San Diego State ekes out 6-3 road win against Northern Illinois

Aztecs match their win total from Sean Lewis’ first season

San Diego State Aztecs wide receiver Jordan Napier (2). | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

The San Diego State Aztecs certainly weren’t playing for style points on Saturday. 

They were simply playing for any points they could get, and they came through right at the end, and with just enough, to beat Northern Illinois 6-3. The game will be remembered more for punts, penalties, a lack of explosive plays from the offense and quarterback Jayden Denegal being knocked out of the game for a big chunk of the second half.

Gabe Plascencia kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to give the Aztecs the victory at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois. 

While there certainly weren’t the big moments as there were in the previous Saturday’s 34-0 whitewashing of Cal, the important thing for the Aztecs is that at 3-1, they have matched their win total from 2024, in Sean Lewis’ first season as head coach. 

Plascencia also kicked a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter to help beat the Huskies, who dropped to 1-3 after three straight losses to FBS teams following a close victory against FCS Holy Cross.

This was the final tune-up for San Diego State’s final season in the Mountain West before jumping to the Pac-12. It was NIU’s last nonconference game before it begins its final year in the Mid-American Conference, before joining the MW.

The final drama

Denegal came out of the game early in the third quarter with an apparent arm injury. He returned late in the game, in time for the winning drive.

San Diego State Aztecs quarterback Jayden Denegal. | James Snook-Imagn Images

But it was Lucky Sutton who moved the Aztecs down the field, carrying five straight times for 30 yards and drawing a critical facemask penalty that gave the Tecs 15 more yards. That helped set up the game-winning kick by the left-footed Plascencia, who was named the Preseason MW Special Teams Player of the Year. 

The stats

Sutton carried 17 times for 88 yards. Denegal completed 13 of 20 passes for 110 yards and two interceptions, which were the first turnovers of the season for SDSU. He was sacked once. 

San Diego State punted six times while the Huskies punted seven times. 

Both teams were hampered by penalties. The Huskies were whistled seven times for 70 yards and the Aztecs five times for 50 yards. 

SDSU had 266 yards of total offense and the Huskies, 179. It’s just that neither team could find the end zone.

First Road Win of 2025💪#AztecFAST 🍢 x #BeTheA1pha 🐺 x #TheClimb 📈 pic.twitter.com/t2HYNBS8wa

— San Diego State Football (@AztecFB) September 27, 2025

Up next

The Aztecs welcome Colorado State to Snapdragon Stadium on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.