CARSON, Calif. -- San Diego State used a dominating first half in all three phases of the game and held steady in the second half in a 34-6 victory over UNLV Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.
Greg Bell rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown in his Aztec (1-0, 1-0 MW) debut, Kaegun Williams ran for a career-high 89 yards on 11 carries (8.1 avg.), and Chance Bell (two touchdowns) and Jordan Byrd each added 40 yards apiece on seven and three rushing attempts, respectively.
SDSU jumped out to a 27-0 lead, thanks to four consecutive scores as part of a 20-point second quarter. The four successive scores all came in the final 10 minutes, 36 seconds of the half on touchdown runs by Chance Bell (five yards) and Greg Bell (three yards), and a pair of field goals by Matt Araiza (27 and 22 yards).
UNLV, meanwhile, only got onto the SDSU side of the field once in the first half and missed a 42-yard field goal. The stout San Diego State defense forced six Rebel punts and forced six 3-and-outs (or better) over the seven drives in the first two quarters.
After 30 minutes, the Aztecs held a 313-25 advantage in total yards, including a 100-0 edge in passing yards and 213-25 lead on the ground. Additionally, SDSU had 17 first downs compared to just one for UNLV.
The Rebels, however, used a 13-play, 81-yard drive to begin the second half, culminating with a 4-yard pass from Max Gilliam to Steve Jenkins.
After each team traded punts for the rest of third quarter, UNLV tried to cut the 27-6 deficit (the Rebels missed a PAT after their touchdown) with another long drive. UNLV went 73 yards on 18 plays over 6:28, twice converting on fourth down. With a fourth-and-goal from the San Diego State 4-yard line, the Aztec defense snuffed out a screen pass into a 11-yard loss to stop any momentum left for the Rebels.
SDSU quickly raced 85 yards in five plays, thanks in part to a 40-yard rush by Greg Bell and a 33-yard pass from Carson Baker to Elijah Kothe. Chance Bell then took a counter almost untouched from 19 yards out for the final points of the game.
San Diego State outgained the Rebels, 424-186, for the game with a commanding 207-yard advantage on the ground (287-80). The Aztecs improved to 45-2 over their last 47 games when rushing for at least 200 yards.
Defensively, the Aztecs totaled 14 tackles for loss (SDSU's most since at least 2011), five sacks and five pass breakups, allowing their fewest points (6) in a conference game since shutting out Hawai'i, 52-0, on Nov. 5, 2016. UNLV was just 1-for-15 on third down, the lowest percentage (6.7 pct.) against San Diego State since Sept. 24, 2005 against San Jose State (0-for-17).
Dwayne Johnson Jr. had a game-high 10 tackles, while Tariq Thompson pitched in with nine stops. Caden McDonald, meanwhile, had career highs of eight tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Baker threw for 137 yards in his second career start, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Dedeaux to get the Aztecs on the scoreboard in the first quarter.
SDSU improved to 52-42-5 all-time in season openers.
Aztecs Cruise to 34-6 Win Over UNLV
