Aztec FAST. The latter word, courtesy of SDSU head coach Sean Lewis, is an acronym that stands for Fun, Accountable, Smart and Tough.
The Aztecs didn’t open Saturday’s season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce at Snapdragon Stadium in fast mode. Far from it. The hosts were sluggish and mistake-prone in falling behind 6-3 at halftime. Many fans may have wanted to turn Lewis’ acronym around to instead read Aztec FLOP.
But Lewis may be on to something as his team reversed course to compile a monster second half to indeed finish fast with a 45-14 taming of the Lions.
Included were two defensive touchdowns – a fumble return and an interception return. Timely defense is always appreciated. And the Aztecs needed it.
SDSU struck first for its only points of the first half on a 50-yard field goal by Gabriel Plascencia (Oakland). The Lions, guided by signal-caller Eric Rodriguez, countered with a drive that paid off with a touchdown by E.J. Oakman on a one-yard run to take a 6-3 lead.
The extra-point conversion failed, as did a second attempt by Plascencia to split the uprights late in the second quarter in a bid to tie the game at the half.
SDSU shot itself in the foot with nine penalties in the first half. But a 42-point second half left the hosts with 468 yards in total offense, including 254 rushing yards.
True freshman quarterback Danny O’Neil (Indianapolis, Ind.) completed 22 of 33 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns while transfer running back Marquez Cooper (Gaithersburg, Md.) gave the hosts a lead they would not relinquish in the game by bolting 47 yards for a breakaway touchdown three-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter. Flip the score to 10-6 Aztecs.
Cooper, who rushed 27 times for 223 yards to surpass 4,000 yards in his career (Kent State, Ball State and now SDSU), reached the end zone twice in the game in front of an announced crowd of 25,180.
A pair of South County players, newly minted co-captains Trey White (Eastlake) and Tano Letuli (Cathedral Catholic), combined to help put their team up by 10 points. Flushed from the pocket, Rodriguez back-tracked toward the goal line from the line of scrimmage at the 27-yard line. White forced the fumble and Letuli recovered the ball in the end zone.
The hosts were not finished as O’Neil later hit receiver Louis Brown IV (South Los Angeles) for a 44-yard score. A two-point conversion run by tight end Michael Harrison (San Francisco) upped the SDSU lead to a comfortable 24-6.
Brown (three catches, 91 yards) appeared to haul in an O’Neil aerial in the first half, but the ball was dislodged when he landed on his back in the end zone for an incomplete pass. Redemption was sweet.
The Lions ended a run of 21 consecutive Aztec points as Rodriguez connected with tight end Drew Allison on a six-yard touchdown pass with 2:17 to play in the third quarter to narrow the score somewhat to 24-14.
But the hosts wasted little time in adding to their total. Cooper made it 31-14 on a seven-yard run one minute into the fourth quarter. Safety J.D. Coffey (Kennedale, Tex.) returned an intercepted pass for 45 yards and O’Neil later hit receiver Jordan Napier (Fontana) for an eight-yard touchdown to round out scoring in the game.
Letuli tied teammate Eric Butler (Corona) for most tackles in the game with seven (five solo, two assists) while White registered five defensive stops (three solo, two assists), tied with teammate Josh Hunter (Temecula).
Nick Lopez (Huntington Beach) supplied four PAT conversions in the win. Tyler Pastula (Easton, Pa.) averaged 36.7 yards on three punts.
The stakes get a little higher when SDSU hosts Oregon State (1-0) this coming Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium (7:30 p.m. kickoff). The Beavers defeated visiting Idaho State 38-15 in their season opener.
Lewis didn’t mince words in his opening statement to the media following the game, holding his players accountable.
“We have to start a heck of a lot faster in the first half and play with much better discipline as we come out and do the basic things at a much higher level to start the game,” he said. “We’re really proud of the resiliency of the club, the character of the club and the way that they responded in the second half. We’re going to do a much better job with our discipline and limit the number of penalties. Obviously, that is unacceptable, but I’m really happy to get the win.
“It’s going to be a lot better to clean up a win than it is a messy loss. We’re happy to do that. But obviously, lots of room for improvement, lots of room to grow, but I’m really proud of everyone in the program and the work that they put in to get to this point and to be one to know.”
The fumble recovery in the end zone was the first career touchdown for Letuli. “But I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my teammates — Trey White punching the ball out, Cody Moon (Albuquerque) being there. And I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
Letuli said the biggest thing on the defensive side of the ball at halftime was not to panic.
“Fixing things up, and just keep fighting,” he said. “Come out with energy and just don’t panic. Just stay calm and trust the defense and trust our team, trust our offense, and it worked out.”
Captains courageous
The Aztecs named their three team captains for the 2024 season prior to last Saturday’s season opener. The trio was chosen in a team vote on Aug. 23. White (special teams representative) and Letuli (defensive representative) were named along with Marquez (offensive representative).
White, the team’s 2022 special teams scout player of the year, enters his third season at SDSU, having moved to defensive edge from linebacker. Last season, White had 15 tackles, two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and an interception in 12 games, including one start.
Letuli, meanwhile, comes to The Mesa after one season at Army West Point. Letuli logged 12 tackles in 11 games for the Black Knights as a true freshman in 2023, one of just a few freshmen defensive players to make Army’s opening-day travel squad.
Cooper, who last month was named to both the Maxwell Award Watch List (college football player of the year) and the Doak Walker Award Watch List (best running back), enters his final campaign as the active leading FBS leader in rushing yards (3,856), all-purpose yards (4,466) and rushing touchdowns by a running back (33).
The Maryland native has three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, including 1,080 and 1,331 while at Kent State in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and 1,043 last year at Ball State.
SDSU 2024 Schedule
September
7: Oregon State at SDSU, 7:30 p.m.
14: SDSU at Cal-Berkeley, 7:30 p.m.
28: SDSU at Central Michigan, TBA
October
5: Hawaii at SDSU, 5 p.m.
12: SDSU at Wyoming, 1:30 p.m. MT
26: Washington State at SDSU, 7:30 p.m.
November
1: SDSU at Boise State, 6 p.m. MT
8: New Mexico at SDSU, 7:30 p.m.
16: SDSU at UNLV, 7 p.m.
23: SDSU at Utah State, 1:30 p.m. MT
30: Air Force at SDSU, TBA
