EA SPORTS College Football 25 BEATING SAN DIEGO STATE

California home to the Aztecs of San Diego State being in San Diego is never a bad thing and it's even better when you have a matchup like this one a top 25 Showdown coming up two of college football's Premier teams preparing to Duke it out right here on this field as we'll see the number 18 team in the country the UTSA road runners taking on the winners of four straight the San Diego State Aztecs for EA Sports college football we with you alongside David Pollock and Jesse Palmer time to get this game started and the road runners will put total leather to crank us up takes it inside his own 20 chance for break field position here gets it all the way out to the 33 before he stops [Applause] will take over first and [Music] 10 here comes the offense on first [Music] [Applause] down power football with the Run got behind those pads and picked up three out the 35 coming off a season in which things really didn't go their way in conference play and they' love to get on a roll here this season well this is a team from a roster standpoint though that believes they're better on on the field than they were a year ago they've made some additions through High School recruiting through and the ball is intercepted they bring him down but that great defensive play might be overturned let's see what the call is they'll decline the penalty here and the result of the play stands the offense set for a first down play he wants to throw fires to the middle complete downfield and this defense's head is spinning he gets it down to the 27 that's a beautiful pass and catch I love the job the quarterback does manipulating the defense with his eyes he Froze that safety and that allowed his receiver more room to work his route this offense always looking for those big explosive plays and now they've got it just inside the 30 they'll run it from the [Applause] gun you'll take this every time five yards on the first down play this is the kind of game a top 25 matchup in the early season that you look for when you're trying to build your resume yeah these are so fun because as a player you kind of get bored if you don't get challenged but when you got an early season challenge like this all the adrenaline all the juice Palmer you're ready to rock and roll Fire's a over now it's picked off and he's brought down after the pick but not before putting his offense in business really early in this game you're seeing the ball Hawks on both sides of the ball interception on the first drive of the game and now they come out and this defense gets a pick in return there are a lot of dudes in the back end with speed with the ability to close what a phenomenal play by that young man just now to get the ball back to his offense really needed a play like that to get out of their own end they move the chains they mark it at the 29 I like the running back there on the route the patience he showed really setting it up he got to the defender was able to put his foot in the ground get some separation catch it and turn up field for the first quarterback doing what he does best he can move fires to the tight end still on his feet at the 45 and the big gain and they've got it on the 46 this guy just is so comfortable running routes and he has such a good feel for those soft spots on defense there they're playing Zone coverage so he's able to find that pocket make it easy on his quarterback and they pick up the first down tackled immediately after the catch and quarterback receiver on the same page nice job seeing the Zone understanding the drag route concept easy pitch easy catch let's see what they've got on second down quarterback reacting to what the D is showing to the air it's Duffy quick strike complete and they'll finally catch up to him but not before a big chunk of yardage is picked up and there was no question in that scenario that's where the quarterback was going he knew he had his receiver in a matchup that he liked running a route where he would find himself opening nice job between those two the Aztec will have it first and 10 come on set from the Red Zone looking for a man throws for the tight end he got it they make the stop at the two but he's got enough to give them a first and goal he is dealing on this drive completed all five throws and now they have first and goal yeah and who needs balance when you got a guy like this you trust him getting the ball back in the pocket the ball's coming out spreading it around the field nice decision making this drive has been surgical for this QB of three it's now second and goal and lost ground on first down now second and goal from the five on the option he'll toss it just nothing doing on that last run and they knew coming into this one they were going to be challenged right this is one of the best defens in all of college football for them to have any shot they're going to have to do a lot better running the football the eighth play of the drive coming you'd hate to settle for a field goal it's third and goal from the gun wants to pass and they will score touchdown azex they'll try to add another to their lead and the pat makes it 7 nothing and for a quick update let's go to Kevin Conor in the studio hey guys got a final score in a big top 25 matchup Florida Atlantic was able to come away with a hardfought victory in bokeh it wasn't one coaches will point to the rest of the way as a perfect 60 Minutes