San Diego State plays complete game in shutout win at Nevada

Aztecs score in all three phases in 44-10 rout of Wolf Pack

Nevada's Caleb Ramseur finds a hole to run the ball through against San Diego State at Mackay Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | Provided to the RGJ/Andy Barron / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It took the San Diego State Aztecs just more than one quarter Saturday night to score a touchdown in all three phases en route to a 44-10 blowout win at Nevada. 

It was the second straight complete win for the Aztecs (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West), who have consecutive 40-point games for the first time since 2017. A week earlier, they routed Colorado State 45-24 at Snapdragon Stadium. 

Jordan Napier got the blowout going when he returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown just 59 seconds in. 

Cornerback Chris Johnson intercepted Carter Jones and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 7:11 left in the first quarter. It was his second pick 6 in four games, pairing nicely with the 97-yarder he had in a 34-0 win against California on Sept. 20. 

The offense checked in on the first play of the second quarter, when Jayden Denegal threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Christian Washington for a 21-0 lead.

The Aztecs pitched a shutout until early in the fourth quarter, when the Wolf Pack finally got on the board with a 34-yard field goal by Joe McFadden. 

The big picture

The Aztecs have won four straight games and are off to their best start since the 2021 team won its first seven games en route to a 12-2 finish. 

SDSU continued its turnaround under second-year head coach Sean Lewis, and has now won two more games than they did all of last season. They’re just one win shy of becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2022. 

They’re tied with UNLV and Boise State for the MW lead at 2-0. Utah State had a chance to go 2-0 late Saturday at Hawaii.

Denegal’s nice night

Denegal had another efficient performance in his sixth career start. He completed 14 of 17 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions, for a rating of 222.5.

Denegal also threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Bostick midway through the second quarter. 

He made way for Bert Emanuel Jr. in the fourth quarter. 

Napier caught five passes for 110 yards. 

Lucky Sutton rushed 16 times for 76 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown just before halftime. 

Going with Gabe

San Diego State’s sure-footed — and left-footed — Gabe Plascencia kicked field goals of 21, 45 and 49 yards in the third quarter to extend his school record to 22 straight dating to last season. He keeps showing why he was picked as the Mountain West’s preseason special teams player of the year. 

Up next

The Aztecs have their second bye weekend and then return to action on Oct. 25 at long-time rival Fresno State. The Bulldogs were routed 49-21 by Colorado State on Friday night.