Aztecs’ fast start fizzles in 36-13 loss at Washington State

San Diego State had everything going for it six minutes into Saturday night’s game at Washington State.

The Aztecs’ offense produced an early touchdown, with quarterback Jayden Denegal finding wide receiver Jacob Bostick wide open for a 35-yard score, while the Aztecs defense forced Washington State to go three-and-out the first two times it touched the ball.

Things took a turn, a drastic turn, thereafter. SDSU’s offense went AWOL. And its defense suddenly had trouble tackling, surrendered big plays and watched the confident Cougars come alive.

The result was 29 unanswered points allowed by the Aztecs in a 36-13 loss before an announced crowd of 24,330 at Washington State’s Martin Stadium.

“We didn’t execute the basic things at a high level, SDSU coach Sean Lewis said in a postgame interview with San Diego Sports 760-AM. “When you do that, you make things very, very simple. You’re going to come up short. We didn’t tackle wel in space, we didn’t play pitch and catch, we didn’t sustain blocks well enough.

“All that starts with me and my third-down plan and the preparation that we had going into it. I need to do a better job. I need to take ownership of that. We all need to be collectively better.”

SDSU (1-1) now gets a week off before resuming the season Sept. 20 at Snapdragon Stadium against Cal (2-0), which beat Texas Southern 35-3 on Saturday. That gives the Aztecs time to determine what exactly went wrong against Washington State.

Cougars quarterback Jaxon Potter (28-for-42, 257 yards, 3 TDs) was the one struggling at the outset before leading a drive downfield that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trey Leckner with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Cougars took a 10-7 lead 12 seconds into the second quarter on kicker Jack Stevens’ 49-yard field goal.

SDSU still trailed by only a field goal with less than two minutes remaining in the first half when a stunning sequence of events changed the complexion of the game.

With SDSU starting a drive from its own 8-yard line, Denegal threw an incompletion on first down. He dropped back again on second down when Washington State’s Isaac Terrell beat SDSU left tackle Christian Jones and sacked Denegal for a safety.

The Cougars weren’t done. They returned SDSU punter Hunter Green’s free kick 28 yards, then got a 34-yard pass and a 20-yard run to set up another 3-yard TD pass from Potter to Leckner, this one in the back of the end zone. It all transpired in 32 seconds of clock time.

All of a sudden the Aztecs were trailing 19-7 as they headed to the locker room.

Wazzu (2-0) opened the second half with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Potter to wide receiver Leon Neal Jr., then added another Stevens field goal for a 29-7 advantage.

SDSU’s offense finally produced more points with 57 seconds left in the third quarter when Denegal (14-for-28, 128 yards, TD) capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard keeper that made it 29-13. The Aztecs attempted a 2-point conversion, but Kyle Crum was stopped short of the goal line.

A potential late bright spot came with less than four minutes left when SDSU’s Chris Johnson blocked a Washington State field goal and teammate Bryce Phillips returned it for a touchdown. Johnson was flagged for a neutral zone violation, however, and the TD was waved off. Moments later, WSU backup quarterback Julian Dugger rushed for a 3-yard touchdown to complete the scoring.

SDSU managed only 108 yards in total offense in the first half and 215 yards for the game. Running back Lucky Sutton (15 carries, 88 yards) led an SDSU running game that netted 82 yards. The Aztecs’ leading receiver was sophomore Jordan Napier (7 catches, 69 yards).

Washington State finished with 396 yards of total offense. Among the bright spots for the Cougars was wide receiver Joshua Meredith (Mater Dei Catholic High School), who had eight receptions for 88 yards.

Notable

The Aztecs had two of their team captains leave the game in the third quarter.

Senior center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli went down five minutes into the period. He came out of the game after staying down on the field while a trainer checked for stability in his right knee. He was replaced briefly by freshman transfer Michael Watkins before returning later in the game.

Junior linebacker Tano Letuli left the game with a left shoulder issue in the final minute of the third quarter.

• The Aztecs were 0-for-7 on third down in the first half, 2-for-13 for the game. Green punted six times in the first half and once more in the second half. He stayed on the sideline while the Aztecs went for it three times on fourth down, failing to get a first down on each occasion.