By Keith D. King
We are three weeks into the college football season and San Diego State has looked sensational thus far. SDSU came into the year with big questions and even bigger expectations. Two weeks ago, the Aztecs went on the road for a tough out of conference game against the Arizona State Sun Devils. They would go on to a 30-20 victory. This past Saturday the Aztecs hosted the 19th ranked Stanford Cardinal. Prior to the game, SDSU had not beaten a nationally ranked out of conference team since the 1981 season.
The entire game was a tough battle. Stanford used a dominant running game and stout defense to take a 17-13 lead into the final minutes of the game. With SDSU driving and seemingly having the momentum, there was an abrupt power outage and the ending of the game had to be delayed for 20 minutes.
“If anything, San Diego State had the momentum,” said Stanford Head Coach David Shaw. “They’d just gotten an explosive play, they got a big play before the lights went out.”
The 43,040 fans on hand used their phones to help with light during the 22 minute delay. When play resumed, the Aztecs started where they had left off, driving down the field trying to carve through the Cardinal defense. To cap off the drive six plays later, quarterback Christian Chapman completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Wells to put the Aztecs ahead with 54 seconds remaining.
“I was hoping my number would get called,” Wells said. “I thought to myself before the play, `there’s no way I’m not getting into this end zone.’ It was a willpower thing.
With 54 seconds left to play, the Aztecs had to find a way to stay composed with Stanford still having enough time remaining to either tie the game or score a touchdown for the victory. SDSU Senior corner back Kameron Kelly had other thoughts. On the first play of the final drive of the game, Kelly intercepted the pass and the Aztecs were able to run out the clock for one of the biggest victories in school history.
Senior Running Back Rashaad Penny, a preseason All-Conference honoree, led the way for the Aztecs with 175 rushing yards and a touchdown.
“This is a game we all wanted,” Penny said. “Like I said, this was an opportunity game. And we took this game. To us, we’re not surprised. We’re just a San Diego State team trying to win, and win championships.”
The Aztecs now have a real chance to go undefeated for the rest of the season and have a punchers chance in making it to a major bowl game. There’s even an outside chance they may play their way into the college football playoffs. After passing the season’s biggest tests in back to back weeks, the Aztecs control their own destiny. SDSU debuted in the newest college rankings as the 22nd team in the nation after their big victory.
