San Jose State’s 25-3 loss to San Diego State on Saturday night was mostly caused by the Spartans’ self-inflicted wounds that created too big of a deficit to battle back from at Snapdragon stadium. On top of two turnovers and a pair of missed field goals, it didn’t help that the Spartans also lost starting quarterback Walker Eget in the first quarter. “It was kind of indicative of this year. The kicking game hurt us and we had big turnovers,” said Spartans coach Ken Niumatalolo, whose team has a minus-9 turnover margin and has made just 58 percent of its field goal attempts (11-for-19). Eget suffered an apparent leg injury and was later seen on the sideline using crutches after going 4-for-8 for 32 yards and an interception. While not revealing many details, Niumatalolo struck an ominous tone when asked about Eget’s injury. “I’ll just say it didn’t look good,” Niumatalolo said. “Haven’t got anything official but we’ll find out in a little bit.” Eget’s injury forced freshman quarterback Tama Amisone to take over the offense. Amisone, a 5-foot-11, 184-pound product of Hawaii’s Kapolei High, utilized his duel-threat abilities to give the Aztecs a different look. He rushed for a team-high 75 yards on 13 runs while completing 15 of 27 passes for 104 yards and an interception. The San Diego State defense, which is ranked first in the Mountain West while allowing just 12. 5 points per game, held the Spartans to 268 yards of offense and out of the end zone. The Aztecs had seven tackles for loss, including four sacks. After electing to receive the ball at the outset, the Spartans quickly put themselves in trouble when Eget was intercepted by ex-McClymonds High of Oakland standout Dwayne McDougle on the third play of the game. The first of McDougle’s two interceptions set up the Aztecs at the Spartans’ 20-yard line. They scored six plays later on Lucky Sutton’s 1-yard touchdown run. San Jose State moved into field goal range on its next offensive drive, but kicker Denis Lynch slipped while attempting a 43-yard field goal that had no chance of success. Fellow Spartans kicker Mathias Brown, kicking from the left hash, then went 1-for-2 on his field goal attempts in the first half, making a 37-yarder and missing a 39-yarder. Despite their offensive woes, the Spartans’ defense looked much-improved in interim defensive coordinator Bojay Filimoeatu’s first game since taking over for longtime coach Derrick Odum, who was fired on Monday. San Jose State’s defense limited the Aztecs offense to just 248 yards total yards and 5-for-13 on third downs. But the SJSU offense was never able to capitalize. “If we could have just mustered up something on offense, I feel like our defense could have kept their juice,” Niumatalolo said. “I thought the defense rallied and that was a testament to Bojay.” San Jose State (3-8, 2-5 MWC) has now lost three games in a row, its longest losing streak since 2023. Meanwhile, San Diego State (9-2, 6-1 MWC) put itself in position to clinch the conference’s regular-season title with a victory next Friday night against New Mexico. With Amisone in the game and without Eget, the nation’s second-leading passer with 3, 015 yards, the Spartans emphasized the run game heavily. The Spartans’ offensive philosophy change Saturday night was by necessity, though. “We got beat up front,” Niumatalolo said. “It’s hard to throw the football when the quarterback is running for his life.” SJSU running backs Steve Chavez-Soto (51 yards, 14 carries) and Viliami Teu (23 yards, five carries) combined for 74 yards on 19 attempts for a combined 133 rushing yards for SJSU. Like Eget, Amisone had to leave the game due to an undisclosed injury. While he received medical attention on the sideline, Spartans freshman quarterback Robert McDaniel, a UCLA transfer, took over for their final drive of the game. McDaniel finished the game 1-for-3 passing for minus-1 yard. San Diego State’s offense was missing its top two wide receivers as both Jordan Napier and Jacob Bostick were ruled out of the game with injuries. The Aztecs offense struggled to get the passing game going without them as quarterback Jayden Denegal went just 4-for-8 for 16 yards until the two-minute warning. But Denegal completed a 52-yard bomb to Donovan Brown to move the ball to the SJSU 4. This set up a 1-yard TD sneak by Denegal, giving SDSU an 18-3 lead. Senegal finished 8-of-16 for 81 yards passing.. SJSU finishes the season 0-6 on the road and will close its season at home next Saturday at 7: 30 p. m. against Fresno State in the annual battle for the Valley.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/11/23/san-jose-state-loses-quarterback-walter-eget-in-25-3-loss-to-first-place-san-diego-state/
