PASADENA — San Diego State backup quarterback Stone Saunders is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks following surgery this week for a broken collarbone suffered in last week’s victory over Portland State, sources told the Union-Tribune.

SDSU redshirt freshman Draiden Trudeau replaced starting quarterback Jayden Denegal in the final two minutes of Saturday’s 28-10 loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, throwing an incomplete pass on his only attempt. Quarterback-turned-wide receiver Bert Emanuel Jr. was the Aztecs’ emergency quarterback.

Saunders was injured on a sack in the final minute of SDSU’s 53-20 victory over Portland State. The play, a fourth-and-1 attempt on PSU’s 1-yard line, was SDSU’s final offensive play of the game.

Saunders reached for a high snap from backup center Charlton Luniewski and had the ball bounce off his hands and above his head.

As Saunders waited for the ball to come down, Portland State safety Lono Solomon rushed in untouched from the edge. Solomon wrapped his arms around Saunders and landed on top of the Kentucky transfer as he hit the turf on his right shoulder.

Saunders did not appear pained when he got up, although his right arm hung to his side as he walked off the field. He had surgery on Wednesday, according to sources, and did not accompany the team on Saturday’s road trip.

Saunders is a former four-star high school quarterback from Pennsylvania who set state passing records during his prep career. He was among SDSU’s most coveted transfers from the January portal period after redshirting at Kentucky.

Saunders took over for Denegal in the fourth quarter against Portland State. He completed 2 of 4 passes for 20 yards.

Trudeau is a redshirt freshman walk-on from Mission Viejo whose primary role has been quarterbacking the scout team in practice. Trudeau had not appeared in a game for the Aztecs.

Dorje booms ball

SDSU punter Tashi Dorje picked the right moment for his career-long punt. Standing at the back of his own end zone with nine minutes remaining in the first half, Dorje boomed the ball 77 yards to the UCLA 19-yard line.

The punt was aided by a fortunate bounce past UCLA returner Mikey Matthews. Dorje actually outkicked his coverage, as they say. Matthews ran down the ball and returned it 22 yards before he was tackled.

Dorje also had 55-, 43- and 50-yard punts in the first half, giving him a 56.3-yard average. He finished the game with seven punts and a 50.0 average.

The 77-yard punt was the ninth-longest in SDSU history. The Aztecs now have six punts of at least 77 yards since 2021 (Matt Araiza, 4; Tyler Pastula, 1; Tashi Dorje, 1).

Select company

The 0-0 first half between SDSU and UCLA was a rare event.

There were 941 FBS games last season between the regular season (887) and postseason (54).

Only two of those games were 0-0 at halftime: Jacksonville State-UCF in Week 0 and Miami-Texas A&M in the College Football Playoff.

Sutton on all-time rush list

SDSU running back Lucky Sutton is on the verge of moving into the Aztecs’ all-time top 20 rushing list. Sutton had 19 carries for 81 yards in the first half, giving him 1,636 for his career. That put him within 28 yards of Art Preston (1,664 from 1949-51), who currently ranks 20th all-time for the Aztecs.

Coming up

SDSU plays James Madison on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium.

James Madison set a school record for points Saturday in an 87-3 home victory over Wagner, going 21-21-24-21 across four quarters.

The Dukes rushed for 290 yards and six touchdowns and returned two punts for TDs.

Quick hits

• While SDSU’s 45 passing yards against UCLA were low, the Aztecs threw for only 14 yards in a 40-13 win over Utah State in 2016.

• The Aztecs had 14 first downs in the game, nine rushing, one passing and four on penalties. The one passing first down came on Denegal’s 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jackson Ford. It was SDSU’s longest offensive play of the day.

• Linebackers Sione Hala and Tano Letuli each had eight tackles, sharing team-high honors in the category with safeties Jelani McLaughlin and Josh Hunter.

• SDSU’s Nathan Acevedo muffed the first punt of the game, but Hunter covered the ball to prevent the Bruins from getting it at the SDSU 10-yard line.

• The Aztecs’ longest possession was a nine-play, 30-yard drive that consumed 4:37 in the first quarter. They had four three-and-outs among 11 possessions and had an average time of possession of 2:16.