When the San Diego State football team won a school-record 12 games two years ago, almost everything went the Aztecs’ way.
They defeated Utah State in triple overtime — bet the Utes wish they had put quarterback Cam Rising in before the second half — and topped San Jose State in double overtime.
Their defense limited six opponents to two touchdowns or fewer. And punter Matt Araiza consistently flipped the field when the offense came up short.
It’s just the opposite this season, with SDSU losing twice as many games as it has won.
Quarterback Jalen Mayden holding onto the ball for a split second longer could have meant a touchdown rather than a turnover in a 34-31 loss to Boise State.
A dropped pass in the red zone in the fourth quarter may have made the difference between a game-winning drive and a 6-0 loss to Nevada.
And Mayden connecting with wide-open tight end Mark Redman in the end zone on Saturday may have delivered a victory in regulation over Utah State rather than a 32-24 double-overtime loss.
Them’s the breaks.
How the breaks fall for SDSU (3-6, 1-4 Mountain West) this week at Colorado State (3-6, 1-4) will be interesting, given the Rams have experienced similar shortcomings as the Aztecs.
“When you have two teams playing each other that are very similar,” SDSU coach Brady Hoke said, “there’s about six, eight plays that make a difference in the ballgame, and I think that was true the other night (against Utah State).”
While the defense had five tackles among 12 tackles for loss and the offense was productive from a yardage standpoint against Utah State, SDSU came up short in the only statistical category that really matters — the score.
“We have to make sure we’re getting points for all that hard work that they’re doing out there,” Hoke said. “Dropped too many passes, that was a little bit of a negative. We had three false starts. I don’t know if any of them killed us, but again, you have to make up more yardage, you have got to be more successful, you have got to be more on point.”
Hoke called the Aztecs “a young team,” then corrected himself, saying, “we’re not that young anymore.”
The expectation is for fewer and fewer mistakes, like false starts and jumping offsides, and improved tackling and technique.
And making the most of those 6-8 plays that decide a game.
“Of the 6 to 8 when you win a championship, you’re making seven of them, right?” said Hoke, who would probably settle for five of them against the Rams. “We’ve just got to keep ourselves going out every day practicing and trying to be better at what we’re doing.”
Injury update
SDSU junior left guard Cade Bennett missed practice Monday and Tuesday. That calls into question whether Bennett can extend his streak of 21 straight starts for the Aztecs.
“He’s out with concussion-like symptoms, but we’re hoping he’s ready Saturday,” Hoke said.
Redshirt freshman running back Lucky Sutton has been practicing this week with a right knee brace.
He jogged onto the practice field Tuesday apparently no worse for wear and appeared fine during the four periods open to observation, but Sutton’s availability Saturday remains to be seen.
Notable
Colorado State is ranked 103 spots higher than SDSU in passing offense with 319.1 yards a game (9th) to the Aztecs’ 180.8 yards a game (112th).
• SDSU’s ground game is much more productive than the Rams, averaging 114.1 yards a game (85th) to 71.8 (131st).
• SDSU is 12-6 against Colorado State in Fort Collins, winning the past six meetings between the teams. The Rams haven’t won at home since a 21-6 win in 2003.
• The Aztecs have had nine 300-yard passing performances over the yeas against Colorado State. Currently offensive coordinator Ryan Lindley is atop the list, throwing for 459 yards in a 2009 road win.
