San Diego State Holds Off Washington State 26-20 on Bert Emanuel Jr.'s Fourth-Down Touchdown Pass

San Diego State spent most of Halloween night trading body blows with a Washington State team that had nothing left to play for but pride. In the end, the Aztecs needed a fourth-down touchdown pass from a player who spent the rest of the night catching the ball, plus one last defensive stand at midfield, to finally put the Cougars away.

San Diego State beat Washington State 26-20 on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium. The Aztecs ran for 202 yards, got a pair of short touchdown runs from Javion Kinnard and two field goals from Cooper DiLeva, then stopped the Cougars on fourth-and-10 at the Washington State 48 with 38 seconds left.

San Diego State improved to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12. Washington State fell to 1-8 and 0-5 and has now lost six straight.

An even first half

The game opened with a stop. Washington State marched 54 yards in 11 plays on its first possession, mostly on short throws from Owen Eshelman, but Josiah Cox dropped Kirby Vorhees for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the San Diego State 21.

The Aztecs needed only eight plays to make the Cougars pay. Lucky Sutton broke a 46-yard run to the Washington State 29 on the second snap, and Kinnard finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run at 7:27 of the first quarter.

Washington State answered right away. Branden Ganashamoorthy caught passes of 23 and 15 yards, Trey Leckner and Caleb Northcroft moved the chains inside the 20, and Eshelman ran it in from 4 yards out to tie the game 7-7 with 2:19 left in the quarter.

That back-and-forth held through the second quarter. Stone Saunders hit Jaylon Hawkins for 18 yards on third-and-11, a pass interference flag on Jalil Tucker added 15 more, and Kinnard scored again from 10 yards at 12:34. The Cougars matched it with a 12-play, 64-yard drive that got a big boost from a pass interference call on Caleb Ricks at the goal line, and Vorhees scored from 2 yards out to make it 14-14 at 6:19.

DiLeva put San Diego State back in front with a 36-yard field goal at 3:16 after Kinnard ripped off an 18-yard run. Washington State then moved into Aztec territory, helped by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but on third-and-7 from the San Diego State 30, Sione Hala hurried Eshelman and Kai Wallin picked off the throw at the 28. The Aztecs led 17-14 at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to the defenses

The second half opened with a turnover going the other way. On San Diego State's first possession, Jaylen Thomas intercepted Saunders and returned it 17 yards to the Aztec 21. A Washington State unnecessary roughness penalty on the return pushed the ball back to the 36, and the Cougars went nowhere from there. A short pass to Vorhees gained nothing, two throws fell incomplete around a 6-yard Vorhees run, and Djibril Rahman hurried Eshelman into an incompletion on fourth-and-4 at the 30.

The Aztecs turned that stop into points. Sutton ripped off back-to-back 11-yard runs, and DiLeva hit a 45-yard field goal at 8:25 to make it 20-14.

Washington State's response was its longest drive of the night, 13 plays that ate 6:25. Eshelman completed a string of short passes to Leckner, Leo Pulalasi, Tank Hawkins Jr. and Daniel Blood, and Maxwell Woods ran for a first down at the San Diego State 21. Then it fell apart. Two incompletions were followed by a 14-yard sack by Krishna Clay, and Jack Stevens' 53-yard field goal try was no good with 1:58 left in the quarter.

The turning point: a goal-line stand that did not hold

San Diego State took over at its own 35 and put together the drive that decided the game. It covered 65 yards in 15 plays and took 7:11 off the clock. Kinnard carried it into Washington State territory, Jordan Napier caught a 10-yard pass on second-and-10, and Sutton broke a 16-yard run to the Washington State 8.

The Cougars dug in. Sutton gained 5 yards, then 2 more to the 1, and then lost a yard on third down. Washington State called timeout with the Aztecs facing fourth-and-goal from the 2.

San Diego State did not kick. Bert Emanuel Jr., who caught three passes for 47 yards on the night, took the snap on fourth down and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Ford with 9:47 left. The two-point try failed, but the Aztecs led 26-14.

Washington State would not go away

The Cougars had one more good drive in them. Eshelman found Blood for 10 yards and Vorhees for 10 more, then hit Blood on a 43-yard catch to the San Diego State 4. Tainoa Lave forced a fumble at the end of the play, but Blood recovered the loose ball. Three plays later Eshelman scored on a 2-yard run at 6:55. Stevens' extra point failed, and it was 26-20.

San Diego State went three-and-out and punted, and Dorje's 38-yarder was fair caught at the Washington State 14 with 4:43 to play.

The Cougars' last drive started well. Eshelman ran for 5 yards on third-and-2, Leckner caught a 13-yard pass on third-and-13, and Blood caught an 11-yarder to the Washington State 48 with 1:51 left. Then the San Diego State pass rush took over. Hala and Clay shared a sack, a false start pushed the Cougars back, and after a 6-yard catch by Vorhees, Ricks broke up a third-down throw to Blood. On fourth-and-10, Clay pressured Eshelman again and Mike Lindsay broke up a deep ball intended for Ganashamoorthy at the San Diego State 26. Saunders took a knee, and that was that.

Stars of the night

Sutton led the Aztec ground game with 115 yards on 18 carries, including runs of 46, 16 and two of 11. Kinnard added 87 yards on 17 carries and both rushing touchdowns, the kind of balance that let San Diego State win despite a quiet night through the air. Saunders went 12-of-21 for 102 yards with an interception in only the second start of the redshirt freshman's career.

On defense, Lave led San Diego State with nine tackles and forced the fumble on Blood's long catch. Hala, who came into the night leading the nation with 84 tackles, added six more, 1.5 tackles for loss and a share of a sack. Clay was a constant problem for Eshelman, and Wallin's interception before halftime kept the Aztecs in front.

For Washington State, Eshelman did almost everything. The quarterback completed 30 of 42 passes for 299 yards with an interception, and also ran for two touchdowns. Blood caught eight passes for 105 yards, Leckner had seven for 59, and Ganashamoorthy added four for 58. Keith Brown led the defense with 11 tackles, Linus Zunk had 2.5 tackles for loss, and Thomas had the interception.

By the numbers

Washington State outgained San Diego State 367 to 306, but the Cougars ran for only 68 yards on 30 carries, 2.3 per attempt. The Aztecs did their damage on the ground, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Washington State came up empty three times on fourth down and missed both a field goal and an extra point, and every one of those empty trips mattered in a six-point game.

What it means

For San Diego State, this was a needed response a week after a wild 56-49 loss at Colorado State. The Aztecs came in 9-1 at Snapdragon Stadium over the past two seasons, according to San Diego State Athletics, and they protected home field again. Washington State had won the last two meetings, and the Cougars still lead the all-time series 3-2.

At 3-2 in league play, San Diego State sits behind unbeaten Boise State and Oregon State in the Pac-12 standings and needs two more wins to reach bowl eligibility. The Aztecs finally get a week off on Nov. 7 after nine straight weekends of games, then host Utah State on Nov. 14 and visit Boise State on Nov. 21.

For Washington State and first-year coach Kirby Moore, the losing streak keeps growing. The Cougars were already eliminated from bowl contention after a 31-10 home loss to Boise State a week ago. This one was closer, and Eshelman gave the Cougars a real chance, but missed chances on fourth down and in the kicking game left them six points short again.

The official box score (opens in a new tab) shows a game Washington State could have won. San Diego State made the plays on fourth down that the Cougars did not, and on a night full of tricks, that was the treat.

Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play, San Diego State Athletics game preview. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State.