San Diego State’s offense flickered to life in the first half — producing more points in the first two quarters than it had all season — then flamed out in its Mountain West game against Nevada.

SDSU’s defense disappeared on a couple of crucial series — plagued by uncharacteristically poor tackling — at Mackay Stadium.

The Aztecs’ special teams suffered another serious setback — a muffed punt return in the fourth quarter — that cost them dearly.

It all added up to a 28-24 loss to Nevada that ended SDSU’s six-game winning streak and dropped the Aztecs (6-2, 3-1 MW) into second place in the conference’s West Division. Fresno State (7-2, 4-0) is atop the division following a 50-20 win over Hawaii (6-4, 3-2). Nevada (5-4, 3-2) moved into a third-place tie with the Rainbows.


“You can put it on we made more mistakes than they did or they made more plays than we did,” SDSU head coach Rocky Long said.

The SDSU defense stepped up with two late stops, forcing a pair of Nevada <FZ,1,0,35>punts in the game’s final three minutes.

The Aztecs had the ball at the Nevada 42-yard line with 2:42 remaining. Four straight Ryan Agnew passes fell incomplete, however.

When the defense stopped Nevada again, the Wolf Pack punted, and the ball was downed at the SDSU 1-yard line with 58 seconds left. The Aztecs moved the ball to the Nevada 40-yard line before time ran out on them — an Agnew pass to the end zone was knocked down on the final play.


After collecting three touchdowns and a field goal in the first half, the Aztecs were scoreless in the second half.

“We got 24 points and thought, ‘Oh, we did our job. For a half. We’ve got continue the entire four quarters,” said Agnew, who completed 20 of 41 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. “We thought it was going to be handed to us. … We just didn’t want it as bad as they did. They played with more effort, played with more fire, in the second half.”

Either of the final two possessions could have come with less desperation attached had SDSU not turned the ball over in the fourth quarter when Jordan Byrd muffed a punt that Nevada recovered at SDSU’s 18-yard line.

The Wolf Pack turned it into a 34-yard field goal that provided the four-point lead that meant the Aztecs needed a touchdown, as opposed to a John Baron II field goal, if they were to secure another comeback win.


“That’s ridiculous,” Long said of the muffed punt. “We’ve dropped more punts this year than any season I’ve ever been around. We’re either not putting the right guys back there or we don’t have anybody that can catch a punt or we’re not teaching them the right way.”

SDSU found ways to win throughout a six-game winning streak in which the team scored just enough to win, recording five of the victories by fewer than eight points.

Much of the credit belonged to a defense that ranked among the nation’s top 20 teams in scoring defense. Most important — it made plays when most needed.

SDSU came out strong, stalled some in the second quarter, then regained its footing for a 24-15 halftime lead.


Nevada regained control in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown and field goal on successive drives for a 25-24 advantage.

Nevada quarterback Ty Gangi had something to do with SDSU’s challenges on defense. Gangi, who completed 23-of-43 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, is among the conference’s top quarterbacks. Just when it seemed like the Aztecs had successfully stopped his sideline passes, Gangi mixed it up with throws over the middle. He also tested the Aztecs deep with some success.

Poor tackling hurt the Aztecs on two Nevada scoring drives. The worst moment may have been on a 26-yard scoring pass from Gangi to Brendan O’Leary-Orange, who juggled the ball before securing it, bouncing off two would-be tacklers, then jogging into the end zone to give Nevada a lead, 15-14, midway through the second quarter.

“There’s times we were just trying to hit the guys,” SDSU cornerback Ron Smith said. “There were big collisions, but we just need to wrap our arms. It’s that simple. Need to make more tackles.”


SDSU came out like its offense had been oiled during the week, marching straight down the field for touchdowns on its first two drives.

The Aztecs showed as much offensive balance as anyone could remember, mixing the pass and the run on the way to the TDs.

The first drive featured six rushes and six passes, capped by a 2-yard pass from Agnew to running back Chase Jasmin. The second drive included four rushes and four passes, culminating with a 16-yard TD pass from Agnew to tight end Kahale Warring.

SDSU’s 14-0 first-quarter lead was quickly trimmed when Aztecs offensive lineman Daishawn Dixon was called for holding in the end zone, resulting in a Nevada safety.


The Wolf Pack made it 14-9 by the time the first period ended when they got a 40-yard touchdown pass from Gangi to Toa Taua.

After falling behind for the first time, the Aztecs responded with a 26-yard field goal by John Baron II to regain the lead 17-15.

Agnew located Warring again before the half, threading the needle between seemingly half a dozen defenders for a 30-yard touchdown pass that made it 24-15 with 4:19 remaining in the first half.

By halftime, Agnew had completed 14 of 24 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns.


SDSU rushed for a school-record 474 yards when the Aztecs played Nevada here two years ago. The Wolf Pack has tightened up the defense substantially since then.

SDSU rushed for 111 yards in the first half, but finished with 173 yards for the game. Jasmin led the SDSU with 16 carries for 85 yards. Teammate Chance Bell rushed 15 times for 78 yards..


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kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com / on Twitter: @sdutkirKDKenney