As the rain poured down throughout the game, junior nickelback Elijah Palmer lined up in his slot position. Already up 31-6 with 2:07 left in the third quarter, the University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors had carved up the San Diego State defense and were shutting down the Aztec offense just as effectively.
“All that talk about San Diego State having the number one defense, I hope they watched this game,” senior safety Peter Manuma said.
Junior Aztec quarterback Jayden Denegal dropped back in the pocket and stared down his receiver to the left, firing a strike.
But Palmer read it all the way. He jumped the route, intercepted the pass, and sprinted down the sideline.
Palmer juked inside to avoid Denegal and returned the interception 53 yards to the house, stretching Hawai‘i’s lead to 38-6.
“That kid is special, man,” Head Coach Timmy Chang said. “He has an approach to this game that’ll take him far. Not just in football, but in life.”
Following a tough loss to San José State the previous week, the Warriors bounced back in emphatic fashion, toppling first-place San Diego State 38-6 in a pivotal Mountain West win.
After being sacked twice and throwing a pick on Hawai‘i’s first drive, redshirt freshman quarterback Micah Alejado settled in and delivered a masterclass against the country’s No. 6-ranked defense. He went 22-for-34 for 256 yards and three touchdowns, all of them to sophomore receiver Jackson Harris.
“They thought they could come in here and play man defense,” Harris said. “We took advantage of that, and it got all my touchdowns rolling.”
Harris was electric, finishing with seven receptions for 130 yards and three scores, all coming in the first half.
With 12:54 left in the second quarter, Alejado dropped back from the shotgun and zipped a pass to a wide-open Harris, who waltzed into the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown, his third of the night, pushing the lead to 21-6.
“He elevates the entire team and allows us to play at a high level,” Harris said about his connection with Alejado.
On the other side of the ball, Hawai‘i’s defense dominated, holding San Diego State to 267 total yards and forcing four turnovers.
On 2nd-and-2 with 12:21 left in the third quarter from the Hawai‘i 21-yard line, Denegal fired to the end zone, but the throw came up short, falling into the waiting arms of senior safety Kilinahe Mendiola Jensen, sealing the Aztecs’ fate of scoring a touchdown.
“Everybody was doing their job,” Manuma said. “That’s what happens when everyone does their job.”
Even special teams made their mark.
To open the second half, junior running back Cam Barfield took the kickoff 86 yards to the house, extending the lead to 31-6.
“You can really see how a team is performing by how they execute on special teams,” Chang said.
The kicking game had a milestone night as well — senior kicker and Heisman candidate Kansei Matsuzawa nailed his 22nd field goal of the season, breaking the program record for most consecutive makes (21) to start a year.
“When you go on a streak like this, you need an elite mindset,” Chang said. “He’s been consistent all year.”
Next up, Hawai‘i heads into its final bye week of the season before its last road trip: a matchup with UNLV at 5:30 p.m. HST on November 21 at Allegiant Stadium.