1. He’s Playing
>> Situation: San Diego State 0, Hawaii 0, 15:00 remaining, first quarter, San Diego State ball, first-and-10 at own 25.
>> The Play: RB Donnel Pumphrey, listed as questionable to play earlier in the week due to an ankle sprain, comes out with the starters. He immediately rips a 13-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.
>> Impact: Pumphrey carried the first three plays and four of seven, including the 34-yard touchdown capping San Diego State’s opening drive. Hawaii’s defense appeared to be stunned. Pumphrey finished with 148 yards on 30 carries, including three touchdowns.
>> San Diego State coach Rocky Long: “I guess we didn’t know the severity of the injury, or he’s the fastest healer of all time. We asked the doctors and the trainers if there was any chance of him re-injuring it or if they were OK with him playing. He wanted to play and they said it was OK, so he had a great night.”
2. Bad Turnover
>> Situation: San Diego State 7, Hawaii 0, 10:38 remaining, first quarter, Hawaii ball, third-and-2 at own 29.
>> The Play: On Hawaii’s first possession, QB Max Wittek completes a slant to WR Quinton Pedroza. But Pedroza fumbles upon contact by DT Christian Heyward and Heyward recovers for San Diego State.
>> Impact: San Diego State quickly took advantage of the short field, Pumphrey scoring from 8 yards out to cap a four-play, 32-yard drive.
>> Hawaii coach Norm Chow: “We fought hard but it’s just little mistakes we can’t make. We can’t have that lack of discipline especially against top teams like we’ve played in the past few weeks.”
3. Finally
>> Situation: San Diego State 14, Hawaii 0, 12:44 remaining, second quarter, Hawaii ball, first-and-goal at San Diego State 1.
>> The Play: RB Melvin Davis runs for a 1-yard touchdown, capping a 7-play, 75-yard drive.
>> Impact: Hawaii scored for the first time since Sept. 19 against UC Davis, ending a scoreless streak of nine quarters. The touchdown was set up by Wittek’s 52-yard pass to WR Isaiah Bernard.
>> Davis: “It was kind of a release because we haven’t scored, but you know that’s still not enough. One touchdown is not enough. Two touchdowns is not enough. The W, that’s what we’re coming here for and we fell short.”
4. Getting Back In It
>> Situation: San Diego State 21, Hawaii 7, 8:56 remaining, third quarter, San Diego State ball, third-and-8 at own 22.
>> The Play: S Marrell Jackson recovers a fumble by WR Jemond Hazely and Hawaii takes over at the San Diego State 26.
>> Impact: Wittek scored on a 1-yard run to get Hawaii within a touchdown again.
>> Long: “Early in the game, they were a little slow reacting to what we were doing. … Once they got used to the speed … I thought they played really well on defense.”
5. Offsides
>> Situation: San Diego State 21, Hawaii 14, 15:00 remaining, fourth quarter, San Diego State ball, fourth-and-1 at Hawaii 22.
>> The Play: DT Penitito Faalologo is drawn offsides by QB Maxwell Smith’s cadence. San Diego State gets a first down on a 5-yard penalty.
>> Impact: Five plays later (including another Hawaii penalty on Nick Nelson for holding in the end zone), Pumphrey scored a 4-yard touchdown, giving San Diego State a two-touchdown lead that looked insurmountable considering the state of Hawaii’s offense.
>> Hawaii defensive coordinator Tom Mason: “When you’re struggling those things happen, you have to fight through that. But we practiced that all week, we knew they were going to do that and we jumped. We just gotta clean some things up and we gotta regroup and get better.”
