 "Photo: Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor")
Nelson handles star defensive end
TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes came into Saturday’s game with nine sacks this season, averaging a little more than one per game. He’s 6 feet 3 inches tall, 257 pounds, runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and is a projected first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Yet, against San Diego State senior offensive lineman Peter Nelson, Hughes had no sacks, logged just one tackle and didn’t register a single quarterback hurry.
“Peter Nelson did a great job,” sophomore quarterback Ryan Lindley said. “It was Pete one-on-one all night. He had the backs in there chipping for them and helping him out, but for the most part, Pete really stepped up tonight. He did what a senior leader should do and took on the challenge and really just played his best.”
Lindley wasn’t sacked on Saturday, and after the game, he said he was hit maybe one time in his 34 drop backs.
Despite playing well against the nation’s premiere pass rusher, Nelson was more focused on SDSU’s 55-12 loss than he was on his outstanding game.
“(Hughes) is one of many great players on that team that we just played and you can tell by the way we just got beat,” Nelson said. “Playing him was a team effort. TCU is a great team and we just got beat by them. We need to get better at preparing for games like this and winning.”
In loss, Sullivan and Sampson shine
On a night when the Aztecs were pummeled by 43 points, there wasn’t a whole lot to love about SDSU’s box score. Yet two names still managed to jump off the page: junior running back Brandon Sullivan and senior receiver DeMarco Sampson.
Sullivan played one of his best games of the season against the Horned Frogs, picking up 75 yards on 17 carries. It was the second time this year Sullivan has averaged more than four yards per carry, and his 75 rushing yards were his third-highest total of his season.
“I thought we ran the ball in there at times pretty well,” head coach Brady Hoke said. “I thought Brandon did a nice job running the ball.”
TCU came into the game with the eighth-best run defense in the nation.
Meanwhile, Sampson continued his dominating four-game stretch, racking up 81 yards and a touchdown on six catches against TCU. In the past four games alone, Sampson has tallied an astounding eight touchdowns. Heading into this season, Sampson had only two touchdown catches in four years.
Yoshida gets back on track
Aztec senior kicker Lane Yoshida hadn’t made a field goal since Oct. 3 and hadn’t hit a field goal of more than 40 yards since Sept. 19. But on Saturday against the Horned Frogs, Yoshida buried a 45-yarder and a 48-yarder and accounted for half of SDSU’s 12 points.
Similar to Nelson, though, Yoshida was more disappointed with the loss after the game.
“Well, the only stat that matters is the wins and losses today,” Yoshida said. “We didn’t obviously get the win, so it doesn’t matter what I did. We didn’t get the win.”
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