College Football: San Diego State Upsets Boise State

The San Diego State Aztecs transformation into a program to be reckoned with took a major step forward Saturday night in Boise, as SDSU upset No. 19 Boise State on the infamous blue turf, 21-19 (via espn.com). 

The game served notice that SDSU's rise from the college football abyss is no fluke, and the future continues to look brighter and brighter for the program.

Coming into the game, things were looking bleak for the Aztecs, who had just lost their starting QB, Ryan Katz, for the rest of the season due to injury.  However, several of Katz's teammates picked up the slack, giving SDSU their biggest win of the past several seasons. 

Wide Receiver Colin Lockett got the game started off an a good note for the Aztecs, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.  After falling behind 13-7, the SDSU special teams struck again in the third quarter as Dwayne Garrett blocked a Trevor Harman punt and returned it to the 8-yard-line, setting up Adam Muema's three-yard touchdown run a couple plays later that put SDSU up 14-13. 

The Aztecs scored again on a one-yard touchdown run by Walter Kazee partway through the fourth quarter, putting them up 21-13.  The Broncos would score with just over five minutes remaining on a one-yard pass from Joe Southwick to Dan Paul, bringing Boise State to within two.

The Broncos went for the two-point conversion, but the Aztec defense stood tall.  Defensive back Rene Siluano picked off a Southwick pass, preserving the two-point lead.  The Aztec offense finished off the game by running the final five-and-a-half minutes off the clock, giving them a program-defining victory in a hostile environment on the road. 

Katz's replacement at QB, Adam Dingwell, wasn't all that impressive, but he didn't perform horribly either, going 12-of-18 for 105 yards and one interception.  He didn't need to carry too much of the load, though, as Muema ran 25 times for 127 yards and a touchdown. 

In the end, that was enough, as the Aztec defense and special teams had big games.