The emotion of the week dissipated day by day after Monday’s announcement that Brady Hoke would not be returning next season as San Diego State’s football coach.
And so, the focus shifted to the field Saturday night before an announced crowd of 16,224 at San Jose State’s CEFCU Stadium, where SDSU came out strong on offense and defense against the Spartans.
The Aztecs fell into a pattern all to familiar in the second half, however, sputtering on offense while allowing a handful of big, backbreaking plays on defense.
The result was predictable enough, another loss in a season that now includes eight of them.
SDSU fell 24-13 to San Jose State, which won its fifth straight game to remain in the hunt for a berth in the Mountain West championship game.
“I know our guys play hard, I know they played physical,” Hoke said during a postgame radio interview with the school’s flagship station. “We gave up a couple big plays in the second half. We made a couple big plays in the second half. We’ve just got to, all in all, finish.”
This was particularly painful because the Aztecs had played their most disciplined game of the season. They were not called for a penalty through three quarters and into part of the fourth.
Until, that is, tight end Cameron Harpole was called for holding on what would have been a game-tying 3-yard touchdown run by Jaylen Armstead with 10 1/2 minutes remaining in the game.
Instead of a touchdown, SDSU ended up with a field goal.
That trimmed the deficit to 17-14 with 8:54 to play.
San Jose State made it moot a few minutes later, scoring a clinching touchdown on a 5-yard carry by running back Kairee Robinson with 5:17 remaining.
The TD was set up by teammate Quali Conley’s 57-yard run three plays earlier.
SDSU had done a good job slowing Robinson, who came into the game needing 81 yards to reach 1,000 for the season.
The Aztecs limited him to 40 yards on 11 carries.
Conley stung them for 155 yards on 13 carries, however.
Even so, SDSU outgained the Spartans 183-181 in rushing. Armstead carried 21 times for 134 yards, making him the first Aztecs running back this season with a 100-yard performance.
SDSU quarterback Jalen Mayden completed 15 of 24 passes for 117 yards, but threw a pair of critical second-half interceptions.
The Aztecs (3-8, 1-6 MW) remain at the bottom of the conference. They now have it all to themselves after New Mexico (4-7, 2-5) came away with a surprising 25-17 win over Fresno State (8-3, 4-3).
SDSU closes out the season Saturday night against Fresno State at Snapdragon Stadium.
San Jose State (6-5, 5-2) become bowl eligible for the fourth time in 11 years. The Spartans close out the regular season against UNLV (9-2, 8-1), which moved into first place with a 31-27 win over Air Force (9-3, 5-2).
The Spartans are in the mix as well, although SDSU put that in doubt in a game that was 10-10 at halftime.
And SDSU started with the ball in the second half, for what it was worth.
The Aztecs had three points to show this season on their first possession of the second half. They did not add to that total against the Spartans.
SDSU managed only Gabriel Plascencia’s 21-yard field goal in the second half of an evening that began with such promise.
After SDSU’s defense forced San Jose State to punt away the game’s opening possession, the Aztecs offense took the field and put together one of the season’s best drives.
It was a throwback to their smash mouth days, with running plays on 11 of 13 snaps.
Armstead had eight of the carries. The longest went for 39 yards. The last went for 1 yard and a touchdown for a 7-0 lead.
SDSU consumed exactly half of the 15-minute first quarter.
Control the ball. Keep the other offense off the field.
Sooner or later, the other team gets the ball back, however. And San Jose State went right down the field the next time it took possession, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Chevan Cordeiro to Dominick Mazotti to make it 7-7 one minute into the second quarter.
Cordeiro (15-for-20, 174 yards, TD/INT) tested SDSU deep later in the quarter, and sophomore cornerback Chris Johnson responded, intercepting a pass that he returned 44 yards to the San Jose State 33-yard line.
It was only the fourth interception this season for Cordeiro, though it was the fourth straight year the Aztecs picked off a pass against him.
SDSU reached the red zone for a brief moment before Mayden was sacked for an 8-yard loss, and the Aztecs settled for Plascencia’s 46-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead with three minutes remaining in the second quarter.
San Jose State made it 10-10 on Kyler Halvorsen’s 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Notable
Plascencia did the place-kicking for the second straight game in place of Jack Browning, who is dealing with a knee injury. Browning still did the punting. He was called on only once, booting a 48-yard punt in the second quarter.
• SDSU redshirt freshman running back Lucky Sutton missed his second straight game with a right knee injury.
• There were no penalties until San Jose State was called for a face-mask with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
