After a total team effort, can the Aztecs take the next step against better competition?
Jayden Denegal showed he has what it takes to lead the Aztec Offense.
Lucky Sutton takes his turn in the Running Back spotlight.
Aztec defense total team effort.
GAME INFO:
Location: Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington
Date/Time: Saturday, September 6 at 7:15 (Pacific Time)
Television: CW Network
Streaming:
Radio: San Diego Sports 760
Betting Line: San Diego State is a 1.5 point underdog with the over/under at 45.5. This
would give a projected score of 24-22 in favor of the Cougars. This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools. Washington State owns a 2-1 advantage having won 29-26 last year in San Diego. The only Aztec win was 24-22 in San Diego in 2011.
THE OPPOSITION: Washington State Cougars
The Cougars come into week two fresh off their tightly contested 13-10 win over Idaho. Washington State needed a 32 yard field goal with three seconds left to secure the win on Saturday. That was the 94th meeting between the two close rivals. The Cougars and fellow Pac-12 member, Oregon State, will play in the new soon to be expanded Pac-12 Conference. Their schedule covers a scattering of conferences from the Mountain, to the Big 10, the Sun Belt , MAC, ACC and SEC. It also includes two games against the aforementioned Beavers. Next year they will include the MWC ‘Departing 5’ schools in their scheduling. The Cougars initially look to struggle on offense. A running game didn’t manifest itself against the Vandals as the Cougars only netted three yards on the ground. Quarterback Jaxon Potter leads the offense and tallied 208 yards on 23/30 passing and a score. The receiving corp is usually a standout for Wazzu. This year is no different as they are led by Tony Freeman who tallied 64 yards on 7 catches, Jeremiah Noga, who added 54 more yards and Joshua Meredith who was credited with the 6 yard score. The Cougars utilized players out of the backfield on swing passes. They were lucky to come away from a win in front of over 28,000 fans Saturday night.
Heading into the season, the Cougars welcome new head coach Jimmy Rogers, fresh off a two year stint at South Dakota State. It looks like it will be Jaxon Potter running the show in place of departed John Mateer. The backfield has a couple of good runners, but they will need to find their stride. Angel Johnson, who averaged over 7 yards per carry and over 646 yards while being featured at South Dakota State. He will be joined by former Jackrabbit Kirgby Vorhees who tallied 581 yards last season. Tony Freeman returns as the lead wide out for the Cougars, after accounting for 125 yards last season. Jay Noga comes over from Oregon State where he had 23 catches for 266 yards last season. Talent and potential on offense, but it will take some time to develop a team camaraderie.
On defense, linebacker Caleb Francl finally gets a chance to play. He accounted for eleven tackles against Idaho. Safety Matt Durrance accounted for 9 more tackles. He and Vorhees hail from the same town, Lutz, Florida. Idaho outgained the Cougars by ten yards, but neither team showed much prowess moving the ball. At this stage, defenses are generally better. That proved to be the case last week. They did force two fumbles that were recovered for turnovers.
AZTEC-FAST Showed up on Both Sides of the Ball.
The Aztecs controlled nearly every aspect of the game against Stony Brook. Passes were sharp and on target. A variety of receivers showed up to make big plays. Six receptions went for more than 15 yards. The running back stable saw Sutton rush for 100 yards and backups Christian Washington, Byron Cardwell Jr and Cincere Rhaney all had touches. They controlled the clock for 36 minutes compared to nearly 24 for the Seawolves. They also held the Seawolves to less than two yards per snap. Competition does step up this week and will be elevated for the rest of this season, the Aztec swan song out of the Mountain West. Jayden Denegal has shown to be a very capable QB1 and Bert Emanuel Jr. a decent replacement. Score one for Coach Lewis in getting the players behind his message.
What will the likely outcome of the game be?
While still early in the season, the Aztecs look to have more talent than the Cougars. Their defense should be able to contain Washington State and in the end, the Aztecs will come away with a deserved and respectable victory. I look to see the score to be 24-14 in favor of the visitors. The schedule elevates a bit the following week as the University of California Golden Bears travel to San Diego in a highly anticipated reciprocal game.
Around the Mountain West Conference
Wow, that giant sucking sound was just that, a sucking week. It was certainly a mixed bag from playing well against nationally ranked opponents, to a few home blowouts, to several surprising and disappointing results. There’s no hiding the elephant in the room, so what happened Boise State? They got seriously ramrodded by South Florida 34-7. The offense was in disarray. The defense missed assignments. They lost three fumbles. The next punch in the gut was Central Michigan getting by San Jose State, 16-14. The Spartans started their game with three turnovers and a turnover on downs. While their defense played admirably, the offense provided no opportunity to win via walkoff when several questionable plays were called. The next disappointment was Hawaii. They were coming off of a nice victory against Stanford, but the offense had no answer for the Arizona Wildcats, as they were thumped 40-6. New Mexico and Nevada were both playing over their heads with Michigan and Penn State, respectively, but both teams came away impressive, refusing to quit and holding their own. Colorado State held tight to Washington, dropping a 38-21 decision. The good news are the victories. Wyoming shut out Akron 10-0. It will be interesting to see if their offense can get on track. Air Force won at home convincingly as did Fresno State. Utah State had an exciting regional game against UTEP, Mountain West members next year. This year, the departing team, the Aggies prevailed 28-16. UNLV travelled to Houston to take on Sam Houston State. Again their offense was clicking with a pretty decent balance, winning 38-21. Finally the dominating performance was our own Aztecs. Even though Stony Brook is an FCS school, they are in the top 20 of teams. If the Aztecs can sustain their progress, they could turn around sooner than most people thought.
Some teams have played two games while others have just completed their first contest. Offenses overall seemed slow and sluggish. The Texas/Ohio State game saw both teams really struggle out of the gate. A few breakout players are starting to appear in the Mountain West. Anthony Colandrea at UNLV, Lucky Sutton at San Diego State, Danny Scudero at San Jose State, Kaden Anderson at Wyoming and Rayshon Luke at Fresno State. Let’s hope the cream can rise to the top in the conference. Right now, I’m afraid to say they are on the outside looking in for the Group of 5 spot in the playoffs. One never says never if there is still time left on the clock. It will need to take Boise State upsetting Notre Dame, UNLV taking out UCLA and San Jose State taking down Texas. See what I mean? Never say never, but still….
