Grading SDSU’s 24 - 10 Win Over Colorado State

Welcome back to the winners circle Aztec fans. 24 - 10 was the final score against the Colorado State Rams but the number I want to focus on is 3, both the number of TD passes Ryan Agnew threw and the number of interceptions Luqman Barcoo had. This was the first game this season where we seemed to get an even footing from both sides of the ball and it was glorious to watch. So let’s take a look at this weeks report card for SDSU football.

Offense

Quarterback (A-) Ryan Agnew continues to appear like a competent starting D1 quarterback. The yardage was less than impressive but the touchdowns, completion percentage and red zone efficiency were all impressive. The team is averaging just over 20 points per game to this point in the season, good but not great, and that seems to mostly be funneled through Agnew. So I going to out this as a below average game but an overall success of a night.

Running Back (B+) If you take away the Ryan Agnew loss of yards from sacks the Aztecs had over 100 yards on the night from their running backs, so not a bad night, more forgettable than anything else. Juwan Washington caught a touchdown to round out the night for the group. The team averaged 4 yards per run on the night, so right in average with the season this far.

Wide Receivers (A-) Kobe Smith had himself a night grabbing a pair of scores and 101 yards. The big takeaway for me was the lack of drops, even with the underwhelming numbers you can always come away happy when ball security is taken care of all game. Seven different players caught passes so the ball distribution from Agnew continues to be generous and an overall positive sign for the offense.

Offensive Line (B+) Only putting up 10 points in the first half had me worried and the overall production was lackluster on the night. The run blocking looked coherent and aggressive in the second half and they held steady in the red zone all night. This is still a group where you have to hope for more improvement in the weeks to come, the offense needs to have a higher gear it can kick in too.

Defense

Defensive Line (A+) One of the biggest moments in the game came when SDSU stuffed the Rams on the goal line ending a 96 yard drive with no points on the board for Colorado State. They controlled the line of scrimmage most of the night, holding the Rams to 18 rushing yards and forcing throws that led to three interceptions. Keyshawn Banks, Cameron Thomas, Caden McDonald and Jalil Lecky all got in on the sack stats. This look gives a ton of hope schematically to the neat future success for SDSU.

Linebackers (A+) They can take a slice of the credit for the goal line stand to end the first halftime. Kyahva Tezino led the team in tackles and sacks and put his stem on the game in a big way as the defensive leader. The pressure and coverage both looked much improved, let’s hope this is the standard of play we can expect for the remainder of the season.

Secondary (A-) They allowed a 57 yard completion, the longest play the defense has allowed this season. However Luqman Barcoo went off big time for three interceptions. Darren Hall got a half sack. People are starting to look well acclimated.

Special Teams (A) A field goal put the Aztecs on the board first and the punts helped control field position all night. This continues to be the most steady and reliable of the positions groups this season.

San Diego State is back in action next week at home against Wyoming, who is 4 - 1 and just put up 53 points on UNLV.