Aztecs deliver on last-second field goal, beat Northern Illinois 6-3

San Diego State’s emphasis entering its game at Northern Illinois was avoiding a potential letdown after last week’s big victory over Cal.

“More often than not, the downfall of people is that they don’t know how to handle success rather than being able to bounce back from adversity,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said while preparing for the Huskies.

SDSU dealt with both success and adversity Saturday against Northern Illinois. While trying to build on the boost against the Bears, SDSU also had to deal with offensive struggles against NIU that included the season’s first two turnovers and an injury to starting quarterback Jayden Denegal.

It was left to the Aztecs’ defense to keep them in the game and for kicker Gabe Plascencia to win it. Plascencia’s 25-yard field goal as time expired delivered a 6-3 win over Northern Illinois before an announced crowd of 13,512 at Huskie Stadium.

Plascencia’s 18th straight field goal, an ongoing school record, boosted the Aztecs to 3-1 coming into Friday night’s Mountain West opener against Colorado State (1-3) at Snapdragon Stadium.

“It feels great,” Lewis said in a postgame interview with San Diego Sports 760. “It’s what good teams do. They find a way on the road to score one more point than the other guys.”

SDSU backup quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. entered the game early in the second half when Denegal left with an apparent injury to his right arm following a sack. After being examined in the locker room, Denegal returned three minutes into the fourth quarter.

“He got a little dinged up,” Lewis said. “We needed to get him looked at and everything and make sure he was good to go. He’s a warrior, came back and battled.”

Denegal (13-for-20, 110 yards, 2 INTs) guided the Aztecs on the winning drive after they got the ball back at their own 44-yard line with 1:44 remaining. He primarily functioned as the go-between for center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli and running back Lucky Sutton (17 carries, 88 yards).

Sutton, the junior from Cathedral Catholic High School, carried on the first five plays of the possession, gaining 13, 3, 7, 4 and 3 yards, to advance SDSU into the red zone. A face mask call against NIU midway through the drive provided an additional boost.

Denegal kneeled at the 11-yard line on third-and-3 with about 30 seconds remaining, allowing the Aztecs to run down the clock to two seconds before calling a timeout to position Plascencia for the game-winning kick.

It was SDSU’s first win in regulation with 0:00 on the clock since 1994, when Peter Holt kicked a 32-yard field goal in a 22-20 win over Cal. Those are the program’s only two walk-off wins in more than four decades, according to SDSU media relations.

“(Sutton) did a great job,” Lewis said. “It felt like we were delivering some good body blows through the course of the game. We missed on some haymakers that could have been explosive plays and, obviously, opened up the scoring. We’ve got to refine that as we go.

“The guys did a good job of rallying together and when we needed a drive were able to rely on those big boys up front and Lucky being able to create some dirty yards and explosive runs to set us up.”

Field goals were the only points on the scoreboard in a game that was 3-3 at halftime.

NIU (1-3) opened the game with a 16-play, 62-yard drive that consumed 7 minutes, 50 seconds before kicker Andrew Glass made a 31-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The drive benefited from a fourth-and-1 conversion that survived an SDSU challenge. The Huskies also received an assist three plays later when umpire Chris La Mange got in the way of SDSU safety Dalesean Staley making a tackle on NIU quarterback Josh Holst, who gained 14 yards on third-and-7.

SDSU used the remainder of the first quarter on its first drive, which included a fourth-and-1 conversion by Sutton. The Aztecs advanced within the NIU 10-yard line before a holding penalty on tight end Seth Adams backed them up 10 yards and stalled the drive.

Plascencia tied the game 3-3 on the first play of the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal.

SDSU got the ball to open the second half, but NIU’s Muhammad Jammeh took it away on the second play of the drive when he intercepted Denegal.

The SDSU defense forced a three-and-out and the offense was back in business.

The Aztecs were moving toward midfield when NIU linebacker Filip Maciorowski dropped Denegal for a 10-yard loss. The junior quarterback was spun into the ground on the play and left the field with a trainer eyeing his right shoulder.

A puntfest continued between the teams thereafter, with both sides trying to flip the field.

Denegal returned from the locker room with 12:33 remaining in the final period. He directed the Aztecs to the NIU 34-yard line before the drive stalled. Faced with a fourth-and-1, Denegal dropped back, looked to run, then tried lobbing a pass to tight end Seth Adams. Adams nearly hauled in the high throw, but NIU safety Jasper Beeler snatched it away for an interception.

The SDSU defense then stopped the Huskies — twice. The Aztecs forced a punt, but NIU maintained possession after an offsides and face mask penalties on the Aztecs. The defense bowed its neck moments later, stopping Holst short on fourth-and-2.

SDSU took over at its own 44-yard line with 4:28 remaining, but punter Hunter Green was summoned once again after a three-and-out. When SDSU’s defense also stopped NIU without a first down, it was NIU punter Danny Vuckovich’s turn to boot it away.

But he was backed up inside his own 20-yard line and Vuckovich’s 37-yard punt left SDSU with a short field for the winning drive. The Aztecs improved to 7-0 all-time against NIU.

SDSU linebacker Owen Chambliss had a team-high 11 tackles, including one sack. Edge Ryan Henderson also had a sack for the Aztecs. NIU linebacker Quinton Urwiler had a game-high 16 tackles.