Three thoughts after San Diego State’s 41-20 loss to Utah State on Saturday afternoon at Maverik Stadium.

1. Historically slow starts

Slow starts have plagued SDSU’s “AztecFAST” offense. The Aztecs have not scored on their opening drive in any of their 11 games this season.

Only three times have they had a drive of more than five plays. The shortest possession was two weeks ago, when quarterback Danny O’Neil was intercepted on the second play.

Only twice have they had a drive of more than 20 yards. Both of those possessions ended with the ball turned over on downs following failed fourth-down plays.

Eight possessions ended with punts. Average drive: five plays, 16 yards.

The opening-drive drought looked like it was going to end against the Aggies. SDSU reached the red zone in four plays. O’Neil, who has been slowed by a knee injury most of the season, made the biggest play with his legs. A 34-yard rush up the middle marks his longest carry of the season.

There was something else unusual about the drive — it included three passes to tight end Mikey Harrison, who had not been targeted that many times in eight of 10 games, let alone one drive, this season.

SDSU had a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line, then moved back 10 yards because of a holding penalty. Two passes advanced the ball to the 2-yard line. Running back Marquez Cooper got one yard on third-and-2. On fourth down, O’Neil threw a screen pass to Harrison that lost three yards.

And the Aztecs came up empty. Again.

“(O’Neil) got us off to a good start,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “Obviously, we didn’t finish down there at the goal line. Again, that’s been an Achilles’ heel for us, to be able to punch the ball in in those short-yardage situations.

“We’ve got to do a better job there as we continue to move forward.”

Saturday night’s game against Air Force represents the last chance for the Aztecs to score on their first possession. In an online search dating back 25 years, SDSU never went an entire season without scoring on its opening drive.

2. Flags flying

The Aztecs are a game away from being the most penalized team in the nation, a distinction they currently share with Mountain West peer New Mexico.

Both schools have been whistled for 103 penalties, an average of 9.4 per game.

It all began with 16 infractions in the season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce. There have been eight or nine penalties in five games this season, with SDSU avoiding double digits since making 12 penalties in Week 3 at Cal.

Then came another dozen at Utah State. Included were five false starts, something that usually works itself out well before this stage of the season.

“A majority of them were on the offensive line, where we’ve been banged up,” Lewis said of a unit where half a dozen players have been hobbled. “There’s a lot of people there playing in different spots as we’re rolling through it. So, again, there’s got to be continuity, there’s got to be consistency within that group up front, so that you can have confidence that you can play together.

“When there’s any sort of doubt … it leads to hesitation. When you’re playing hesitant and you’re not playing confident, you’re not tied together.”

It was the fourth time this season SDSU has been penalized more than 100 yards in a game. UTSA (945 penalty yards) is the only team in the country with more penalty yards than the Aztecs (933).

3. ‘We aren’t doing our jobs’

Cooper was in no mood to celebrate after the game, despite becoming the 23rd player in NCAA history to go over 5,000 career rushing yards.

The Aztecs squandering a 13-point lead and allowing 41 unanswered points had something to do with that.

“I can’t be jumping with joy because we just got whooped,” Cooper said after the game.

With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Utah State was being being shut out. Somehow, the Aggies had a 14-13 lead at halftime. They added four more TDs after intermission to win convincingly.

What changed?

“They didn’t do anything differently, honestly,” said Cooper, adding, “Guys got to do their jobs. We aren’t doing our jobs. That’s been the case all season long. The coaches tell us something, and we’ll do the opposite thing. That’s unfortunate. It isn’t the coaches’ fault. It’s 100 percent on the players. We’ve got to do our job.”

Originally Published: November 24, 2024 at 5:46 PM PST