Former Bonita Vista High School running back Greg Bell set a new San Diego State University rushing record but it wasn’t enough as the Aztecs suffered their first loss of the 2020 season, 28-17, to San Jose State in an early season matchup of unbeaten teams last Friday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
Bell rushed for 109 net yards on 25 carries against the Spartans to become the first Aztec running back in program history to rush for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games to start his SDSU career.
Bell also caught six passes for 34 yards to lead the team for the second consecutive week with 143 all-purpose yards.
He set career highs in rushing attempts (25), receptions (six) and receiving yards (34) against the San Jose State.
On the season, the former Baron standout has rushed for 377 net yards on 66 carries for a 5.7 yards-per-play rushing average with three rushing touchdowns while making eight catches for 63 yards with one receiving touchdown.
In fact, it was a record night for several San Diego County alumni in the setback.
Former Helix Charter High School quarterback Carson Baker passed for a single-game high 261 yards and scored on a one-yard run while former Christian High School receiver Jesse Matthews roped in a career high 139 yards on six catches.
Additionally, former Helix Charter alum Michael Shawcroft recorded a team-high seven tackles in his first career start.
The Aztecs squandered leads of 10-0 and 17-14 en route to dropping the Mountain West contest.
Baker scored his first rushing touchdown of the season midway through the second quarter to push the Aztecs (2-1) to a 10- point lead over the Spartans. But SDSU would only score once more in the game as Bonita Vista High School alumnus Greg Bell scampered in from five yards out early in the fourth quarter to boost the Aztecs ahead by three points.
But SDSU, which coughed up three turnovers in the game, could not hold the lead as SJSU (3-0) rallied with two touchdowns in the final frame to remain undefeated in conference play.
The loss was the first on the season for the Aztecs, who next host Hawaii (2-1) this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Carson.
SDSU had not lost to SJSU since 2012.
“We are very disappointed as a football team,” SDSU head coach Brady Hoke said. “We had a good week of preparation. We were ready to come out and play but we did not come out and play our best football. I want to give San Jose State some credit, obviously, but we had some penalties that hurt us, and we have to take care of the ball better. We knew what to expect but we just did not perform.”
Matt Araiza (Rancho Bernardo) opened scoring in the game on a 34-yard field goal with 6:17 remaining in the first quarter.
Derrick Deese Jr. cut into the early SDSU lead by catching a four-yard scoring pass from SJSU quarterback Nick Nash with 35 seconds left in the first half.
The Spartans then took a 14-10 lead when Nash hit Bailey Gaither on a three-yard scoring pass with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter.
The teams combined for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Aztecs led, 17-14, following Bell’s scoring run, his third of the season.
The 17 points were a season low output for SDSU, which entered the game averaging 34 points and 496 yards per game in total offense.
The Aztecs put-gained the Spartans 362-298 in total offensive yards but came up short to SJSU 116-101 in rushing yards. SDSU ran 75 offensive plays in the loss.
Two fumbles (one each by Baker and Jordan Byrd) and an interception (thrown by Baker) proved costly.
Shawcroft recorded five solo hits and two stops for losses to lead the SDSU defense, which held the Spartans to 57 offensive plays.
Tariq Thompson (St. Augustine) followed on the scoresheet with six tackles and one interception. As a team, the Aztecs registered seven tackles for a loss.
“We had two pretty good football games that we won (to start the season),” Hoke said. “Each week we knew the competition was going to get stiffer. That is going to continue with Hawaii and Nevada and the others on the schedule.
“We have to go back to work as a football team. We, as coaches, must look at this game plan that we had (against SJSU) and see if there was something we did not like. We, the coaching staff, have got to do a better job of coaching.”
Baker posted career highs in completions (21), attempts (30), passing yards (261) with one interception against SJSU. He connected with Matthews on a 51-yard strike, also a career high for longest pass completion. However, Baker was sacked three times in the game for minus-29 net rushing yards.
The former Highlander has logged 561 passing yards on a 62.96 completion percentage with three touchdowns in three games this season while rushing 18 times for 59 yards and one rushing score.
Matthews, who earned a start, leads the team with 10 receptions for 173 yards in three games but is still looking for his first touchdown catch in 2020.
Shawcroft, who earned his first start of the season against the Spartans, ranks third on the team with 14 tackles (trailing co-leaders Thompson and Dwayne Johnson each with 18 tackles).
Eastlake alum William Dunkle started at right guard for the third consecutive contest this season.
Nash completed 16 of 25 passes with two touchdowns and one interception in relief duty of injured starter Nick Starkel. Nash also rushed for 53 yards and was not sacked in the game. Deese led San Jose State’s receiving corps with five catches for 76 yards with one TD.
