Arizona vs. San Diego State Recap

Breaking down SDSU’s Week 1 loss to Arizona.

Arizona vs. San Diego State Recap

A loss to begin the season for San Diego State

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The Aztecs Lose At Home, 38-20

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In the grand opening of Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego State fell to Arizona, 38-20, in a lopsided loss. The game looked like it was out of reach by the end of the first half and the Aztecs found a way to hang around in the second half until it was too late.

San Diego State’s last season-opening loss came in 2018 against Stanford, a fellow Pac-12 opponent. Arizona went 1-11 in 2021 and with Saturday’s win, the Wildcats tied the win total from last season.

San Diego State safety Cedarious Barfield was injured early in the first quarter after he stretched out to make a form tackle. He left the game with an apparent left shoulder injury.

When San Diego State’s offense failed to score in the first quarter, the special teams unit failed to get a punt off in time. Punter Jack Browning had his punt blocked by Arizona, which helped out Arizona’s offense.

Arizona broke the tie and took a 3-0 lead with a 25-yard field goal from Tyler Loop at the 7:06 mark in the opening quarter. The Wildcats opened up the scoring when Jayden de Laura connected with Jacob Cowing on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 3:19 left in the first quarter. Arizona led 10-0.

Braxton Burmeister lost his helmet at the beginning of the second and backup quarterback Will Haskell came in for one play and attempted a pass. Burmeister dealt with a shoulder injury that hampered his performance in the game. That drive ended with a Browning field goal from 44 yards. The deficit was cut to seven points.

De Laura’s second touchdown pass came in the second quarter to Tetairoa McMillan. Arizona took a commanding 17-3 advantage over the home team.

San Diego State closed the distance to seven points, 17-10, with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Burmeister to Tyrell Shavers with 4:49 remaining in the first half.

In the final three minutes of the second quarter, the Aztecs and Wildcats traded turnovers as de Laura and Burmeister threw an interception each. Burmeister threw the last interception of the two and Arizona turned that pick into great field position.

Arizona capitalized on the turnover with a Cowing receiving touchdown with 28 seconds left in the second quarter. The Wildcats went into halftime with a 24-10 lead over the Aztecs.

The de Laura-Cowing connection continued when Cowing took a 25-yard touchdown pass to the house to begin the third quarter. That was de Laura’s fourth touchdown of the game. San Diego State trailed by 21 points, 31-10.

San Diego State took advantage of a special teams miscue from Arizona on a punt attempt and the Aztecs jumped over the ball in the end zone for a touchdown, which made it a 31-17 game at the 7:40 mark in the third quarter.

Browning nailed a 23-yard field goal with 3:36 on the clock in the third and the Aztecs were behind 11 points, 31-20. Arizona running back D.J. Williams extended the Wildcat lead to 18 points, 38-20, with a rushing touchdown with 13:02 left in the game.

With Burmeister on the sideline for most of the second half, Haskell was tasked with finishing the loss for the Aztecs. Burmeister completed 5/10 passes for 51 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

San Diego State will look to rebound in Week 2 against Idaho State on Saturday, Sept. 10.