Aztecs Open 2023 with 20-13 Victory Over Ohio
San Diego State opens the season with a victory for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
Senior quarterback Jalen Mayden was 17-of-27 for 164 yards with two touchdowns to tight end Mark Redman propelling San Diego State to a 20-13 victory over the Ohio University Bobcats on Saturday afternoon at Snapdragon Stadium.
With the night's effort, Mayden has thrown multiple touchdowns in six of the last seven games and has tossed 13 of his 15-career touchdowns in those seven games, while Redmond has caught four touchdowns in his last six outings.
Mayden led four scoring drives, including TD drives of 71 yards in the second quarter to send the Aztecs to the half with a 10-6 lead, and 79 yards in the fourth quarter to go up 20-6 before Ohio scored a late touchdown to trim SDSU's advantage to 20-13.
Up 20-13 with 1:59 left to play, San Diego State could have run out the clock with a first down, but was forced into a three and out, which gave Ohio the ball on its own 35 and 55 seconds to work with. In seven plays CJ Harris, who replaced the Bobcats starting quarterback Kurtis Roarke at the start of the second quarter, guided his team to the Aztecs 33-yard line, but New Zealand Williams ended any thought of a comeback with his first interception as an Aztec, which he returned for 40 yards and left one second on the game clock.
For the contest, the Aztecs totaled 309 yards of offense, split nearly evenly between receiving, 164 yards, and rushing, 145 yards. Jaylon Armstead led the SDSU running attack with 78 yards on eight attempts with a long of 48. Redman was the top target of Mayden with five catches for 62 yards, two touchdowns and a long of 23 yards.
Defensively, Cody Moon led San Diego State with 11 tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry.
SDSU returns to Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, September 2, to take on the Idaho State Bengals. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
