Standing is a long-standing tradition at San Diego State basketball games by fans who don’t take a seat until the Aztecs score.
SDSU football fans are not so inclined.
Who can blame them, especially after the Aztecs were shut out two weeks ago against Nevada?
SDSU did do something to get fans on their feet Saturday night against Utah State, however, getting a 23-yard field goal from Jack Browning with 33 seconds remaining to send the Mountain West game into overtime before an announced crowd of 23,096 (14,396 turnstile) at Snapdragon Stadium.
The fans slumped back in their seats, though, as the Aztecs lost 32-24 in double overtime.
“With did some things that were really good on offense, some things that weren’t very good,” SDSU coach Brady Hoke said, “and then we gave up some big plays defensively. We can’t do that.”
Concluded Hoke: “They played hard. The effort was there.”
But it was not enough to prevent the Aztecs from having their backs to the wall.
SDSU (3-6, 1-4 MW) now must run the table — winning games at Colorado State and San Jose State and at home against Fresno State — if it is to extend its school-record bowl eligibility streak to a 14th straight season.
Asked how daunting the task is, Hoke said, “That’s what do want to do, right? It won’t be daunting. It will be something that we need to do. We play on the road twice, and go out there and play as well as we can.”
One more loss would give the Aztecs their first losing season since the 2009 team went 4-8.
“We can’t stop now,” SDSU defensive end Garret Fountain said. “We have to finish. … We have to finish strong and show some of the younger guys that are stepping up that it takes everybody, it takes us to work and no matter what happens, you’ve got to finish.”
Utah State (4-5, 2-4) got a much-needed victory in its own bowl-eligibility quest.
SDSU opened overtime with a 27-yard touchdown pass from SDSU quarterback Jalen Mayden to wide receiver Brionne Penny, but Utah State matched it with a touchdown of its own.
The Aggies started with the ball in the second OT and running back Robert Briggs scored on a 20-yard run before teammate Broc Lane scored the two-point conversion attempt required after the first OT.
SDSU failed to responded with another touchdown, a fourth-down pass by Mayden intercepted by Utah State’s Ike Larsen to end the game.
For the record, SDSU’s scoring drought ended two plays into the second quarter.
That’s when Mayden threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Redman.
The Aztecs could have scored several minutes earlier had Browning’s 42-yard field goal attempt been on the mark midway through the first quarter.
Anyway, the Aztecs did score with 14:10 remaining in the first half on Redman’s first scoring catch reception since getting two TDs in the season opener against Ohio.
At that point, the focus shifted to something else for SDSU’s points-starved offense.
Scoring again.
The Aztecs didn’t do that until midway through the fourth quarter when Mayden threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to running back Kenan Christon to make it 17-14. It was one of a team-high eight receptions for Christon, the most by an Aztecs running back since DJ Pumphrey had seven against UNLV in 2016.
The Mayden-Redman TD — which came moments after a 62-yard carry by running back Lucky Sutton — did little to spark the SDSU offense.
Utah State responded on its next drive with a 24-yard field goal by William Testa that made it 7-3 at halftime.
The big play, which has haunted the SDSU defense much of the season, came back to bite the Aztecs in the second half when Utah State scored on a 50-yard touchdown pass with 8:43 left in the third quarter.
Utah State quarterback Cooper Legas, who replaced freshman starter McCae Hillstead in the second half, put a ball out there for wide receiver Jaylen Royals to run under to provide the Aggies with a 10-7 lead.
Utah State expanded its advantage to 17-7 two minutes into the fourth quarter when the Aggies completed a seven-play, 92-yard drive on Davon Booth’s 19-yard touchdown run.
Christon’s TD run with 7:10 to play made it a three-point game.
That may have tied it, except earlier in the game the Aztecs tried a trick play that didn’t go their way, the Aggies stopping Browning for a 2-yard loss on a fake 30-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter.
Browning also was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-3 fake punt in the fourth quarter.
The second stop gave Utah State the ball on SDSU’s 24-yard line, though the Aggies did not take advantage of the opportunity when Testa missed a field goal.
SDSU blocked a punt with 2:25 remaining, giving the offense one more chance, an opportunity that ended with Browning making a 23-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining in regulation to make it 17-17 and force overtime.
Mayden was 25-for-39 passing for 265 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Sutton led the Aztecs in rushing with 11 carries for 86 yards. Christon had a team-high 76 receiving yards.
SDSU linebacker Cody Moon had a season-high 13 tackles and teammate Zyrus Fiaseu had a career-high three sacks.
