California running back Jaivian Thomas (25) rushes up the field as San Diego State safety William Nimmo Jr. (7) tackles during the first half of their NCAA football game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Photo by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
In their first two games of the year the San Diego State Aztecs committed a total of 24 penalties. It's something they say they're trying to clean up.
In the first half of their game at Cal they were hit with 13 penalties, the second-most fouls any FBS team has committed in a half in the last 20 years. The penalties were a major issue in a 31-10 loss to the Golden Bears that dropped the Aztecs to 1-2 in their first season under new head coach Sean Lewis.
One infraction really stood out as a momentum killer. In the 2nd quarter linebacker Tano Letuli picked off a batted pass and ran it back 65 yards for a touchdown that should have put the Aztecs on top 9-7. An illegal block in the back penalty negated the return. On the ensuing drive a holding penalty wiped out a 4th down conversion in Cal territory that forced a punt and wipe out what looked like a promising scoring chance.
San Diego State's offense was missing starting quarterback Danny O'Neil, who was out with an injury. He was replaced by fellow freshman QB Javance Tupau'ata-Johnson, who wasn't able to jump-start the Aztecs sputtering offense that keeps shooting itself in the foot with mistakes.
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Give credit again to the SDSU defense. Just like it did a week ago against Oregon State, the Aztecs kept it close for a while. In the 3rd quarter it was a 7-3 Cal lead when the dam started breaking. Cal scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to pull ahead 21-3.
In the 4th quarter the Aztecs finally got in the end zone for the first time since Week 1 when Tupua'ata-Johnson found Jordan Napier for a 40-yard touchdown, perhaps something they can build on next week when they hit the road again to face Central Michigan.
