SAN DIEGO – San Diego State concluded the 2024 campaign on a sour note Saturday with a 31-20 defeat at the hands of visiting Air Force, spoiling the Aztecs’ Senior Night festivities at Snapdragon Stadium.
With the loss, SDSU finishes the year at 3-9, including a 2-5 mark in the Mountain West, while the Falcons wrap up their season at 5-7 with a 3-4 ledger in conference play.
Playing his final collegiate game, Marquez Cooper rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and caught three passes for 37 yards and another score, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a sixth consecutive setback, as Air Force broke open a tight 17-14 ballgame with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, each following a fourth down stop.
The Aztecs seemed poised to take the lead after recovering a surprise onside kick to open the second half and driving 50 yards to the Falcon 6 in 11 plays.
Danny O’Neil keyed the advance with a pair of third-down completions to Ja’Shaun Poke, including a 20-yard strike that brought the Scarlet and Black into the red zone at the Air Force 15. Three plays later, Cooper was stopped just shy of the marker on another nine-yard reception, setting up a 4th-and-1 situation.
Cooper’s number was called once again, but the Aztec running back was thrown for a six-yard loss, swinging the momentum back in favor of Air Force. Two plays later, Falcon quarterback Quentin Hayes hit a streaking Cade Harris on a post pattern for a 76-yard touchdown pass that gave the visitors a 24-14 advantage.
SDSU squandered another opportunity after starting its ensuing possession on the Falcon 43 as a result of a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that was added to the end of Chris Johnson’s 33-yard kickoff return.
Yet the Aztecs were unable to cash in on their good fortune, turning the ball over on downs after O’Neil came up one yard short of the line to gain on a scramble to the left side.
Air Force subsequently drove 66 yards on 10 plays, capped by Dylan Carson’s 14-yard touchdown run up the middle, which increased the lead to 31-14 near the end of the period.
O’Neil led the Scarlet and Black on a furious seven-play, 74-yard march, culminating in Cooper’s spectacular sliding one-handed touchdown grab from eight yards away in the early stages of the fourth quarter. However, the ensuing two-point conversion attempt went awry, leaving the Aztecs 11 points down at 31-20.
SDSU regained possession at its own nine-yard line with 9:31 left to play but burned up over seven minutes of clock, netting just 28 yards before turning the ball over on downs once again.
The Aztecs converted two fourth downs in that stretch, including one from punt formation. Upon reaching the Air Force 48, however, the Scarlet and Black was stymied by an illegal forward pass and a fourth-down sack before the Falcons ran out the remaining time.
O’Neil completed 24-of-32 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown but was sacked three times. Meanwhile, Poke hauled in five catches for 56 yards, while Mekhi Shaw finished with four receptions for 35 yards.
Along with Hayes’ aforementioned scoring toss, the Falcons threw just one additional pass on their first possession of the night, catching the Aztecs off guard on a 3rd-and-8 situation when Brandon Engel found Jared Roznos all alone on an option play for 52 yards down to the SDSU 1. On the ensuing play, Carson plowed in for the game’s first score.
The Aztecs responded with a 10-play, 76-yard march, punctuated by Cooper’s touchdown burst from seven yards out. O’Neil completed all six passes on the drive, including 20-yard screen pass to Cooper and a13-yarder to Shaw inside the red zone.
Air Force ran the ball exclusively on its next foray, marching 10 plays in 75 yards as Hayes scored on a quarterback keeper from one yard out to regain a 14-7 advantage. Previously, the signal-caller kept the drive alive with an 18-yard scamper on a 3rd-and-7 situation.
The Aztecs were forced to punt for the only time in the game early in the second quarter, pinning the Falcons at their own 10. However, Air Force managed to flip the field, aided by Carson’s 17-yard sweep to start the possession and another 23-yard jaunt by Kade Frew that put the visitors in business at the SDSU 23.
However, the Aztec defense stiffened, and the Falcons had to settled for Matthew Dapore’s 45-yard field goal with just over six minutes remaining in the half.
Trailing 17-7, San Diego State trimmed the margin to three shortly before intermission when Cooper scored the second of his three touchdown on a two-yard plunge to cap another lengthy 14-play, 83 yard advance. O’Neil sustained the drive with a 14-yard completion to Michael Harrison on 3rd-and-8 from the Aztec 29, while Cooper darted 18 yards to the Air Force 42 after O’Neil was sacked for a three-yard loss on the previous play.
Despite a 24-21 edge in first downs for SDSU, the Falcons maintained the statistical advantage in total offense (404-356), rushing yards (284-142) and time of possession (31:21 to 28:39) to help defeat the Aztecs for the third straight year.
Carson led all players with 125 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns, while Frew gained 77 yards on 10 attempts in the victory.
Defensively, Kyle Moretti led Scarlet and Black with 10 tackles, including eight solo stops, followed by Trey White (9) and Tano Letuli (8). Letuli and Darrion Dalton each finished with one tackle for a loss.