Three thoughts after San Diego State’s 38-6 Mountain West loss to Hawaii late Saturday night at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.
1. Defense rests
After SDSU’s 36-13 loss at Washington State, SDSU coach Sean Lewis called the Aztecs “a good team that had a bad game.”
At the time, SDSU did not have the body of work necessary for outside observers to come to a conclusion. The ensuing six-game winning streak added legitimacy to the statement. And raised expectations for the remainder of the season.
The loss to Hawaii was not surprising in that it was a defeat. Few could have expected the Aztecs to run the table the rest of the season. The surprising part comes from the fact SDSU’s defense had been so good during the winning streak, whereas against the Rainbow Warriors it was so not.
Could missing linebacker Tano Letuli, who suffered a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago against Wyoming, and cornerback Chris Johnson, who was out Saturday with an unspecified injury, have been so disruptive?
After all, Mister Williams had been solid behind Letuli at a position with experienced depth. And Deshawn McCuin, who replaced Johnson, got off to a strong start against Hawaii with an interception of quarterback Micah Alejado on the Rainbows’ first drive.
How might the game have unfolded had SDSU cornerback Bryce Phillips not been called for taunting on a third-and-17 incompletion that would have gotten the Hawaii offense off the field? We’ll never know. Instead a three-and-out, the Rainbows had a first down. And a touchdown six plays later.
Things quickly unraveled from there. Hawaii had 300 yards of offense in the first half. The Aztecs only allowed that many yards in a game twice this season. The Rainbows totaled 396 yards for the game, matching what Washington State collected in Week 2.
SDSU (7-2, 4-1 Mountain West) rebounded from its first loss with a 34-0 shutout of Cal. We’ll see how the Aztecs respond this time with Boise State (6-3, 4-1 ) coming to town Saturday night for a first-place showdown.
The Aztecs opened as a two-point favorite.
2. Denegal’s health
No one is 100 percent at this point in the season.
SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal hasn’t been 100 percent since the season opener against Stony Brook. That’s when the junior transfer injured his left shoulder on a tackle and briefly left the game for treatment. He has been playing with a brace ever since.
This isn’t news to upcoming opponents, who break down game film with the same scrutiny as conspiracy theorists examine the Zapruder film.
Denegal injured his right shoulder when he was tackled following a 17-yard run in the second half at Fresno State. The way Denegal left the field, with his arm hanging at his side, looked bad. But he only missed nine plays before returning.
Denegal has been listed as questionable the past two weeks on SDSU’s Availability Report, but been behind center nevertheless. He seems inclined to tough this out.
The quarterback’s toughness is not in question here. It is uncomfortable watching him at times, though, because he is playing with considerable pain.
Denegal threw some beautiful balls in SDSU’s midseason win over Colorado State. Just when you wonder if he is still capable of doing that, he makes a throw like the one agianst Hawaii that went for a 45-yard gain to wide receiver Donovan Brown.
Hawaii wasn’t convinced the Aztecs were going to do that with any regularity, however. The Rainbows loaded up to limit SDSU’s run game. The Aztecs didn’t do anything through the air to alter that line of thought.
Denegal had his biggest struggle of the season against Hawaii, completing only 10 of 27 passes (37 percent) for 132 yards with two interceptions. After completing more than 80 percent of his passes in wins over Colorado State and Nevada, Denegal’s completion percentage dropped to 57.9 percent against Fresno State and 50 percent against Wyoming. Now this.
The question facing the Aztecs is whether Denegal can gut it out and still be the offense’s best chance for success over the final three games of the regular season.
3. Determing their destiny
The loss certainly took the air out of SDSU’s balloon, but the Aztecs’ hopes and dreams for a conference championship remain alive and, in fact, within their control.
The difference now is that there is no margin for error.
SDSU is tied atop the Mountain West with Boise State. Beat the Broncos, San Jose State (Nov. 22 at home) and New Mexico (Nov. 28 on the road) and the Aztecs not only win the Mountain West regular season title but they host the conference championship game.
Things get more complicated if SDSU slips again.
For one thing, Hawaii (7-3, 4-2) holds a head-to-head tiebreaker edge with the Aztecs.
There are four other two-loss teams — UNLV, Fresno State, New Mexico and Utah — that are all 3-2 in conference and looking for a chance to move up. Some of them will knock each other off in head-to-head meetings, so the pool of contenders will be more shallow in a couple of weeks.
“Obviously, there’s a sense of urgency with the next opponent,” Lewis told San Diego Sports 760 after the game. “But there’s always a sense of urgency that winning requires. Part of that process is to learn and to grow and become your best self … and for this team to continue to grow and evolve is for us to learn from what transpired (against Hawaii). We’re not going to rush through learning the lessons.”