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San Diego State needed a quarter to get its bearings in Saturday night’s season opener against Portland State.
Then talent took over and SDSU smothered the Vikings, making plays in all three phases of the game for a 53-20 victory before an announced crowd of 26,913 (19,022 turnstile) at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Aztecs punted away their first possession and quarterback Jayden Denegal threw an interception the second time they touched the ball. Portland State turned those possessions into 22- and 35-yard field goals by kicker Joshua Hossmann Lees for a 6-0 first-quarter lead.
Maybe the only saving grace was SDSU’s defense stiffened when Portland State reached the red zone and kept the Vikings out of the end zone. Just when the Vikings, 40 1/2-point underdogs, might have entertained ideas about making a game of it, SDSU pressed play.
First it was SDSU transfer running back Javion Kinnard’s 55-yard run. That set up a 9-yard shovel pass from Denegal to wide receiver Nathan Acevedo for a touchdown and 7-6 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the opening period.
SDSU took over the game with sudden swiftness from there. Portland State’s next three possessions went like this: • Blocked punt.
SD SU safety Jelani McLaughlin stuffed it in the end zone. The loose ball was illegally kicked by punter Emiliano Rodriguez, and the Aztecs took over on the 1-yard line.
SDSU running back Lucky Sutton scored on the next play. • Turnover on downs.
Portland State was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the SDSU 15 for a 2-yard loss. The Aztecs scored on a six-play drive, capped by Denegal hitting transfer wide receiver Justius Lowe in stride with a 40-yard touchdown pass.
• Interception. SDSU sophomore transfer safety Mike Lindsay picked off Portland State quarterback Gabe Downing, who was subbing for injured starter Tyrese Smith, at midfield.
Sutton concluded that drive with a 13-yard TD run. SDSU rubbed some salt in the wound on the Vikings’ next possession when junior transfer safety Isaiah Green intercepted a pass by Downing.
Green was one of three Portland State players who transferred to SDSU over the winter. That turnover did not produce a score, so SDSU settled for 29 unanswered points and a 29-6 halftime lead.
Portland State took the second half kickoff and moved the ball downfield for a 10-yard touchdown pass by Downing that made it 29-13. It was a brief bright spot.
SDSU answered on t he ensuing kickoff, which Jaylon Hawkins returned 100 yards for a touchdown. It was SDSU’s sixth 100-yard kickoff return for a TD since 2015, tied with Western Michigan for most in the nation over that span.
SDSU added a second blocked punt when linebacker Oberhiri Eyafe broke through the line and smothered Rodriguez’s kick at the Vikings 30-yard line with 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Seven plays later, Sutton added his third rushing touchdown of the night with a 5-yard run that gave the Aztecs a 43-13 lead with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter. To this point, the only task remaining for SDSU was testing the leg of new kicker Cooper DiLeva.
The senior transfer was the most consistent of an inconsistent bunch during training camp during the search for Gabe Plascencia’s successor. DiLeva was called on one minute into the fourth quarter.
He made a 31-yard attempt for his first Division I field goal and a 46-13 lead. Downing scored on a 1-yard run with five minutes remaining to make it 46-20, but the Aztecs responded with a 2-yard touchdown run by Jordin Thomas to complete the scoring.
• Denegal completed 12 of 17 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns and one interc eption before giving way to backup quarterback Stone Saunders in the fourth quarter.
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