SDSU outlasts USD, beats Coyotes 30-23

After squandering a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter, USD’s attempt at a game winning drive fell short with an incompletion in the end zone bring the USD vs. SDSU game to a 30-23 close.

Playing in front of a sold out crowd of 10,345, USD jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter with a 40 yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Ryan Saeger to sophomore wide out Brandt Van Roekel. Late in the first SDSU would get their own points on the board with a 29 yard field goal from senior Jay Carlson. Early in the second quarter SDSU grabbed the lead with a 10 yard quarterback run from true freshman quarterback Taryn Christion.

After trailing 7-10 at the half, USD came out with a strong third quarter. They opened with a one yard quarterback sneak from Ryan Saeger to make it 14-10. This was followed by two consecutive drives that ended in Miles Bergner kicks. Bergner, a junior, hit a 50 yard field goal followed by a 45 yard field goal to end the third and make it a 20-10 game.

The dynamic of the game changed though in the fourth quarter. SDSU swapped out freshman quarterback Christion for junior Zach Lujan. Lujan had a near perfect game for the Jackrabbits, completing 6 of 8 passes for 128 yards. SDSU scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth, with a pair of two yard touchdown runs from junior running back Kyle Paris and a pick six from sophomore defensive back Nick Farina.

The Coyotes were able to salvage three points with a 45 yard Bergner field goal after the interception but fell short on the final drive. After making it to the SDSU 43, USD was unable to score on a Hail Mary  pass and turned the ball over on downs with 0:02 left. SDSU would take knee to end the game with a final score of 30-23.