San Diego State knocks Bulldogs out of Mountain West title race, throwing it not running it

Fresno State and San Diego State both found the going in the box to be rough Friday night. The run games, not there. The Bulldogs averaged 2.6 yards per rush, their running backs stopped for 2 yards or less on 11 of 18 plays. The Aztecs averaged 2.8 yards per rush, their running backs tackled for 2 yards or less on 21 of 31 plays.

Fresno State, with a quarterback who was leading the Mountain West Conference in completion percentage, stuck with it.

San Diego State, which in past seasons has run the ball at a very high clip (72.8% of its plays in 2015, 71.3% in 2016, 69.5% in 2017), didn’t.

The Aztecs put the ball in the air, getting short and simple throws for quarterback Ryan Agnew, and if the Bulldogs had been able to execute plays on a similar tack they and not the Aztecs might be the team with the inside track to the Mountain West Conference championship game.

Instead, the Bulldogs’ title game plans went kaput in a 17-7 loss at SDCCU Stadium and they now need to win their final two games against Nevada and at San Jose State just to become bowl eligible.

“San Diego State played very well,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “They executed and they played a lot better. You have to give them credit. They played really well on defense and they are a really good football team. We couldn’t get anything established in the run game and we had a lot of pressure on the passer all night long. The guys played hard, but it just wasn’t enough to win.”

San Diego State (8-2, 5-2 in the MW) also played to its advantage.

With no success in the run game, the Aztecs created opportunity with their counter-punch pass game.

Change of pace

Agnew completed 33 of 47 passes for 323 yards, all career-highs. He is the first San Diego State quarterback to throw for 300 or more yards since 2014 when Quinn Kaehler totaled 326 against Air Force, a span of 65 games.

He hit four explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards, but the majority were easy throws on short and intermediate routes. He targeted running backs with 10 of his throws, tight ends with six more.

“Just really quick routes, a lot of running back swings and stuff like that, quick-game stuff to get their guys out in space,” linebacker Arron Mosby said.

Those plays kept the sticks moving, the Aztecs rolling up 16 of their 24 first downs through the air and two more on pass interference and roughing the passer penalties.

“We knew if we stopped them in the run, that they would get a little pass heavy,” linebacker Justin Rice said. “Once they got into that, they started making plays and we didn’t.”

Fresno State (4-6, 2-4) started a second-quarter series with 11- and 20-yard pass plays to tight end Jared Rice and Ronnie Rivers after falling behind 10-7 on a San Diego State field goal.

But after back-to-back plays that netted first downs and driving to the San Diego State 45-yard line, they did this …

Rivers, rush for no gain.

Rivers, rush for 2 yards.

And on third-and-8, quarterback Jorge Reyna, who threw three interceptions in the game, missed on a deep ball into double coverage.

If there was a team in this game that would throw the football 47 times, odds-on that it would have been the Bulldogs. Fresno State ran it 27 times, threw it 26. San Diego State ran it 37 times, threw it 47.

“We’re known as a team that runs the rock, but if they’re going to stack the box and stop the run, we have to be able to throw the ball,” Agnew said.

“We have guys like Jesse (Matthews), Kobe (Smith), Elijah (Kothe), Ethan (Dedeaux), and Parker (Houston) all making plays and they have been doing it all year. It was great to see it all come together in one game.”

Injuries: Cropper in brace

Not so great for the Bulldogs, who could be depleted even further by injuries coming out of their loss at San Diego State and as they try to get bowl-eligible.

Freshman wideout Jalen Cropper was on crutches after the game with his left knee in a brace, suffered when the Aztecs tackled him for a loss on a run.

The Bulldogs, who started an eighth offensive line combo in 10 games, also had two more linemen go down with injuries.

Freshman Bula Schmidt, who started at center for the first time, went out with an injury. Tackle Alex Akingbulu also went down.

What’s next

“There are still things to play for,” Tedford said. “We will get back home, get back and compete. I have no doubt that our kids will compete. They compete hard every single day, but sometimes it doesn’t work out our way.

“I have no doubt that we will respond by coming back, having a great week of practice and competing for the next game. That’s going to be the goal.”

By the numbers

3 – Losses for the Bulldogs this season when scoring first in a game. Coming into this season, Fresno State was 18-1 when scoring first under Tedford.

206 – Total yards for the Bulldogs on 53 plays, just 3.9 yards per play. The 206 yards and 3.9 yards per play are the lowest Fresno State has had in a game under Tedford.

452.5 and 7.2 – Average yards per game and per play for the Bulldogs over their past four games against UNLV, Colorado State, Hawaii and Utah State.

734 – Offensive snaps without a lost fumble for San Diego State, a streak that was broken in the third quarter when defensive end Alex Cruz, a sophomore from Concord, recovered a fumble at the Bulldogs 2-yard line. Linebacker Arron Mosby forced the fumble, stripping the ball from running back Chance Bell.

52.9 – Third-down conversion rate for San Diego State (9 of 17), which came into the game ranked ninth in the Mountain West. The Aztecs had converted on only 37.0% of their third-down plays.

8.0 – Average yards to gain to move the sticks on third down for the Aztecs. San Diego State converted on a third-and-8, a third-and-14 and a third-and-13, all passes by Ryan Agnew.

4 – Explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards by the Aztecs, who were ranked 11th in the Mountain West with only 20 coming into the game. Agnew completed throws for 29, 24, 21 and 29 yards.

8 – Tackles for loss for the Bulldogs, matching a season-high set against Minnesota and tied at New Mexico State.

47 – Pass attempts by San Diego State, the most in a game by the Aztecs since they put it up 64 times (27 of 64, 318 yards, four interceptions) in a 40-19 loss to FCS Eastern Illinois on Aug. 31, 2013.

10 – Rushing touchdowns over the past five games for Bulldogs running back Ronnie Rivers. He has at least one in six consecutive games and 12 this season.

This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 8:55 AM.