of ball but it is a step in the right direction always interesting to see ranked teams Collide and today was no different the agony and Ecstasy of college football fellas yeah how about that sounds as if they had a good ball game there Kevin thanks for the update and they'll finally get him down after a terrific pickup and that is exactly why you STI to running your football haven't had a lot of success but boom you pop one right that's what you got to do you got you cannot become one-dimensional and just throw the football every down love the offense sticking to the Run nice job getting the first down nothing but green ahead running inside the 20 a huge gain on that one before he ran out of bounds and he has the first down that's the way you get things going a huge play and now attacking from just inside the Red Zone gets it out fast they make the stop trying to pick up just a little bit at a time to get to that first down marker I want to get my running backs the ball in space as much as possible and sometimes it doesn't work in the running game but I can throw it to him I can try to create some space out wide dumping the football let him make some catches and see if I can't get some big plays out well there's an example of the quarterback just creating on the Fly because I think that was supposed to go to the running back on a screen and he just saw an open guy downam field and said I don't know I'm just going to throw it down to this dude he's wide open I know it's not how we drew it up but we'll take it really nice job on third down by this offense this offense is struggled on third Downs throughout the season not even in the top 50 but you know what when you make it third and short you can when you have the Run pass option and you're not predictable you can be more successful so let's see if this and he takes it in for the score touchdown UT San Antonio UT he'll try to tack on one more with hit that one with some aggression for the point after so that scoring Drive took only six plays and they capped it off with a Oney punch [Applause] from inside the 15 here comes the return not a lot of space to be found good Hustle by the coverage team and they stop him at the 21 offense set on first down looking for a gap it's Tom and with that stop we are headed toward the end of the first quarter down [Applause] coming that's the end of the first quarter with the score TI 7 [Applause] to we'll get this quarter going with a second down play 29 Philly from the gun the running back tries to hit the hole they get him on the ground but it's a first down well I know this is an offensive line that has a ton of Pride and they want to come out each and every game and really impose their will on the dline they got just enough push there on that run play to pick up the First with a first down they'll snap it from the 32 he'll keep it himself able to get just a few before sliding to avoid the hits how easy was that I I mean when you got a quarterback that can run designed runs like this and and get you five plus yards just and make it look that easy God it makes it really hard for the defenses to stop the give on the inside he showed off the stiff arm but apparently he needed a couple more a lot of Defenders around to stop it well they're going RPO nice job handing it off and really good Vision there just getting what he can get right puts his foot in the ground gets forward helps this offense find positive yards they've got it at the 41 third and short trying to keep the chains moving easy they'll try to get it through the air setting up the screen dances away from one they finally get him stopped but what a good job by that front wall to set up the screen and create some range for their running back lots of good stuff on that play you slow down the rush you get a completion and you move the chains and most importantly you're right you don't force a short yardage situation that you have to get nice job invite that Rush up the field take advantage of the aggressiveness of the defense make the catch make the Run get the first down and the Aztecs are flying down the field coming out on first down down with the play fake fires to the middle he's got it just carving up this defense and getting it down to the 24 when these wide receivers work the middle of the field so much of this is fi understanding where the holes are in the zone or understanding how to get leverage on a man and these wide receivers are dangerous nowadays because they do it so fast and see that so quick and make those plays over the middle from the shotgun they'll run it tackle is made right at the 20 yd line after a pick up of four in a competitive conference like the SEC you just can't afford to start Owen one if you want to chase a championship really important to get off to a good start no doubt in the SEC you've got to set the tone early it's all about creating momentum out of the gate both of these teams had this game circled all offseason David they know what's riding on the line yeah so much riding on the line who gets to Atlanta down the road U bragging rights recruiting rights all the stuff once you get conference play it means a lot every single week the Aztec will line it up on First and 10 wide receiver now comes in motion to the ground with the back they'll pick up four second and Six coming up up the clock has stopped and we've reached the two-minute warning before halftime going to work in the Red Zone