{"id":462931,"date":"2026-09-14T00:20:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462931\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T00:20:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:20:35","slug":"3-thoughts-after-the-aztecs-28-10-loss-to-ucla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462931\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Thoughts … after the Aztecs’ 28-10 loss to UCLA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three thoughts after San Diego State\u2019s 28-10 loss to UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl:<\/a><\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego State quarterback Jayden Denegal throws a pass during Saturday\u2019s game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. (Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\n1. Time of possession<\/p>\n

San Diego State meant to test UCLA with deep balls down the sidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was part of the plan,\u201d SDSU coach Sean Lewis said after the game. \u201cWe felt like we had good matchups on the edge. There was a lot of single, high coverage. There were good, calculated shots downrange that we got balls on hands that we didn\u2019t catch. We had guys wide open that we missed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPitch and catch. We\u2019ve got to do a better job with that as we go.\u201d<\/p>\n

One challenge with that strategy is that when balls fall incomplete \u2014 quarterback Jayden Denegal was 6-for-17 \u2014 it is difficult to sustain drives. SDSU\u2019s average time of possession was 2 minutes, 16 seconds.<\/p>\n

Incompletions also stop the clock, which is one reason SDSU\u2019s time of possession was 25:05 \u2014 nearly 10 full minutes less than the Bruins had the ball.<\/p>\n

Time of possession is not a perfect stat. Portland State had the ball 8 1\/2 minutes more than the Aztecs a week earlier and lost by 33 points. That difference could be explained by some quick strikes on offense on a short field after two blocked punts as well as a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.<\/p>\n

It was a different story against UCLA, where SDSU\u2019s defense acquitted itself well but wore down late in the game.<\/p>\n

While SDSU works to improve on its pitching and catching, the Aztecs may want to rely on more ground and pound. They have a robust running game. Riding that has been a successful strategy for the better part of two decades.<\/p>\n

Keeping the offense on the field for extended drives with the clock running is a sound idea as a defense that showed promise in Pasadena develops depth.<\/p>\n

\"SeniorSenior Tashi Dorje is bidding to become the next in lengthening line of standout San Diego State punters. (Justin Truong \/ SDSU Athletics)
\n2. A leg up<\/p>\n

Matt Araiza. Jack Browning. Tyler Pastula. Hunter Green.<\/p>\n

They left an elite punting legacy at SDSU over the past five years.<\/p>\n

Tashi Dorje leaned into it when he succeeded Green in the spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a legacy I\u2019m following in,\u201d Dorje said then. \u201cI just want to build my own and leave my mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom Krasovic: Talent the difference in UCLA\u2019s win over visiting Aztecs<\/a><\/p>\n

Dorje left his mark against UCLA with a punt in the second quarter that went 77 yards. It was the ninth-longest punt in school history. He punted seven times on Saturday, averaging 50 yards per kick. It included one that settled on the 1-yard line but was a touchback because it briefly crossed into the end zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a great job,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cTheir returner\u2019s really, really dynamic. We asked Tashi to do a lot of different things. He hits a lot of different kicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gives us a chance. I thought the operation was really good. He\u2019s doing his part to flip the field. Every single time he goes out there, we want those guys to start as far away from the goal line as possible, and he\u2019s doing a heck of a job with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dorje\u2019s 49.3-yard punt average through two games ranks seventh in the nation. It\u2019s one spot behind Green (50.8), who is kicking for Washington this season.<\/p>\n

\"SDSUSDSU coach Sean Lewis looks at his play sheet during a game against UCLA on Saturday.
\n(Luke Johnson \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\n3. Misplaced their minds<\/p>\n

The term fan is short for fanatic, so we shouldn\u2019t be surprised at the reaction from some following a loss.<\/p>\n

Still, the vitriol that spews forth in such situations is amazing. And you know it\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n

As he walked out of the Rose Bowl on Saturday night, one SDSU staff member was overheard saying he\u2019s \u201cstaying off social media for the next 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within minutes of the loss, some Aztecs fans, like their peers for half the teams across the country, had misplaced their minds.<\/p>\n

\u201cGross incompetence by Sean Lewis,\u201d \u201cHorrific playcalling\u201d and \u201cOur QB play is pathetic\u201d were among the comments on social media in the immediate aftermath.<\/p>\n

These are the same people who are so interested in the team that in one breath they\u2019re pestering people about who looks good at third-string right guard, and in another moment they\u2019re burying a team that is two games into a 12-game schedule.<\/p>\n

Does anyone remember what happened to SDSU in its second game last season? The Aztecs lost 36-13 at Washington State. Some fans went crazy, then watched the Aztecs win eight of their next 10 regular-season games, nearly play for a conference championship, make it back to a bowl game and finish 9-4.<\/p>\n

At Fanatic Central, a chat board more formally called Aztec Mesa, there was one voice of reason in the wilderness.<\/p>\n

Under the topic thread, \u201cOverreaction Sunday is in full effect,\u201d someone with the moniker laaztec posted:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure what people were expecting out of SDSU against UCLA. Everyone is acting like we were playing against an FCS opponent again. Leave your emotions out of this. UCLA is a good Big (Ten) team playing at home. SDSU hung tough and kept it close. SDSU needed to play perfect and UCLA had to make a bunch of mistakes for SDSU to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cUCLA is a better team. It\u2019s as simple as that. I like the passion of everyone, but you have to realize that to win a game like that, everything has to break our way. Yesterday it didn\u2019t. It\u2019s a long season. SDSU\u2019s going to be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon further review \u2026 Maybe it\u2019s good that people have a place to vent. It could keep them from kicking the dog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three thoughts after San Diego State\u2019s 28-10 loss to UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl: San Diego…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[303,49502,13733,10657,74,76,75,300,18952,1092],"class_list":["post-462931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-aztecs","tag-bob-chesney","tag-jayden-denegal","tag-rose-bowl","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-san-diego-state","tag-sean-lewis","tag-ucla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}