SAN DIEGO – In a game that had the ups and downs of a trip over the grapevine, the San Diego State Aztecs retained the Old Oil Can thanks to a final minute field goal in a 26-23 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
Freshman quarterback Stone Saunders, in his first appearance since breaking his clavicle in the season opener, led a 10-play, 40-yard drive that finished with kicker Cooper DiLeva making a career-long 53-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining.
"Rivalry games are different. It's exactly what this team needed at the right time. It's a tremendous job. The adversity, the character of the club, the way that we responded to each and every single opportunity that presented itself tonight and throughout the course of the week, and I couldn't be prouder of everyone involved in this," head coach Sean Lewis said.
The Aztecs (3-4, 2-1 Pac-12) got a sack from edge Kai Wallin, his third of the game and one of SDSU's season-high 6, to put the Bulldogs (4-3, 1-2) behind the sticks and ultimately force a failed fourth down attempt to earn SDSU's 33rd win over their rivals all-time.
The drive came after one of the game's many momentum swings, as Fresno State tied the game on an 11-play, 75-yard possession that took nearly 7 minutes with 5:02 to play. But kicker Manaki Watanabe — who entered the day 33-of-36 on field goal attempts and 55-of-56 on PATs in his career spanning DI and DII — pushed the extra point off the right upright, clanging wide to shift the energy once more.
Despite losing captain starting quarterback Jayden Denegal in the first half to a right leg injury, the Aztecs welcomed back running back Lucky Sutton. The senior captain ripped off a 67-yard run, the longest play of SDSU's season, as part of 110 yards on 18 carries, while fellow RB Javion Kinnard carried 14 times for 77 yards. Saunders finished 6-of-11 for 61 yards, with 2 completions coming on third down.
Having led for the entire first half, the Aztecs opened the second half by getting back-to-back big plays. On their 2nd play, Saunders took advantage of an offside by throwing deep to wide receiver Jaylon Hawkins and drawing a pass interference penalty. Then Kinard ripped off a 27-yard run on a zone rush.
San Diego State University edge rusher Kai Wallin (18) celebrates after sacking Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal (7) during a PAC-12 football game against Fresno State, Saturday October 17, 2026 in San Diego, California.
Aaron Brenner – The Sporting Tribune
San Diego State University edge rusher Kai Wallin (18) celebrates after sacking Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal (7) during a PAC-12 football game against Fresno State, Saturday October 17, 2026 in San Diego, California.
After picking up another first down, SDSU was held to a field goal for the fourth time after getting inside the Bulldogs 25-yard line. Despite DiLeva making all three of his first half attempts, he pushed a 43-yard try shaded to the left hash wide to the right, giving Fresno State life.
"My whole life, I've always had a 'next rep' mentality. So after that miss, I came back to the sideline, watched it, thought about it for 30 seconds, erased it from my head, and then when I knew that we were driving down the field with an opportunity to win the game, I kind of asked for more," DiLeva said.
Bulldogs quarterback Jayden Mandal connected for 25 yards to top wide receiver Josiah Freeman for their first big passing completion of the game. After a fourth-and-1 conversion near the red zone, wide receiver Ezekiel Avit took a reverse 19 yards to set up goal-to-go, then a play later running back Julius Gillick got the edge for a 7-yard rushing score and Fresno State's first lead of the game.
On the first play of the fourth quarter Sutton broke off the career-long 67-yard rush to put wind back in SDSU's sails. 2 plays later Saunders completed a 24-yard catch and run to wide receiver Bert Emanuel Jr. to the Fresno State 2-yard line. A third down false start moved the ball back, then with Emanuel in a wildcat package, the former quarterback connected with wide receiver Jordan Napier on a dump off for 7 yards to the near pylon for a touchdown to retake the lead.
But the Bulldogs were unbowed, working their way down the field on a drive highlighted by a 29-yard grab in triple coverage by Avit to the SDSU two-yard-line. Gillick followed by taking a stretch run the rest of the way for a 2-yard score for his second of the game that was verified by video review after initially being called down short of the goal line.
The start couldn't have been better, as the Aztecs dominated the first quarter with a 135-33 yardage edge en route to scoring the first 13 points of the game.
Senior captain linebacker Tano Letuli came charging out of the gate on the opening posession on a third-down blitz, leveling Mandal for the first sack and forced a three-and-out.