they can pick up the first down without getting it into the End Zone on the they are controlling the ball ninth play of the drive easy from the gun leaves it on the inside with the back he works his way ever closer all the way way down to the one yd line third and I like the quarterback making the decision quickly I'm going to give it I'm not going to throw the football off the RPO and just let my back get some positive yards you're getting five plus yards that is a great job by the offense continue to stick with that boy they'd love to pick up this conversion and go to work with a first and goal wide out in motion bully ball on Third and short and I don't think he got there no they stop him short he does not pick up the first down how about the defender being a heat seeking missile he was on radar lock he found the football and flew down with some bad intentions and the Aztecs will try to pick it up on fourth down try to get it on the ground he's not going to get there stopped short on fourth down low man wins defense that time on fourth down was expecting run you saw at the point of attack how they just dominated there was nowhere for that guy to go defense wins the down they give it back up now to their [Applause] offense he's got an open man the express way is wide open at the 30 he's at the 10 touch down road runners and once he found some daylight it was time to make a house call number and the extra point is true and they're on top by seven if only it were always this easy for the offensive coordinator One play big chunk yardage foot points on the board just like that from inside his own 10 let's see what he gets really disciplined job by the coverage unit to get down there and make the stop at the [Music] 19 San Diego State takes over as the offense is ready to go to work so late in the half this is really an opportunity David maybe to swing the momentum in their favor dang right there's no time to be Ser we're a little bit down listen I just think this is a point with the offense that they can prove like we're here we're going to create something now that we can build on in the second half coach said all week he wanted to be aggressive this is a great opportunity to show that right now at the end of the first half try and generate some momentum score some points before going into halftime receiver looks it in it's complete and the catch was one thing and the Run even better a big pick up on that one a timeout is called this offense tries to find a way to get more points on the board before the half go comes out throwing on first down feeling some heat and this sophomore able to wreak some havoc and get the sack there's a Timeout on the field tight game here late in the first half sometimes you beat your guy and you get sacked so clean and sometimes like on this play the DBS do a great job covering make the QB hold the football and then the rush gets home a first down sack can be a drive killer now it's second and 13 wants to throw it's Duffy right down the middle oh did he find a hole in the defense and the explosive play and they're on the move all the way to the 44 the offense calls a timeout to stop the clock F got it what's a nice play design there you're getting the running back involved in the pass game quarterback gives it to him early so he can go to work up field and get the first down unloads to the right it's complete he's run out of bounds but not before turning in a big pickup and moving the sticks for a first down while he was putting up big numbers coming into this one we knew the quarterback was going to go his way early and often and with that last catch he's now got over 500 yards receiving on the a trying to find his man on first down with the catch it's Sutton that should be the final play of the first half second coming we've played two quarters here time to go to Kevin Connors in our halftime updatea die the Aztec will kick it away to crank up the second half not going to risk a return here he'll make the fair catch UTSA will take over in the offense ready to return to the field they got plenty done through the air in the first half and we'll see if they even need to look for balance as we start the third quarter well and I and I think defensively you understand like the running game isn't a big part of the plan I wonder how they adjust and play more coverage to this pass happy offense yeah so you're going to have to be ready if you're a quarterback then you're probably going to see some different coverages you might see a little bit more Blitz in the second half as well so you have to know where your answers are from the gun the ground game and they make the tackle but he has plenty for the first down all right defense that's that's what we can't do we can't give up this many chunk yards on the ground got to commit more guys to the line of scrimmage got to get those running backs on the ground that's way too easy now from the 40 it's first and 10 from the gun running back gets to give a strong tackle and wrap up from the junior you know it's so important for offense is to want to keep third Downs manageable the way you do that is by having success like that running the football on first down to the air it's [Applause] maau gets it out quickly really confident throw and catch there big pick up and they have a first down tell you what that's great execution between the QB and receiver they look like they could execute that throw in