Archive for November, 2022

Aztecs 43, Spartans 27

Posted: November 17, 2022 in Uncategorized
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Another “oh, no” start. 14-0 San Jose State early in the first quarter.

But, wait!

Jordan Byrd returns a Spartan kick for 95 yards. The Snapdragon crowd goes crazy. The Aztec offense finds life. A shot of naloxone, if you will.

Jalen Mayden offered an evening finish with 17/22/268 and 3 tds. Read the line again: 17/22 (including 7/7 in the second half) Only 5 incomplete passes. Impressive. Kenan Christon flashed for 28 yards on 5 attempts (5.6 ypc. Hey, I desperately try to find something positive about our running game. Don’t roll your eyes at me). Tyrell Shaver (4/111), Mekhi Shaw (5/64) and Jesse Matthews (4/57) each caught a touchdown pass. Jaylon Armstead, playing injured, ran for the other Aztec td.

The Aztec defense was once again stout. The boys held the Spartan offense to 28 total yards rushing, 195 yards passing for a total of 223 yards. Yeah, I know, giving up 27 points was at least 13 too many, but those additional 13 points were granted late in the third quarter and again in the fourth quarter. Who cares?

45 lost yards via superb Aztec tackling coupled with 5 sacks (3 by Jonah Tavai) was a refreshing result which is never, ever boring. Dallas Branch’s interception was a moment of inclusion on behalf of the back five. At game’s end, Mr. Tavai decided to sack the SJSU qb in the end zone. Evidently, Mr. Tavai had a spare moment.

Go Aztecs.

6-4/4-2.

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SDSU 14, UNLV 10

Posted: November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized
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Dallas Branch and Dez Malone each intercept a pass in the end zone. Two UNLV tds evaporate. Whew.

The Aztec defense was stout. 26 yards via tackles for loss, 3 sacks and the above mentioned 2 picks. Also consider, UNLV did not score during the first half. Dare I say, defensive coordinator Kurt Mattix has the attention of his 3-3-5 practioners.

As for the Aztec offense, oy vey. A poor oy vey.

The running game has all but disappeared. Without the return of Jaylon Armtsead, we would have registered 76 yards rushing. For the entire game. Thankfully, Mr. Armstead almost single handedly took the fourth quarter clock from 5:41 to quadruple zeroes by rushing for 56 yards on 6 carries (9.3 ypc!) and creating 3 first downs to cheer on the game clock.

Jalen Mayden was a serviceable, yet still light years better than Mr. Burmeister, 19/31/216 and 2 tds. On his behalf, getting sacked 5 times cannot stand. There’s a joke in there somewhere. Anyway, the offensive line needs to buy Mr. Mayden another couple of seconds. I will point out the o-line receiving only 2 penalties for 15 yards was dramatic improvement compared to any other game this season.

14 points and 4/14 on third down is a meager result for holding the ball 34 minutes. To repeat, a poor oy vey.

Also not helpful was Jack Browning missing his only two field goal attempts. Perhaps he is human.

Go Aztecs.

5-4/3-2

Bulldogs 32, Aztecs 28

Posted: November 2, 2022 in Uncategorized
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Two games in one. Only one mattered.

Yes, we played a fine first half (21-10). The Aztec defense sacked Jake Haener four times. The Aztec defense corralled Jordan Mims to the point of complete irrelevance. Hard to do given the fact he was a one-man wrecking crew against us in 2021. Fresno at the end of the first half sported 13 total yards rushing, 137 yards passing (150 total yards). The Aztec quarterback Jaden Mayden passed for 78 more yards than the entire output of Fresno State in the first two quarters.

However, we froze in the second half.

Mr. Mayden’s second half passing numbers totaled a disappointing 63 yards. Three first half Aztec scores melted to one in the third quarter and zero, zilch, nada in the final quarter. Pain.

The Aztec defense suddenly found Mr. Haener to be a mystery unsolvable as he finished the game 34/45/394 and 3 tds. The boys continued to hold Mr. Mims to account, but the flying football undid us.

Candidly, any SDSU defense that surrenders 32 points makes the case for woefully unprepared for four quarters of football. Especially the back five who gave two Fresno wide receivers a total of 20 receptions for 269 yards and 3 tds. Yep. Sad, yet true.

Returning to the SDSU offense, the running game continues to border on ineffective and dances close to why-bother? 4.2 yards per carry is the stuff of stale. Remove Mr. Mayden’s 43 yards of scampering, and the Aztec running backs fall far below the pale 4.2 ypc.

Imagine posting 449 yards of total offense, 6/13 on third down and 2/3 on fourth down, then wondering, “How the hell did we lose?” Indeed.

My thoughts exactly.

Go Aztecs.

4-4/2-2