Through the first 57 minutes of their game against Toledo, the San Diego State offense had a total of 40 yards passing. They more than doubled that on their final drive to pull out a too-close-for-comfort 17-14 win over the Rockets.
Starting quarterback Braxton Burmeister was having trouble connecting with his pass catchers. His longest completed pass was an interception by Toledo defensive back Chris McDonald. The only reason the Aztecs were in the game at all was because running back Jordan Byrd broke loose and SDSU's defense was in a thieving mood.
Byrd rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, one of them a 43-yard bolt right up the middle for a touchdown that made it 7-0 Aztecs in the 2nd quarter. SDSU's defense was able to make it stand up for a while, picking off two passes and recovering a fumble over the first three quarters. Aztecs kicker Jack Browning nailed a career long 50-yard field goal to make it 10-0 entering the final 15 minutes.
Then the Rockets finally got things going. Quarterback Dequan Finn hit Jamal Turner for a touchdown then ran one in himself from the one yard line to put Toledo up 14-10 with about three minutes left. That's when Burmeister finally started moving the ball. The senior threw for 25 yards and ran for ran for 46 more, setting up Byrd to go over left tackle and in for a one-yard touchdown and a 17-14 lead.
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The defense put it to bed when linebacker Caden McDonald grabbed another interception, their 4th forced turnover of the day. The Aztecs finish their non-conference schedule 2-2 and open up Mountain West play next week in Idaho against Boise State.
