CARSON, Calif. — Despite relinquishing a 14-point lead, San Diego State held on for a wild 33-31 victory over Utah on Saturday after Jesse Matthews caught a 2-point conversion from Lucas Johnson in the third overtime period at Dignity Health Sports Park.
With the win, the Aztecs improve to 3-0 for the second time in the last three seasons and the fourth occasion in the last six years. In addition, the Scarlet and Black raises its record to 7-2 against Pac-12 opponents since the start of the 2016 campaign, which marks the second-best non-conference record nationally vs. any Power 5 conference in that span.
Shortly after Matthews' reception, the Utes (1-2) had a chance to extend the contest, but officials overturned Connor O'Toole's apparent game-tying catch, ruling that the ball hit the turf after a booth review, as the SDSU sideline erupted in jubilation.
Previously in the first overtime period, Johnson rolled to his right and connected with Jay Rudolph on a two-yard touchdown, while Utah countered on its first snap with a 25-yard scoring strike from backup quarterback Cameron Rising to Jaylen Dixon.
The Utes gained just six yards on their first possession to start the second overtime; however, Jadon Redding missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. Moments later, the Aztecs lined up for a potential game-winner from 36 yards away, but Matt Araiza's kick sailed wide right as well, sending the game into a third overtime session.
SDSU broke a 10-10 tie at intermission with a pair of 7-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter by Greg Bell, who gained 119 yards on 33 carries for the evening. Bell's first score capped an 8-play, 82-yard march on the first drive of the second half, highlighted by Johnson's 54-yard keeper, as the Aztec signal-caller darted through the Ute defense on 3rd and 1 from the SDSU 39.
Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Tayler Hawkins intercepted Utah starter Charlie Brewer and returned the ball to the 7-yard line, while Bell subsequently hit pay dirt on the first snap with a burst through the left side, giving the Aztecs a 24-10 lead at the 10:42 mark of the third quarter.
The Utes received a golden opportunity early in the fourth quarter when Devin Lloyd recovered a fumble by Bell at the SDSU 33. Rising, who replaced Brewer earlier on Utah's third series of the half, scrambled 24 yards to the Aztec 9 on the first play after the turnover. However, the San Diego State defense held when Britain Covey was knocked out of bounds at the 4-yard line by Noah Tumblin on a 4th-and-goal situation.
After forcing a three-and-out, Utah narrowed the gap on its next possession when Rising found Covey in the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 4:17 left in regulation. Rising completed 7-of-8 passes on the 10-play, 63-yard drive; however, Redding missed the extra point, as the Aztecs maintained a 24-16 lead.
SDSU was pinned deep in its territory thanks to a holding penalty on the following kickoff, gaining just 11 yards in five plays before Araiza boomed a 59-yard punt, with Covey returning the ball to the Utah 26 with 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Rising directed the Utes towards a tying touchdown, rushing for 12 yards before completing passes of 13 and 11 yards to Solomon Enis and Brant Kuithe, respectively, which brought the ball to the Aztec 32. Two plays later, SDSU was called for pass interference in the end zone, which gave Utah a first down at the Aztec 17. Rising connected on 4-of-6 passes after the penalty, including a 4-yarder to Theo Howard with just 16 seconds showing on the clock. O'Toole caught the tying 2-point conversion moments later, sending the game into overtime.
The contest started out as a defensive struggle, with both sides scoring touchdowns on special teams in the first half. The Utes drew first blood at the 8:02 mark of the opening quarter when Covey broke loose down the left sideline for an 80-yard punt return that gave the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Following an exchange of punts, SDSU drove 29 yards in eight plays for its first score of the game, culminating in Araiza's career-long 51-yard field goal, which cut the margin to 7-3 with 1:54 left in the first period.
Utah reclaimed a seven-point cushion on its first drive of the second quarter when Redding split the uprights on a 43-yard field goal. However, the lead quickly evaporated when Jordan Byrd returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, which knotted the score at 10-10. Byrd's jaunt marked the second kickoff return for a touchdown in his career, as the Aztec senior recorded the eighth 100-yard return in program history and the first since Rashaad Penny accomplished the feat vs. Nevada in 2017.
As a team, SDSU surpassed 200 yards in rushing for the third straight game, gaining 204 yards on 45 carries, including an impressive 148 yards on 31 attempts after intermission. With their total, the Aztecs raise their record to 50-2 in the last 52 games they have run for over 200 yards.
On the flip side, the SDSU defense limited the Utes to just 70 yards on the ground, including a minus-11 total on eight carries in the first quarter. Segun Olubi led the Aztecs with eight tackles, including four solo stops, while Hawkins, Cedarious Barfield, Trenton Thompson, Seyddrick Lakalaka and Cameron Thomas finished with six apiece. In addition, Garret Fountain recorded two sacks, while Michael Shawcroft added another, as the Aztecs compiled eight tackles for loss on the evening.
Rising finished with 153 yards and three touchdowns on 19-for-32 passing in relief of Brewer, who completed 14 of 26 attempts for 104 yards with one interception. Covey racked up eight receptions for 46 yards, while Kuithe had seven catches for 58 yards in the the loss for Utah.
San Diego State returns to action next week when it plays host to Towson at Dignity Health Sports Park, starting at 12:30 p.m. PT.