78 yards against the Cougars.

Originally published: October 26, 2024 at 11:16 PM