San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
AZTECS RUN TO DAYLIGHT
SDSU piles up 326 yards rushing in rare day game vs. Hawaii
The last four minutes in the first quarter of San Diego State’s football game against Hawaii were ticking down on Saturday afternoon in what was developing into a punting contest.
That’s when one of the announcers for Hawaii’s broadcast team said: “At this point, Hawaii coach Todd Graham has to be happy with his defense.”
Famous last words.
At that moment, SDSU running back Jordan Byrd took a handoff from quarterback Carson Baker, turned the corner along the left sideline and sped off on a 51-yard touchdown run.
On SDSU’S next offensive play, running back Greg Bell raced up the middle for a 62yard touchdown run.
Both sides had punted three times apiece when the comment came, and just before both Byrd and Bell struck with lightning speed.
Turns out, the Aztecs
were only half done in the first half.
Bell added a 3-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and linebacker Segun Olubi returned an interception 69 yards for a TD in SDSU’S 34-10 victory over Hawaii at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“We had really good energy,” SDSU head coach Brady Hoke said. “I like how we came out and went about our business. There’s always things we’ve got to continue to improve on ...”
The Aztecs improved to 3-1 in the Mountain West (and overall) with the victory as the truncated season reached its midpoint.
SDSU also remained in the hunt for a MW championship game berth.
The Aztecs are tied in the loss column with Fresno State (3-1) while Boise State (3-0) and Nevada (4-0) remained unbeaten, and San Jose State (3-0), playing UNLV late, sought to do the same.
It was SDSU’S running game that again carried the day for the Aztecs, who rushed 51 times for 326 yards (6.4 ypc) and three touchdowns. SDSU passed for only 30 yards in the game — the fewest since passing for 14 yards at Utah State in 2016 — although with a 28-0 halftime lead, the Aztecs attempted only one pass in the last two quarters.
The run game, as it has in all three victories this season, changed the complexion of the game.
“It really did,” Hoke said. “Defensively, we were going three-and-outs. We were playing pretty well . ... Obviously, when our offense has the juice and they do a nice job at the point of attack . ... We had some long runs, obviously, for touchdowns.
“That takes the whole entire offense, especially those long runs because that tells you your receivers are out there harassing the DBS.”
Byrd, who rushed seven times for 61 yards, provided the first spark when he gained the corner and used his elite speed to beat the Hawaii defense, putting a move on linebacker Khoury Bethley at the 25-yard line before cruising to the end zone to make it 7-0 with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter.
When SDSU got the ball back at its own 38-yard line, Bell took a handoff up the middle, made a couple quick cuts for a big gain that became a touchdown when teammate TJ Sullivan ran interference at the 25-yard line to spring Bell the rest of the way to a 14-0 lead 41⁄2 minutes into the second quarter.
Bell rushed for more than 100 yards for the fourth straight game, extending a school record for consecutive 100-yard games to start an SDSU career.
He finished with 19 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Bell now has 537 yards rushing, putting him on pace for a 1,000-yard season in just eight games
“We’re chasing each other,” Bell said of the competition among the running backs. “If Jordan breaks a long run, I come to the sideline telling him I’m going to get mine . ... We’re just trying to match each other in the intensity. It worked out well today.”
The SDSU defense had a shutout going until Hawaii got a 27-yard field goal with 3:08 left in the third quarter. That, after stopping the Rainbow Warriors on three straight plays from the 6-yard line.
Hawaii added a 75-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chad Cordeiro to wide receiver Calvin Turner in the fourth quarter to make it 31-10.
In the first half, the Aztecs forced Hawaii to punt seven times. The Rainbows’ other two possessions of the half ended with a fumble and interception.
Cordeiro is a dangerous dual-threat QB, but the Aztecs bottled him up for much of the afternoon. He was 15-for-35 passing for 209 yards and gained 20 yards on 20 carries.
“We knew Cordeiro was a good scrambler and could really get out of the pocket well, so we put in some things this week to deal with that,” SDSU linebacker Caden Mcdonald said. “We executed real well in the first half and Coach (Kurt Mattix) just called the right things and the players executed as well, so we ended up stopping him.”
SDSU’S scoring overshadowed turnover trouble that extended into a second weekend.
The Aztecs committed three turnovers in only five of the past 70 games. Now they have done it in back-to-back weeks.
SDSU was doomed in last week’s 28-17 loss to San Jose State by three fourth-quarter turnovers — a muffed punt Byrd fumbled away and a backward pass for a fumble and interception by Baker and a fumbled punt.
Wide receiver Jesse Matthews replaced Byrd as SDSU’S punt returner and muffed his first opportunity four minutes into the game, but covered the loose ball.
Matthews wasn’t so fortunate when SDSU received the ball for the first time in the second half, muffing a punt that the Rainbow Warriors recovered.
He was spared when Hawaii kicker Matthew Shipley missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.
Hoke said Baker would be coached up this week by offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski, but the sophomore from Helix High struggled with his passes as well as some of his decisions.
With 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter, SDSU facing third-and-12 from its own 19. Baker took the snap and scrambled left, looking for Greg Bell just past the line of scrimmage.
Bell wasn’t open and Baker threw the ball up into a crowd of Hawaii defenders, narrowly avoiding an interception.
The Rainbow Warriors later picked off two passes, one in the second quarter when Baker overthrew wide receiver Kobe Smith and another in the third quarter when he missed tight end Daniel Bellinger. It was Baker’s only pass attempt of the second half.
For the game, Baker was 4-for-13 passing for 30 yards with the two interceptions.
Backup quarterback Lucas Johnson replaced Baker midway through the fourth quarter and guided the Aztecs on a drive that ended with the second of Matt Araiza’s two field goals (27 and 35 yards) in the game. Johnson rushed four times for 47 yards.
kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com