Wildcats claw into Aztec-land and crash the anniversary, stadium opening party
Arizona's flashy offense carries itself to a win, spoiling SDSU's new stadium open
SAN DIEGO, Calif., (KYMA, KECY) - Saturday posed as a special and ceremonious day in Mission Valley - marking not only the inaugural game of Snapdragon Stadium, but it was also the beginning of the 100th season of San Diego State football.
The Arizona Wildcats though, came to play spoiler.
Arizona won just a single game in 2021 in the first year under Head Coach Jedd Fisch - but with a highly-rated recruiting class, the Cats stormed into the new college football season with something to prove.
Brady Hoke's Aztecs on the other hand, came out a little flat on both sides of the ball.
After posting their 12th straight winning season (second with Hoke) and being ranked 10th in the entire nation in winning percentage (.730) since 2015, the beginning of the new year did not link to years past.
The Aztecs also returned seven players on the defensive side of the ball from a 2021 squad that was ranked 12th in total defense - but they did not have an answer for a rejuvenated Wildcat offense in the first half.
An offense that features transfer quarterback Jayden de Laura, who won honors as the 2021 PAC-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year at Washington State.
Laura throwing for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first half.
The story of the first half though all came down to a crucial 14-point swing.
After the Aztecs forced a turnover, a 30 yard touchdown was called back for holding. On the very next play, a pass from senior quarterback Braxton Burmeister was tipped and picked off Jaxen Turner.
Six plays into the next drive, Laura found Jacob Cowing for his second touchdown of the game to give the WIldcats a 24-10 lead into the halftime break.
The Wildcat momentum continued into the second half, breaking off a five-play, 75 yard scoring drive ending in a third touchdown from Laura to Cowing to take a commanding 31-10 lead.
The Aztecs did make a push in the latter stages of the third quarter after a punt block for a touchdown, followed by a field goal to make it a two-score game.
But an 11-play, 75 yard scoring drive from Arizona would put the stamp on any Aztec comeback.
"I thought offensively and defensively we gotta get a lot better before next week," Aztec head coach Brady Hoke said. "Our tackling defensively was horrocious, I mean it was terrible, as bad as I've seen in a long time. Offensively we gotta have consistency in what we're doing."
"Definitely a lot of disappointment and frustration," Aztec wide receiver Jesse Matthews said. "I'm just sick to my stomach now thinking about the game."
The Wildcats would go on to win 38-20 breaking a four-game road opener losing skid, while also breaking the Aztecs' seven-game home opening winning streak.
For head coach Jedd Fisch, he believes this win can open a new door for the program and help the guys believe they can succeed.
"It means that we're 1-0. We go back tomorrow and we go to work and try to go 1-0 again on Saturday," said Fisch. "We're just getting started. We're building this. We really believe we can build something special at Arizona but it's going to take time. We just tell our players to continue to trust the process and good things will come."
Jayden de Laura finished 22-35 for 299 and 4 touchdowns. His favorite target, Jacob Cowing finished with 8 catches for 152 yards and three scores.
Next for the Wildcats, they head back to Tuscon for their home opener next week against Mississippi. San Diego will have another shot for win number one at SnapDragon Stadium when they host Idaho State.
