Aztecs fly high in their first win in the new Snapdragon Stadium

The San Diego State Aztecs win their first game of the season and their first game in Snapdragon Stadium after scoring 38 points on their home turf.

Sophomore Jaylon Armstead hoists freshman Cam Davis after Davis scored a touchdown against Idaho State on Sept. 10, 2022.

Photo by Ethan Karlin

by Jayden Hanzy SENIOR STAFF WRITER

After losing the stadium opener against the Arizona Wildcats (1-1) on Sep. 3, the San Diego State Aztecs (1-1) beat the Idaho State Bengals (0-2) 38-7 to win their first-ever game in the new Snapdragon Stadium.

Following a game where they gave up 38 points, the Aztecs’ defense was able to only give up one touchdown against the Bengals. The only points the Aztecs gave up was a touchdown on the second play of the game, after that. they stayed solid against the Bengals offense.

Despite only giving up a touchdown, Head Coach Brady Hoke still believes the Aztecs have some fine-tuning to do.

“We got a lot of work to do still on both sides of the ball,” Hoke said.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Aztecs played much better than they did in the season opener. Against Arizona, the Aztecs were only able to gain 232 total yards, as opposed to Idaho State who more than doubled their total to 488 yards.

Throughout the night, the Aztecs’ rushing attack was the catalyst for success on offense. The Scarlet and Black finished with 380 rushing yards on the night with sophomore running back Jaylon Armstead and senior quarterback Braxton Burmeister leading the attack.

“Offensively, we got some good rushing. We got a lot of guys back there who got their hands on the ball,” Hoke said when asked about his offense.

Along with the high powered rushing attack, the Aztecs special teams scored a touchdown for the second consecutive week. Last week, it was a punt block recovery by Armstead and this week it was a 66-yard punt return touchdown from senior running back Jordan Byrd.

“Punt return, it felt good. You know, we were working all week, we knew what we had to do,” Byrd said when asked about his punt return touchdown.

“Everybody had their assignments, and I just ended up getting the credit for it. So I give all of the credit to the guys out there blocking for me.”

Moving forward, SDSU will be on the road for the first time this year against the Utah Utes. Last year, the Aztecs beat the Utes 33-31 in a game that went to three overtimes. The Aztecs are looking for the same outcome against a team who just beat their last opponent by 67 points, as they look to win their second game of the year and carry momentum.

Aztec players celebrate their first win at Snapdragon stadium on the field following their 38-7 victory over Idaho State on Sept. 10, 2022

Photo by Ethan Karlin