Thompson made his 42nd career start for SDSU, the longest current streak on the team.
Nevada and San Jose State are both 3-0 in conference play while No. 21 Boise State, which lost, 51-17, to No. 8 BYU, is 2-0 in conference play.
SDSU is tied with Hawaii and Fresno State with 2-1 conference records while Colorado State is 1-1, Wyoming is 1-2, Air Force and New Mexico are both 0-2 while UNLV and Utah (the Aztecs’ opening two opponents) are both 0-3.
Alumni report
- Mater Dei Catholic alum C.J. Verdell scored on a 10-yard touchdown run while logging 20 carries for 109 yards in No. 11 Oregon’s 35-14 Pac-12 win over Stanford.
- Helix Charter alum Jahad Woods notched five tackles in Washington State’s 38-28 Pac-12 win over Oregon State.
- Helix Charter alum Isaac Taylor Stewart recorded one tackle for USC in its 28-27 Pac-12 win over Arizona State.
- Former Eastlake Titan and Mission Hills alum Chris Olave had five receptions for 64 yards and scored two touchdowns on catches of six and 33 yards in No. 3 Ohio State’s 49-27 win over Rutgers.
- Bonita Vista alum Keenan Ellis had three tackles for BYU in its 51-17 non-conference win over defending Mountain West champion Boise State while Helix alum Ezekiel Noa had four tackles for Boise State.
- Former Mater Dei Catholic alum Quentin Frazier recorded nine tackles for Hawaii in its 39-33 Mountain West victory against New Mexico.
SDCCU Holiday Bowl, parade to sit out 2020 season
A pair of holiday traditions will not take place this year after San Diego Bowl Game Association officials announced on Oct. 22 that the board of directors had canceled the 43rd annual San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl and its attendant parade.
The high-profile college football game and parade traditionally take place in late December.
Both events were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
“This has been the most difficult decision our board has ever had to make since our bowl game started in 1978,” said Mark Neville, who serves as CEO for the Holiday Bowl. “While it’s not the decision we wanted to make, it’s the right decision for our non-profit association and the community for the long term.
“This decision was particularly difficult because our tourism industry has taken such a hit due to the pandemic. The virus has created a situation in that we wouldn’t be able to welcome fans, ultimately resulting in no tourism. Couple that with the financial and potential health risks of trying to play the game during this pandemic and it was clear this was the right decision for us.”
At the time of the announcement, the Holiday Bowl was the fourth bowl game to be canceled for the upcoming bowl season, joining the Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara, the Hawaii Bowl and the Bahamas Bowl.
On Oct. 30 the Quick Lane Bowl announced its cancellation.
The Holiday Bowl, known for its high-scoring prowess and dramatic endings, has been an annual staple in Mission Valley and at one time played host to what turned out to be the national championship game in 1984 when top-ranked BYU defeated Michigan, 24-17, to finish 12-0 as the only undefeated team in Division I-A play and earned rights to the national championship title.
The attendance of 61,248 at the game was a record at that time for Jack Murphy Stadium.
San Diego State played in the 1986 Holiday Bowl, dropping a 39-38 decision to the 19th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.
The largest attendance at the Holiday Bowl came in 2005 when 65,416 fans watched Oklahoma defeat sixth-ranked Oregon 17-14.
However, with the city of San Diego turning over SDCCU Stadium to San Diego State in a ground-breaking sale of prime real estate for the construction of a new stadium, and SDSU subsequently announcing that deconstruction of the existing stadium would start in the early quarter of 2021, the Holiday Bowl found itself without a venue in which to play.
The new Aztec Stadium is not expected to open until 2022 and the school’s football team will play its home games the next two seasons at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball, could be a potential home for the Holiday Bowl in 2021.
The showstopper parade kicked off the festivities early in the morning on game day and its assortment of big balloons has become a hallmark for the event.
The Holiday Bowl also had other community tie-ins, including a 5K walk/run and visits to SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo for players from both participating teams.
Bowl season
The Mountain West Conference, in which SDSU is a member, has tie-ins to four bowls in 2020-21: the new L.A. Bowl (Dec. 31 at the NFL Rams’ SoFi Stadium), Arizona Bowl (Dec. 31), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 22) and New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 24).
The MW champion will earn a berth in the L.A. Bowl while the runner-up will play in the Arizona Bowl.
The Las Vegas Bowl is also upgrading its status with a move to the NFL Raiders’ new 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium. The game pits opponents from the Pac-12 and SEC.
The Las Vegas Bowl game featured a tie-in to the MW from 2010-19.