their sleep quarterback took his steps threw it on time great route by the receiver nice job securing the catch and the defense makes the stop after a minimal game at the 45 yd line brings up second down didn't get much on first down it's second and [Applause] nine he's looking to throw nice defensive play to get a hand in there and knock it away listen you can't make every play you can't cover everybody but it's really nice when you get the bonus of swatting the ball down and making sure that quarterback doesn't get a completion and doesn't get a big play on Third and long try to convert through the air almost intercepted and what a momentum swing that could have been but they still force a fourth down that's why it's so important for this defense to win first and second down you set up third and Longs like that you can show your exotic looks get the pass rush going everybody in the back end expecting throw and that's how you force incompletions of Force fourth points on Fourth and nine the offense will stay on the [Applause] field he'll try to throw and pick up the first down he'll pull it down and run they stripped it out and the offense will recover but it's not going to make any difference as they're short of the first down marker that ball carrier is very lucky that easily could have ended up in in the hands of the defense you have got to do a better job with ball security the road runners will snap it on First and [Applause] 10 off the RPO complete brought down just outside the Red Zone he moves the chains it's at the 22 you know it's a nice throw by the QB there when you're throwing to running backs you got to make it easy so you want to put it right on their body make the catch simple and let them go to work like they did just there getting that first from the 20 two on First and 10 they've got the screen set up he'll get it all the way down to the 8 yd line and the defense is feeling the Heat this guy's gotten off to a good statistical start guys with that last completion he's already now over a th passing yards on the season and man you know he's looking for [Applause] more that's the end of the third quarter of play with the score UTSA 14 San Diego State s starting off this quarter close enough to smell the goal line easy keeping it on the ground on first and goal he pushes his way down to the four and as they get closer and closer you got to give the coaching staff credit because they really do Focus all season long on situational football with the lead late in the game if we're on offense we're trying to stay in bounds we're trying to bleed the clock and after ripping off a really nice run touchdown UTSA that is the ultimate grab and go for the score they put another score on the board as they try to push this winning streak to three offense gets the job done again you want to build that cushion as we get deeper into the second half man it makes it easy doesn't it you start getting up by a couple possessions making the offense very predictable on the other side great job by the offense extending their lead catches it inside his 20 chance to really gain some ground and the returner goes down guys let's see what adjustments this San Diego State offense has made this time off the play fake on first down wants to throw quarterback moving out of the pocket trying to buy a little time and but he does get it back closer to the line of scrimmage you know the entire concept of the playaction fake is to slow down the rush didn't work no they didn't bite on it which was great defense they didn't bite on it they knew it wasn't a run played pass continued to get to the quarterback and get the quarterback on the ground looking to throw it's child and his first pass is incomplete and the quarterback gets hit again we already know this defense has gotten home to him multiple times in this game so here you are you're trailing in the game defense knows you're going to throw it they're pinning their ears back you can't feel very confident right now if you're the play caller certainly if you're the quarterback that you're going to have time to throw got his man quickly and boy is he close to that first down maybe just a couple of inches short coach has no choice here the offense has to stay on the field down multiple possessions this late fourth down attempt [Applause] coming he'll try to throw and pick up the first down it's incomplete and they desperately needed to keep that drive going and they couldn't make the connection yeah and you needed points you wanted points badly but listen the offense you know exactly what they're going to do they're going to get in their four-minute offense now I got to start preserving that clock using my timeouts try to get a stop and get this ball back to my offense tackled at the the 31 they'll give him six on the play and I think if you're the head coach defensively now obviously you've got three timeouts in your back pocket you're trailing at this point and the offense is going to be running the football trying to bleed the clock they're going to take as much time off the game clock as they can before snapping it you've got to start thinking about using some of those timeouts they wrestle him to the ground but he's got plenty for a first down you don't always have to run the sexy play right they doesn't have to always be uptempo and fast and spread doing all this stuff sometimes you just lower your shoulder sometimes you just run