Lucas Johnson guides No. 24 SDSU past UTSA in Frisco Bowl
Senior Lucas Johnson passed for a career-high 333 yards and accounted for four touchdowns to lead No. 24 San Diego State to a 38-24 victory over UTSA on Tuesday night in the Frisco Bowl at Frisco, Texas.
Johnson matched his career best of three touchdown passes and also ran for a score as the Aztecs (12-2) set a program record for wins in a season. Junior receiver Jesse Matthews caught two touchdown passes while recording career highs of 11 catches for 175 yards.
Greg Bell rushed for 101 yards and a score on 26 carries and Tyrell Shavers had a touchdown reception for San Diego State. Johnson completed 24 of 36 passes as the Aztecs outgained UTSA 489 yards to 388.
Frank Harris completed 22 of 36 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Roadrunners (12-2). Zakhari Franklin and De’Corian Clark had scoring receptions, and Brenden Brady rushed for a touchdown.
UTSA played without star runner Sincere McCormick, who opted out of the bowl game and declared for the NFL draft last week.
Ray Guy Award winner Matt Araiza of San Diego State averaged 46.7 yards on three punts and finished the season with an FBS-record 51.28-yard average. He broke the mark of 50.98 set by Texas A&M’s Braden Mann in 2018.
San Diego State moved ahead 24-14 on Bell’s 1-yard run with 11:59 left in the third quarter.
Hunter Duplessis booted a 41-yard field goal to get UTSA within seven, but Johnson connected on a 24-yard scoring pass to Shavers to make it 31-17 with 2:39 left in the quarter.
The Roadrunners moved back within seven on Harris’ 3-yard scoring pass to Franklin on the final play of the quarter. Johnson scored on a 2-yard run with 9:51 left in the game to restore the 14-point advantage, and San Diego State closed it out.
Johnson passed for 222 yards in the first half as the Aztecs built a 17-14 lead.
The Roadrunners struck first when Harris tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Clark just 2:24 into the game. San Diego State tied the score nearly 7 1/2 minutes later when Johnson threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Matthews.
UTSA took a 14-7 lead when Brady scored from the 2 with 2:02 left in the opening quarter. The Aztecs knotted it up on Johnson’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Matthews with 9:14 left in the second quarter and took a 17-14 lead on Araiza’s 33-yard field goal as time expired in the half.
–Field Level Media
