Spartans battle but offense has no answers for Aztec defense

On a night when San Jose State (3-8, 2-5 MW) showed plenty of fight but not nearly enough finish, the Spartans closed their 2025 road slate with a 25–3 defeat to San Diego State (9-2, 6-1 MW), undone once again by early turnovers, missed opportunities, and an Aztec defense that lived up to its billing as the Mountain West’s best.

It was a strange, almost cursed start for SJSU. It was the sort of opening sequence that has followed them all season.

On the third play of the game, Spartan quarterback Walker Eget was intercepted at his own 36, and SDSU quickly turned it into an 8–0 lead behind workhorse back Lucky Sutton.

A late first-quarter Aztec field goal stretched the score to 11–0, and the Spartans were never able to climb out of the early hole.

Head coach Ken Niumatalolo knew exactly what his Spartans were going to get. “Their defense doesn’t try to overdo things. They keep things simple, understand their assignments and execute. Nothing fancy. They’re the number one defense in our league for a reason.”

For San Jose, the attrition came fast.

Eget, who entered with 3,015 yards — tops in the Mountain West and No. 3 nationally — appeared hobbled from the opening series and left the game on the next drive after a scramble aggravated a lingering knee issue. It ushered in freshman Tama Amisone, who supplied a spark with his legs and a bit of improvisation behind an offensive line that’s been battered for weeks.

Niumatalolo acknowledged the difference immediately. “Having a dual-threat like Tama is great, especially when we’re struggling up front,” he said. “Walker would have struggled back there in comparison. So having a mobile quarterback is probably more ideal, because they’re running for their life.”

“Tama gives us different things, but we’ve got to get better up front.”

Amisone responded with 75 rushing yards, often bobbing and weaving like another Hawaiian, Chevan Cordeiro, did for the Spartans a few years ago. The freshman’s mindset remained grounded despite the challenge. “I just think about it as a football game,” said Amisone. “Not that they’re the number one defense. I just go out there, play ball, and have fun.”

Amisone finished as the second leading rusher of the game to Sutton’s 79 rushing yards. Amisone threw for 104 yards but admittedly mentioned the obvious need to pick up the speed of the game.

For a freshman, Aminsone looks well-ahead of the game.

And for a stretch, the Spartans looked like they might claw back.

Amisone engineered a 12-play, 57-yard march capped by Mathias Brown’s 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter. On the next two drives, San Jose State pierced deep into Aztec territory again, but a false start, a hurry, and then a 39-yard miss kept the scoreboard at 11-3 instead of what it should have been; a tight 11-9 score.

Conditions didn’t help. Before Brown’s made field goal, kicker Denis Lynch slipped on a first-quarter miss and Niumatalolo didn’t hide his frustration. “The field conditions were questionable,” said Niumatalolo. “We missed that first field goal because we slipped. That’s a tough one not to get early. Those missed plays are hard, but we’ve got to find a way to keep our footing.”

San Diego State delivered its own gut punch before halftime — a 10-play, 79-yard march finished by quarterback Jayden Denegal’s one-yard keeper with one second left, putting SDSU ahead 18-3.

Statistically, both teams were almost even at the break. But emotionally, the Spartans were staring at a familiar deficit.

The San Jose State defense played valiantly all night behind new DC Bojay Filimoeatu who replaced long-time DC Derrick Odum.

Niumatalolo praised the defensive unit: “I thought Coach Bojay did a really good job in his first opportunity. Our defensive guys rallied, and the effort was a testament to him.”

Linebacker Taniela Latu echoed that sentiment. “It was a rough week for everyone without Coach Odum, but Coach Bojay just kept harping on giving Blue Line effort,” Latu said. “Get to the ball, be physical, get back to our basics. They’re big, but nothing we haven’t seen before.”

That defensive grit showed all game.

The Spartans forced the Aztec offense to stall several times.

One key highlight: a sack for a 12-yard loss from Gafa Faga that held off SDSU, though the Aztecs had four sacks. It highlighted the Spartan offensive line issues that reared its head after not give up a sack for several games earlier in the season.

The constant defensive highlight reel was linebacker Jordan Pollard who led with 12 tackles and is on course to reach the century mark for the season.

With Amisone exiting briefly with leg cramps and emergency QB Robert McDaniel facing heavy pressure, the offense continued to stall. San Jose State ended the night 1-for-4 on fourth down and mustered only 135 passing yards overall.

Star-receiver Danny Scudero notched 79 yards on 12 receptions as the defense keyed on Scudero the entire night.

The Aztecs finally broke the stalemate for good late in the fourth with an eight-yard rushing TD from Christian Washington, polishing off the 25–3 final.

For the Spartans, now 3–8 and long eliminated from contention, the questions start to shift toward the future: the health and return of key players, more potential coaching adjustments, and whether NIL and other institutional resources can help San Jose State retain talent and compete at the top of the league.

But for one night, despite all the setbacks, they stayed in the fight. And that, at least, was not lost on their head coach.

“Our guys played hard,” Niumatalolo said. “We were just put in tough situations all game and all season. But the effort was there. And we’ll always keep working.”