Fourth Quarter Surge Lifts Aztecs Past Wyoming in Laramie

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- True freshman quarterback Danny O’Neil connected with redshirt freshman Jordan Napier on consecutive big pass plays to tie the game in the fourth quarter and Gabe Plascencia nailed a 28-yard field goal for what proved to be the game-winning points to lead San Diego State to a 27-24 win at Wyoming on Saturday.

The Aztecs (3-3) improved to 2-0 in Mountain West play for the first time since 2021 in a game that featured six lead changes and moved into a tie with Boise State and UNLV atop the league standings.

Trailing, 24-17, early in the fourth quarter after Cowboy (1-5, 1-1 MW) quarterback Evan Svoboda raced 51 yards on a QB keeper, SDSU answered through the air. After consecutive incompletions and facing a third-and-10, O’Neil found Napier down the right side of the field for a 53-yard pass. It was the longest play of the season for San Diego State. O’Neil then went right to Napier again with a 27-yard strike to silence the 23,155 fans at War Memorial Stadium.

After forcing UW to punt on its next possession, the Aztecs got the ball back on their own 18 and went 77 yards on seven plays with Plascencia kicking the winning field goal with 7:35 left. O’Neil started with a 41-yard pass to Nate Bennett, making it 121 passing yards by O’Neil over the previous three plays of the game.

Wyoming got the ball back and managed a 24-yard run on its first snap, but just one yard over its next three before having to punt it back to SDSU.

San Diego State was forced to punt, and the Cowboys got the ball back on its own 26 with 4:27 remaining. After two rushes for seven yards, Ryan Henderson sacked Svoboda on third-and-3, forcing UW to punt once again.

Marquez Cooper ran for 18 yards on a second-and-8 situation, but the Aztecs were later stopped at the Wyoming 36. Tyler Pastula, however, angled a punt that stopped at the UW 7.

Following a false start, Svoboda found Tyler King for 19 yards to get to the 23. Henderson and Dominic Oliver then sacked Svoboda to end the game and give the Aztecs their first road win in a MW opener since 2021.

SDSU took a 3-0 lead on a 22-yard field goal by Plascencia midway through the first quarter after Chris Johnson intercepted Svoboda and ran it back 42 yards to the Wyoming 10.

The Cowboys responded in just two plays as they completed a flea flicker with Svoboda finding a wide-open Jaylen Sargent for a 70-yard completion.

Late in the first quarter, Eric Butler picked off Svoboda’s pass and ran it 43 yards back for a touchdown. It was Butler’s first career interception and San Diego State’s third defensive touchdown of the season.

UW regained the lead on its ensuing drive, going 75 yards on 12 plays. Wyoming converted a fourth-and-6 on the drive and earned a first down on a pass interference on third-and-7, before Sam Scott punched it in from a yard out, making it a 14-10 advantage.

The Aztecs responded with an 8-play, 75-yard drive of their own. The big play came on a 32-yard pass from Danny O’Neil to Jude Wolfe to get to the Cowboy 10. Marquez Cooper later rushed it in from four yards out as SDSU entered halftime with a 17-14 lead.

Wyoming tied it with a 42-yard field goal by John Hyland on its first drive of the third quarter before setting up San Diego State’s fourth-quarter heroics.

O’Neil threw for a career-high 254 yards and a touchdown, completing 16 of 27 passes.

Cooper rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, while Ja’Shaun Poke caught eight passes for 60 yards and Napier four catches for 91 yards.

It was the second straight 27-24 game for the Aztecs after beating Hawai’i at home on Oct. 5 and was the first time in SDSU’s Division I history (since 1969) with back-to-back games by the same score. San Diego State has consecutive three-point victories for the first time since 1995.

Kyle Moretti led the Aztecs with seven tackles, while Trey White had two sacks, giving him multiple sacks in four consecutive games.

It was SDSU’s first trip to Laramie since it played there twice in a three-week span in 2016.