SAN DIEGO – San Diego State was unable to match the big-play capability of visiting UCLA in a 35-10 defeat on a warm Saturday evening at Snapdragon Stadium.
Despite trailing in time of possession (34:55 to 25:05), the Bruins maintained a sizable advantage in total offense (550-259), recording seven plays of over 20 yards to hand the Aztecs (2-1) their first loss of the season.
Additionally, UCLA (2-0) outscored the Scarlet and Black 21-3 in a pivotal second quarter to build a commanding 28-10 lead by halftime.
Bruin quarterback Dante Moore completed 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns without an interception to pace the visitors' attack.
After rushing for 302 yards last week against Idaho State, the SDSU ground game was stifled by UCLA, with the Scarlet and Black gaining just 63 yards on 33 attempts. On the flip side, the Bruins rushed for 254 yards on 39 carries.
The game started as a defensive struggle, featuring an exchange of punts on the first four series, as the two teams each netted one first down.
However, the Bruins struck quickly on their third possession when Josiah Norwood hauled in a short play-action pass over the middle from Moore and outraced the Aztec defense for an 81-yard scoring strike at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter.
The SDSU offense awakened on its ensuing drive, as Mayden emphasized the short passing game, completing five of six tosses for 68 yards, punctuated by Mekhi Shaw's 21-yard reception near the right pylon at the goal line that knotted the score at 7-7. Earlier, Mayden connected with Shaw on an 11-yard completion before finding Martin Blake on a 20-yard catch and run that finally put the Aztecs in UCLA territory.
The Bruins answered with a seven-play, 75-yard march on their next series, aided by two Aztec pass interference penalties that put the ball just outside the red zone. Facing a 4th-and-1 situation from the Aztec 13 shortly thereafter on the first play of the second quarter, Carson Steele hit pay dirt on a sweep around right end that put UCLA in front for good.
SDSU gained just 11 yards on its following drive, and it took the Bruins just three snaps to extend their lead to 21-7, as T.J. Harden burst through the line and rambled 59-yards for a touchdown with 10:21 left in the period.
The Aztecs drove to the UCLA 27 on their next foray, as Mayden lofted a pass to a wide-open Joshua Nicholson in the right corner of the end zone on a 3rd-and-10 situation. However, the ball skipped off the fingertips of the sophomore wide receiver, forcing the SDSU to settle for a 44-yard field goal by Jack Browning, cutting the margin to 21-10 with 5:03 left in the half. Previously, Mayden hit Jay Rudolph with a 14-yard completion, while Kenan Christon added a pinball run of 16 yards.
Following another exchange of punts, the Bruins needed just 56 seconds to cover 85 yards in seven plays, culminating in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Moore to a wide-open Logan Loya that increased the UCLA advantage to 28-10 with 1:20 before intermission. Earlier, Moore threaded a 35-yard pass to Moliki Matavao that put the Bruins within striking range before catching the Scarlet and Black off-guard with a quick snap on the touchdown play.
Trailing by 18 points, the snake-bit Aztecs were unable to capitalize on a golden opportunity at the 8:07 mark of the third quarter when Trey White recovered a Moore fumble just short of the goal line. After two running plays were promptly stuffed, Darius Muasau intercepted a quick third-down pass from Mayden that bounced off the hands of Blake in the end zone.
Following the turnover, UCLA marched 80 yards in 12 plays, capped by Moore's 6-yard toss to Carsen Ryan on a screen pass out of the backfield for his third touchdown strike of the night that closed out the scoring.
Defensively, Zyrus Fiaseu led the Aztecs with 12 tackles, including eight solo stops, to go with two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one pass break-up and one quarterback hurry. In addition, Cedarious Barfield finished with seven tackles (3 solo), while Dez Malone made six stops (4 solo) of his own.
On the other side of the ball, Mayden finished with 196 yards on 19-for-37 passing but was intercepted three times and sacked twice before giving way to Tobin O'Dell late in the fourth quarter.
Shaw was SDSU's leading receiver, gaining 54 yards on five receptions, matching Mark Redman, who also had five grabs for 32 yards.
Conversely, Harden topped all rushers with 91 yards on nine carries for the Bruins, while Steele contributed 84 on 12 attempts in the win.
San Diego State heads to the Pacific Northwest next weekend for its first road game of the 2023 campaign when it battles No. 16 Oregon State on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. PT, and the Aztecs-Beavers contest will air live on FS1.
Aztecs Stumble vs. UCLA, 35-10
