San Diego State vs. Utah State recap: Aztecs top Aggies behind big rushing game by Donnel Pumphrey

After becoming bowl eligible for a school-record seventh straight season, the San Diego State Aztecs (7-1, 4-0) continued their dominance during MW play by winning 40-13 against the Utah State Aggies (3-5, 1-4) on Friday night in Logan, Utah.

The Aggies came out firing during their first drive when QB Kent Myers ran for a 10-yard TD that put Utah State ahead 7-0. This was the first offensive TD that the Aztecs have allowed since they faced the University of Southern Alabama on Oct. 1st.

Following this drive, the Aggies failed to put points on the board until 7:59 left in the fourth quarter.

The Aztecs didn’t waste anytime responding; 44 seconds to be exact. After a Rashaad Penny 56-yard punt return, Juwan Washington sprinted past the defense and ran for a 39-yard TD (his 1st career TD) to tie up the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Aztecs led 10-7.

As the rain started to pour in the second quarter, the Aztecs kept their composure. On 3rd and goal, Christian Chapman completed a drive when he found Quest Truxton for a 10-yard TD. After an official review, the call stood and the Aztecs extended their lead 17-7 with 6:33 remaining in the first half. The Aztecs led 20-7 at halftime.

Similar to their matchup up last year, the Aztecs dominated the running game and wore out the Aggies’ defense. At the end of the night, San Diego State finished with 400 total rushing-yards. Senior running-back Donnel Pumphrey continued his dominance by rushing for 223-yards on 32 attempts, and moving up to fifth overall among all-time FBS rushing-yards leaders.

The Aztecs also received an impressive performance from freshman running-back Juwan Washington, who finished the night with 137-yards on 14 carries and two TDs.

Over the course of the game, the Aztecs defense was solid once again. The Aggies were held to 71 rushing-yards and Aztecs’ safety Malik Smith had a pick-six that put the Aztecs up 40-7 with 13:21 in the fourth quarter.

Player of the game: Star running-back Donnel Pumphrey had another excellent performance, and he came out strong with 151 rushing-yards in the first half alone. As mentioned before, Pumphrey rushed for more than 200-yards, which is the fourth time this season (1st in the FBS) and the sixth time in his career.

Up next:

SDSU: The Aztecs will head back home for a homecoming game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Nov. 5th.

Utah State: The Aggies will head to the road against Wyoming on Nov. 5th.