Aztecs rally for 26-22 victory over Wyoming

Imagine the stories shared late into the night at someone’s 40-year reunion and you can picture the throwback nature of Saturday night’s San Diego State-Wyoming football game.

While innovation has been responsible for the ongoing evolution of offenses over the past four decades, these schools represent the offenses that time forgot.

The Aztecs and Cowboys remain rooted in three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust philosophy.

These guys party — and play call — like it’s 1979, which coincides with the first time they got together in these parts.

Enough of that. After a sluggish first half in which SDSU managed just a pair of field goals, the Aztecs rallied for three second-half touchdowns and a 26-22 win over the Cowboys. Much of the comeback centered on — surprise, surprise — the forward pass.
“I thought the players did a great job of hanging in there,” SDSU head coach Rocky Long said, “showing some character and grit and all those sort of things, kept fighting and eventually they took charge and we won the game.”

Resurgent SDSU running back Juwan Washington scored two of the touchdowns — on a 15-yard reception and a 10-yard run in the third quarter. Tight end Daniel Bellinger hauled in the game-winning TD pass from a scrambling quarterback Ryan Agnew, who threw back across his body for a 12-yard strike with 2:09 remaining in the game. Moments earlier the pair had connected on a 28-yard completion that had converted a third-and-6 situation near midfield.

The Aztecs defense sparked the offense by stopping Wyoming’s running game cold much of the final two periods. Wyoming rushed for 129 yards in the first half, but was limited to 28 yards in the second half. The Cowboys finished with 266 yards in total offense, only 92 of it coming in the final two quarters.

Did Long give a rousing halftime speech or make critical adjustments in the locker room? Nope.
“There weren’t really adjustments,” linebacker Kyahva Tezino said. “We just had to play better. That’s what Coach Long came in at the half and told us. We got to play better (because) the calls are there. We just had to execute. That’s what we did.”

SDSU (5-1, 2-1 Mountain West) moved within one victory of being bowl eligible for a school-record 10th straight season. Bowl aspirations remain for Wyoming (4-2, 1-1 MW), which head coach Craig Bohl said has “unfinished business” after being squeezed out of a bowl berth a year ago despite a six-win season.

Wyoming’s success has been built on a punishing ground game. Bohl has instructed offensive coordinator Brent Vigen to “run until the cows come home. Just keep on running it.”

And so they do.

Wyoming came into the game averaging 250 yards a game rushing. SDSU would like nothing better than to do likewise — despite going to the spread formation this season — but its ground game has sputtered in the first half of the season.

In the early going before an announced crowd of 28,758 at SDCCU Stadium, both teams were looking to establish the run, control the clock and keep the opposing team’s offense off the field.

Wyoming accomplished its objective. SDSU did not.
“Any time you have two teams with the same philosophy, you want to pound the rock and play physical,” Washington said. “It’s going to take some time to get going. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing, stay focused, can’t get down on bad plays in the first half. We kept fighting and got some good things going towards the end.”

The Cowboys built a 14-6 halftime lead by rushing for 129 yards on 25 carries. Its two scoring drives were capped by 1-yard touchdown runs by quarterback Sean Chambers, who gave the Aztecs fits with his runs.

One carry in particular told the story.

With Wyoming facing a third-and-3 from the SDSU 28-yard line midway through the second quarter, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound Chambers ran to his left. First he shed an attempted tackle by safety Tayler Hawkins. Then he bulled over Dwayne Johnson Jr., sending the safety onto his backside before completing a 21-yard rush.

Chambers attempted only three passes in the first half, although one of them went 45 yards to wide receiver Gunner Gentry, setting up Wyoming’s first score. That represented nearly half the yards Chambers (5 of 14, 109 yards passing/13 carries, 57 yards rushing) accounted for through the air.

Meanwhile, SDSU managed just 38 yards rushing on 12 carries in the first half. Actually, at 3.2 yards a carry, that represented an improvement on the Aztecs’ season rushing average. By game’s end, SDSU had rushed for 120 yards on 36 attempts.

The rushing struggles meant SDSU quarterback Ryan Agnew had to pass more than would have been preferred. Though Agnew completed a career-best nine straight passes at one juncture, the senior still was just 10 of 16 for 60 yards in the first half. He finished 21 of 32 for 209 yards and two TDs.

While SDSU didn’t set offense back 40 years in the first half, the Aztecs did set it back five games. They managed but two field goals in a 6-0 season-opening win against Weber State. Against Wyoming, a pair of Matt Araiza field goals — a career-best 47-yarder in the first quarter followed by a 32-yarder in the second quarter — accounted for the only SDSU points before intermission.

