SAN DIEGO -- Jordan Byrd and Chance Bell combined for 244 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and the San Diego State defense forced four turnovers in a 31-10 win over New Mexico State Saturday night in Las Cruces, N.M.
Byrd, an Albuquerque, N.M., native, rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries (5.8 avg.), while Bell chipped in with 116 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts (6.8 avg.) as the duo each broke 100 yards for the first time of their career.
It was the 30th time in program history that the Aztecs (3-0) had multiple 100-yard rushers in the same game and the 16th time since Rocky Long became head coach in 2011.
SDSU outrushed the Aggies (0-3), 291-30, and dominated the time of possession, 35:04-22:20. San Diego State improved to 42-2 over the last 44 times it rushed for at least 200 yards.
Ryan Agnew finished 16-for-25 for 106 yards and a touchdown, while throwing the first interception of his career on the road. The Aztecs only passed four times in the second half.
Defensively, SDSU picked off NMSU quarterback Josh Adkins two times and recovered a pair of fumbles. San Diego State also finished with seven sacks, its most since also recording seven vs. Houston in the 2016 Las Vegas Bowl.
Luq Barcoo (1.0 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU), Troy Cassidy and Kyahva Tezino (1 INT) each had seven tackles apiece to pace the Aztec defense.
The SDSU starting defensive line of Cameron Thomas (6 TCK, 1.5 SCK, 1.5 TFL), Keshawn Banks (5 TCK, 2.0 SCK, 2.0 TFL, 1 PBU) and Myles Cheatum (4 TCK, 1.5 SCK, 1.5 TFL), meanwhile, combined for 15 tackles, five sacks, five tackles for loss and a pass breakup.
Darren Hall forced a pair of fumbles, while Dwayne Johnson Jr. and Tariq Thompson each recovered a fumble.
San Diego State jumped out to a 24-0 lead, first taking advantage of a New Mexico State fumble inside its own 5-yard line. On a third-and-goal situation from the 2, Agnew found a leaping Daniel Bellinger, who somehow pulled the ball down through the crowd for his first career touchdown.
In the second quarter, the Aztecs put together an impressive 11-play, 80-yard drive over 6:37, ending with a 1-yard touchdown run by Byrd. On the drive, Byrd rushed seven times for 49 yards.
SDSU put together a nice drive to end the half, starting at the Aggie 48 with 1:01 left, finishing with a 40-yard field goal by Matt Araiza and giving San Diego State a 17-0 lead at the half.
Early in the third quarter, Kyahva Tezino picked off Adkins and got all the way to the NMSU 29-yard line. Two plays later, Byrd punched it in from seven yards out for his first career multi-touchdown game.
New Mexico State stopped the bleeding with a 11-play, 75-yard drive, when Adkins found a streaking Robert Downs III for a 35-yard touchdown strike.
Down, 24-7, the Aggies rounded out the third quarter with a 46-yard field goal by Dylan Brown.
The Aztecs, however, answered with an 8-play, 75-yard drive, culminating with an 18-yard touchdown run by Bell for the final points of the game.
NMSU got all the way to the SDSU 19 on its ensuing drive, but Adkins' pass to Jared Wyatt on fourth-and-12 was incomplete.
New Mexico State tried one more time to close the gap late in the fourth quarter when Adkins found Shea Holebrook on first-and-10 on the San Diego State 34-yard line. Hall, however, knocked the ball out of Holebrook's hands. Tariq Thompson picked up the ball and ran it all the way to the Aggie 30, effectively sealing the Aztecs' victory.
SDSU improved to 3-0 for the third time in the last four seasons.