‘Next-man-up mentality’ can’t save Aztecs from New Mexico Bowl loss

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It was an explosive offensive performance for San Diego State, but the Aztec defense was no match for No. 22 North Texas in Saturday’s New Mexico Bowl.

The SDSU defense simply had no answers for the potent Mean Green machine, which came into the game leading the country in both scoring and total offense and just padded those statistics.

The end result was a 49-47 North Texas win.

“A tip of the cap to North Texas, they were able to find a few more plays, but tremendous fight by our guys,” Aztecs coach Sean Lewis said. “Really proud of the way our guys stepped up. We talk all the time about a next-man-up mentality and fighting to the very end and staying until the job is done, and really, really pleased in all three phases.”

Analysis: SDSU QBs Bert Emanuel Jr., Kyle Crum step up in New Mexico Bowl

Known for their defense, the Aztecs came up rather short in that department against prolific North Texas.

“Our game plan was just to stop the run,” Aztecs linebacker DJ Herman.

“That was something that we were prominent with these last couple of weeks after we found out they were coming here, and, just overall, it just didn’t happen to our expectations. And you know, the game happened and it was not the result that we wanted.”

The Mean Green piled up 346 yards in the first half, including 237 on the ground with backs Caleb Hawkins and Ashton Gray both topping 100  yards before the break. North Texas finished with 601 yards of offense,  including 351 on the ground, more than double the most SDSU allowedin any previous game.

“They’re really good offensively,” Lewis said of North Texas. “You don’t fall out of bed and become the No. 1 scoring offense in the country. They’ve got really good players.”

Backup quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr., who rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yarder, went out with a shoulder injury while diving toward the endzone with 6:07 remaining in the second quarter.

Already down to their second string in Emanuel because of shoulder surgery to starter Jayden Denegal, the Aztecs brought in seldom-used  Kyle Crum. His first toss, which went to Jackson Ford for his first career touchdown catch, became his first touchdown pass since 2022, making it28-20 shortly before halftime.

But SDSU could put nothing together offensively in the third quarter, compiling just 11 yards, while the Mean Green scored twice to lead 42-20 entering the fourth quarter.

“A great job by them making some second-half adjustments. Poor job by us adjusting to the adjustments that they’ve made,” Lewis said. “That’s the beauty in the chess match, that is the game. So again, not an ideal third quarter. I think we had maybe eight total snaps in that quarter because we failed to get a first down.”

That all changed in the fourth quarter, when the Aztecs looked like a different team. They started with a four-play 71-yard drive, with Crum carrying it in from 11 yards out.

“We just had a nothing-to-lose mindset,” Crum said. “This is the last game of the season. We’re down. Let’s throw the ball. Let’s try to get some big chunks, pull out all the trick plays that we worked on. So I think everybody just rallied behind that. Got a little momentum going. Defenseplayed well. We were able to close the gap a little bit.”

Nathan Acevedo then scored on a 63-yard punt return, cutting it to 42-34, with 10:41 left.After North Texas drove down the field or score — helped by a third-down roughing the penalty call on Ryan Henderson — Acevedo turned in another big play, taking the kickoff back 65 yards.

That led to an Aztecs 11-yard TD run by Christian Washington with 4:39 left, but the 2-point conversion failed, leaving the score 49-40.

San Diego State got the ball back once more, but Mean Green safety Evan Jackson intercepted an errant Crum pass to essentially clip the Aztecs’ last chance.

The Aztecs did drive down the field in the closing moments, with Crum diving over with one second left.

“We were always in the fight, even to the last drive,” Crum said. “If we scored with a little more time, we’ve got a chance for an onside. And we were always in that game. So I think the guys on the sidelines never stopped believing and we gave it all we got until the time expired.”