The Aztecs finally cranked up the offense in the third quarter.
“I think we both played off each other,” SDSU defensive end Myles Cheatum said of the offense/defense relationship. “It’s definitely a team game. When they are doing well, it helps us. And when we are doing well, it helps them.”

After the SDSU defense forced a Wyoming punt to open the second half, the Aztecs went on a 12-play, 69-yard drive that ended with the 15-yard pass from Agnew to Washington. Critical on the drive was converting on fourth-and-1 from the 17-yard line. Washington (23 carries, 84 yards) did so by taking a handoff and getting two yards.

SDSU’s defense stopped Wyoming on the ensuing drive, forcing a three-and-out (losing 3 yards in the process). The Aztecs moved the ball down field again, this time going 63 yards on nine plays before Washington scored on a 10-yard run with 1:28 left in the third quarter for a 19-14 lead (Agnew was sacked on a two-point attempt).
This drive also included a crucial fourth-down conversion, this time coming on fourth-and-3 in more spectacular — and daring — fashion when wide receiver Jesse Matthews jumped high for a contested pass and landed on his belly with a 25-yard completion.

Wyoming, which had only two turnovers coming into the game, fumbled Araiza’s kickoff and SDSU’s Rashad Scott covered the loose ball. SDSU was back in business at Wyoming’s 25-yard line, but the Aztecs couldn’t take advantage of the takeaway when Araiza missed a 38-yard field goal attempt.
The Cowboys regained the lead when Chambers hit wide receiver Raghib Ismail Jr. for a 19-yard touchdown pass that made it 22-19 after Chambers ran in the two-point conversion.
The touchdown pass followed a controversial personal foul against Johnson for a late hit on Chambers out of bounds. Replays seemed to indicate that Johnson was pushed into the quarterback.
“I didn’t agree with the call,” Long said. “I don’t think Dwayne did anything that was cause to throw the flag.”
What would have been a fourth-down play in questionable field goal range became a first down.
No matter. SDSU came back one more time with the TD to Bellinger, who is developing into another playmaking option for the Aztecs.
Both plays by Bellinger on the winning drive had to be improvised. What do you do in such a situation?
“I always try to look at his eyes and see where he’s looking,” Bellinger said of his quarterback. “We’ve done it in the past where he rolls out and we try to find open space. The last two plays, he tried to find open space, and that’s what we did.”

SDSU sealed the victory when cornerback Luq Barcoo, who had three interceptions last week at Colorado State, added another one against Wyoming on a desperate deep pass, and the Aztecs ran out the clock.

Individual statistics

Passing: Wyoming-Sean Chambers 5 of 14, 109 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; SDSU-Ryan Agnew, 21 of 32, 209 yards, 2 TDs.
Rushing: Wyoming-X. Valladay, 16-73; Sean Chambers, 13-49, 2 TDs; Titus Swen, 10-35. Total: 39-157, 2 TDs; SDSU-Juwan Washington, 23-84, TD; Ryan Agnew, 9-42; Jordan Byrd 1-0; Chase Jasmin, 1-(-2); BJ Busbee 1-(-2); Team, 1-(-2). Total: 36-120, TD.
Receiving: Wyoming-Gunner Gentry, 1-45; Raghib Ismail Jr., 2-34, 1 TD; Titus Swen, 1-24; Austin Conway, 1-6. Total: 5-109, 1 TD. SDSU-Jesse Mathews, 6-73; Daniel Bellinger, 2-40, TD; Kobe Smith, 5-39; Juwan Washington, 4-28, TD; Isaac Lessard, 1-18; BJ Busbee, 2-6; Parker Houston, 1-5. Total: 21-209, 2 TDs.

Mountain West Standings

MOUNTAIN DIVISION
Team . . . . . . . . . . Conf . . . Overall
Boise State . . . . . . 3-0 . . . 6-0
Utah State . . . . . . . 2-0 . . . 3-2
Air Force . . . . . . . . 2-1 . . . 4-2
Wyoming . . . . . . . 1-1 . . . 4-2
Colorado State . . . 1-2 . . . 2-5
New Mexico . . . . . 0-2 . . . 2-4

WEST DIVISION
Team . . . . . . . . . . Conf . . . Overall
SDSU . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 . . . 5-1
Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 . . . 4-2
Nevada . . . . . . . . . 1-1 . . . 4-2
San Jose State . . . 1-2 . . . 3-3
Fresno State . . . . 0-1 . . . 2-3
UNLV . . . . . . . . . . 0-2 . . . 2-4