It’s electric as Penny lifts Aztecs
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Rashaad Penny scored three times, including a 53-yard run with 5:39 remaining, and No. 22 San Diego State held off Air Force 28-24 Saturday night in a game that was delayed 88 minutes by lightning.
Penny, the nation’s leading rusher entering the game, struggled early in the soggy conditions. But he finally found some running room as the Aztecs (4-0, 1-0 Mountain West) began their quest to capture a third straight conference title. Penny finished with 128 yards rushing, 68 below his season average.
“You can’t always have a great day. I didn’t have a great day,” Penny said. “You have games like this where it’s all adversity. “
The rain played a starring role early. It started steadily at kickoff and grew more intense with every wind gust. The conditions led to a botched extra point by Air Force, a punt from San Diego State that traveled only 17 yards and conservative play calling. The Falcons led 9-0 with 7:56 remaining in the second quarter when the game was halted and the teams sent to their locker rooms.
It was the first weather delay at Falcon Stadium since 1993, also against the Aztecs. Given the lengthy delay, both teams agreed to skip intermission and headed straight into the third quarter.
“After the delay, we said we can’t put ourselves in the hole anymore,” Penny said. “Just stick with each other and we came out and played great.”
Penny’s go-ahead run came moments after Air Force (1-2, 0-1) took the lead when Tim McVey took a pitch, jumped over a San Diego State defender on the ground, landed backward and twirled into the end zone for a 12-yard score.
Air Force got the ball back with 2:13 left, but Trey Lomax intercepted Arion Worthman’s fourth-down pass to help the Aztecs extend their win streak to seven straight over the Falcons.
“We had a lot of momentum,” McVey said. “Give them credit — they came back after the delay ready to play. They’re competitors.”