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#19 San Diego State (11-1, 9-1) shuts out Boise State (7-5, 5-3) in the second half as Jordon Brookshire punches a rushing and passing touchdown in the 27-16 win on Friday.
Beating the Broncos was the cherry on top for SDSU’s historic season as they reached an 11 win season for the first time in program history.
At the start of the championship week, San Diego State is ranked No. 19 in the latest CFB AP Poll.
Game Recap
Despite being down 16-13 at the half, the Aztecs rallied to shut out the Broncos while scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, making the final score 27-16.
The Aztec defense proved yet again that they are the top defense in the conference, finishing the regular season with 17.3 points allowed per game as well 78.7 rushing yards per game and just 4 total rushing touchdowns.
San Diego State also has the second-most interceptions in the nation since 2015, with 114. Appalachian state is in the lead with 117. SDSU quarterbacks have also thrown the second-least interceptions since 2015, with 36. Navy is in the lead with 35.
Boise State turned the ball over 3 times in this game, which was part of their ultimate downfall. Bronco QB Hank Bachmeier threw two interceptions, adding to the derailment that took place in the second half.
Bachmeier finished with 222 passing yards completing 21 of 40 passes and two touchdowns while Bronco rushers finished with just 91 total yards on the ground. The Aztec defense has held all but two opponents (San Jose State and Air Force) to less than 100 yards rushing each game.
Aztec QB Jordon Brookshire wasn’t the expected guy to be under center, given that Lucas Johnson took over the starting role in mid-October following a foot injury.
Brookshire showed out after entering late in the first half on this one, finishing with the most rushing (46) and passing yards (192) for the team and keeping the title hopes alive.
Brookshire was responsible for 24 of the final 27 points with 192 yards through the air and 46 on the ground with two total touchdowns. WR Jesse Matthews caught 9 of Brookshire’s tosses and amassed 133 yards and a touchdown.
UP NEXT FOR AZTECS
It’s championship time this week for San Diego State as they look to get their third Mountain West Conference Title since they started the game in 2013 after expanding to two divisions.
This will be the second time Utah State is playing in the championship game; their first time was the inaugural game in 2013 which they lost to Fresno State.
The Aztecs have played in this game twice and won both times in back-to-back years (2015, 2016).
San Diego State will look to go 3 for 3 in Mountain West Championship games and keep their historic season alive with a chance to play in either the Las Vegas Bowl or one of New Years’ Six bowls, if they are ranked higher than the champions of the AAC, CUSA, MAC and Sun Belt.
The Aztecs will face the winner of the Mountain division, the Utah State Aggies on December 4th, 2021 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA. Kick off is slated for 12:00pm and will be televised live on Fox.