powerfully you get the first down and that's all that [Applause] matters down to the 18 yd line it's first and 10 used the play fake now to throw looking to the end zone and he's got it touchdown UT San Antonio no midseason dos for these guys as they push out the lead in week six there's no mercy rule in college football man they have got a huge lead here in the fourth quarter they are spil chucking it and they are still scoring and he makes the extra point about to kick it off after punching it in for the touchdown [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the tech offense ready to go back to work the deficit is large hope is fainting but they'll try to finish strong made a lot of mistakes in this game and that's why it looks like they're going to take and the pressure gets there and down he goes at the 18 the defense puts the exclamation point on the day they have had a wonderful day man doing everything great just you could tell they were dialed into what was going on and now just throw another sack in the equation hitting the quarterback being disrupted they've been all over the field a really nice run and gain and he gets down to avoid taking punishment you know QBs want to make those big plays they want to they want to put up the big Stacks but when nothing's there sometimes you just tuck the ball get a minimal gain I like the slide by the way to get down and don't take a big hit he'll throw on third down makes his connection able to work it to the 39 yd line and that'll be a first down the offense gets a quick time out at this point every second is precious and the Aztecs come to the line with a new set of downs using the quick game they make the stop but not before they do their work up top and pick up a first down nice job by the running back catching the football and understanding where the first down marker was was I got to go get that first down did a nice job of it throws to the tight end finds him man by himself and they got the defense on that one and they get it to the 29 yd line well how about that play the the big fella one of the biggest guys the biggest receivers on the field right down the middle of the field wide open you could definitely tell the defense busted on that b to throw it's child they're bringing Heat tremendous awareness along the sideline and the ability to get the foot down for the big pickup well this offense has a ton of work left ahead of him here in this two-minute situation late in the game but the drive off to a good start you get the first down you get out of bounds you work in the perimeter of the field that is exactly what you want to do and he'll make his way out of bounds after the solid pick up and listen the defense playing really conservative right you got the lead but here's what I'm trying to do I'm trying to get sacks I got to get to the quarterback like I got to make sure I'm getting him knocking him off a spot patting my stats by the way got a lot of sacks late in games and we had a big lead but that's okay that's what you're supposed to do keep competing defense couldn't quite nudge it in not sure you could get much closer but it'll be first and goal well just seems like everything is working for the offense on this drive another nice gain this time on the ground the Aztec Lin it up with a first and goal skips away from pressure still he had a chance to to get rid of it and avoid the loss instead the defense pushes him out of bounds for the loss this D coordinator man he will take sacks any way he can get him they weren't able to get it right off the bat but tremendous job pursuing nice speed everybody keeping their eye on the QB they're able to force him out of bounds to create that negative play he got it and the ball slipped out and the ball is going to land out of bounds they'll maintain possession and pick up a few yards in the process man that's one of those where you just go Dad G if we had a little bit more space nice job creating the fumble but just running out of real estate not able to land on it man you just get a little bit frustrated cuz you wanted that turnover you caused the fumble you just couldn't secure and this is just one of those days man where everything has gone wrong right like they just haven't been in a rhythm they haven't they haven't got it going and never built the momentum this is this is one of those days you learn from you try to grow from a lot of things that we're going to show in the film room that people aren't going to like but hopefully you can learn from it and do better next ball into the end zone and it's intercepted and a big return after the int sets up the offense for this possession heat up them pass rushers bringing them DBS that's what I'm doing in this situation when I got the lead by a couple scores late in the ball game in the fourth quarter I'm going to rush the passer like crazy I'm going to put all those DBS back playing the pass that's what happen great job understanding they're going to have to take shots we get the interception this one's almost over last incompletion leaves them still sitting at their own 25 with second and 10 couldn't connect on first down now back to the air pass is incomplete and we dwindle down to 7 Seconds probably the toughest call on the play sheet third and long balls at the 25 on the option he'll pitch it and they just didn't get in anybody on that defense out of position and they will lose yardage on that one they get