San Diego State University linebacker Tano Letuli (21) celebrates after sacking Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal (7) during a PAC-12 football game against Fresno State, Saturday October 17, 2026 in San Diego, California.
Aaron Brenner – The Sporting Tribune
San Diego State University linebacker Tano Letuli (21) celebrates after sacking Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal (7) during a PAC-12 football game against Fresno State, Saturday October 17, 2026 in San Diego, California.
The Aztecs got it right back after their first possession ended in a punt as linebacker Sione Hala stripped the ball from tight end Brock Lium after a 3-yard catch and safety Jelani Whitmore pounced on the loose ball. The ensuing drive ended with a 32-yard field goal by DiLeva. A second down sack by Wallin on a twist, looping around nose tackle Malachi Finau, helped to force another three-and-out on the following Fresno State drive.
"Our back end is playing their tails off right now, so I've got to give credit to them and the interior. They shut down the game from the first quarter, first series shut the game down, and that really opens up a lot of passing opportunities, and then a big part of their offensive system is that QB draw, QB scramble, and we shut that down for the most part. So I'm really proud of them for that," Wallin said.
Then bang — after picking up a pair of first downs, Denegal found Hawkins free on a fly route up the far sideline for a 52-yard touchdown. The defense notched their third three-and-out of the opening stanza, getting the ball back for the Scarlet and Black that finished the quarter with a 22-yard Denegal to Napier connection.
It was the first of 3 10-plus yard plays on the drive, with Emanuel carrying for a 12-yard gain and Denegal finding Hawkins for a 12-yard grab on a third-and-2 to get inside the red zone. But the Aztecs had to settle for a field goal, as DiLeva booted a 30-yarder through.
Fresno State finally found their footing on the following drive, picking up 3 first downs and getting as far as the SDSU 33-yard line. A Finau hurry forced a second down misfire, then on the following play cornerback Caleb Ricks emerged from behind Freeman to knock the ball away.
But the game turned on the following drive, as Denegal was hurried by defensive lineman Deijon Laffitte and threw an incompletion. As he was taken to the ground, the SDSU signal-caller's right leg twisted awkwardly and he immediately was helped to the locker room. Denegal finished 7-for-10 for 112 yards with a touchdown.
San Diego State University quarterback Jayden Denegal (4) throws the ball to San Diego State University wide receiver Jaylon Hawkins (12) during a PAC-12 football game against Fresno State, Saturday October 17, 2026 in San Diego, California.
Aaron Brenner – The Sporting Tribune
San Diego State University quarterback Jayden Denegal (4) throws the ball to San Diego State University wide receiver Jaylon Hawkins (12) during a PAC-12 football game against Fresno State, Saturday October 17, 2026 in San Diego, California.
"When Jayden went down, you know we've had a lot of adversity throughout the year with multiple players, multiple starters
coming down, and we had to focus on what we had to focus on, and that was to get this win to bring back the Old Oil Can. We
had multiple guys stepping up. Like 'it's time, it's our time to go,'" Sutton said.
The timing was off on the first play with Saunders under center as the snap hit tight end Kime Fangupo as he motioned across the formation. 39 yards and 5 plays later, running back Bryson Donelson turned the corner for a 4-yard touchdown run.
DiLeva capped the opening half with his third field goal, this one from 40 yards out and a 16-10 lead at the break.
The Aztecs out-gained the Bulldogs 384-276 in overall yards, with a 204-135 yard edge on the ground and 180-141 yards through the air.
The Scarlet and Black are 2-0 against Fresno State under Lewis.
"That old oil can has been here since the first day I took this job. Rivalry games are different. We make a huge deal about it, we don't shy away from that. This one means more, more to our supporters, to our team, to our alumni, and to our community," the head coach said.
"That ain't going freaking anywhere."
San Diego State hits the road for Fort Collins next week to face spiraling Colorado State. The Rams were blistered at Texas State earlier in the day 66-27, and since allowing 41 points against BYU on Sept. 19 have allowed 59 and 56 in the following games. CSU entered the weekend allowing the most yards against (530.3), and after tonight their 44.83 points allowed will also be most in FBS.
Action kicks off at 3:30 p.m. PT on Oct. 17, with television coverage on The CW and radio coverage by 760AM KGB.
This story was updated at 1:27 a.m. on Oct. 18.
