A week ago, San Diego State throttled the previously unbeaten California Golden Bears 34-0 at Snapdragon Stadium. So, it was easy to think they would go on the road and make short work of Northern Illinois.
Alas, road trips in college football, no matter where they take you, are rarely easy. The Aztecs struggled to a 6-3 win in a game where both teams turned it over twice and perhaps the most incredible stat is this:
SDSU and NIU combined for 445 yards of total offense and 580 total yards on punts. But, as just about every coach on the planet will tell you, they don’t care about style points they care about the bottom line and this slugfest moved San Diego State to 3-1 in non-conference play (the Huskies fall to 1-3).
The best offensive weapon for the Aztecs was running back Lucky Sutton, who carried 17 times for 88 yards and was at his best when it mattered most. With 1:37 to play got the ball at their own 44. Usually a two-minute drill is going to include at least a few passes. Head coach Sean Lewis called Sutton’s name five straight plays and the Cathedral Catholic star chewed up the Husky defense, moving the Aztecs to the NIU six yard line and setting up Gabriel Plascencia’s walkoff 25-yard field goal with two seconds left.
San Diego State comes back to Snapdragon, where they’ve outscored two opponents 76-0 this season, next Saturday to open Mountain West Conference play with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against Colorado State.