San Diego State holds on to defeat Hawaii 41-34
San Diego State senior quarterback Jalen Mayden threw for 224 yards and a touchdown and sophomore linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu forced two fourth-quarter fumbles, including one late that helped the Aztecs defeat Hawaii 41-34 tonight at the Ching Complex.
Lucky Sutton rushed for two touchdowns and DeShawn McCuin returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown to give the Aztecs (3-4, 1-2 Mountain West) a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.
Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager led Hawaii back to tie the score at 17 and finished 29-for-47 for 427 yards and three touchdowns.
UH (2-5, 0-2) took its first lead on a 52-yard TD pass from Schager to Nick Cenacle as time expired in the third quarter to make it 24-20.
After Mayden found a wide-open Mekhi Shaw for a 69-yard TD to put the Aztecs back in front 27-24, Fiaseu forced a fumble when he stripped Pofele Ashlock on the second play of UH’s next drive.
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. San Diego State
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Sutton’s 2-yard TD run with 12:27 remaining put SDSU back in front by 10.
Schager hit Steven McBride, who finished with a game-high 157 receiving yards on five catches, for a 65-yard pass to start UH’s next drive and Landon Sims punched it in from the 1 to make it 34-31.
SDSU went for it on fourth-and-1 at the UH 21 and Mayden fumbled the snap, allowing Hawaii to get the ball back trailing by three with 5:39 to go.
Two plays into the drive, Sims was stripped by Fiaseu and the Aztecs recovered. Jaylon Armstead punched it in from the 1 with 2:11 to go and the Aztecs were back up 10.
Matthew Shipley kicked a 47-yard field goal to make it a one-score game with 59 seconds to go, but UH couldn’t recover the onside kick.
Up next for Hawaii is a road game at New Mexico on Oct. 21.