Sean Lewis of the San Diego State Aztecs isn’t playing any coaching games this week with his quarterback situation. 

With the Aztecs having little room for error in getting bowl-eligible for a second straight season, Lewis named redshirt freshman Stone Saunders as the starting quarterback for Saturday’s home game against staggering Washington State. 

“(Jayden Denegal) remains day-to-day, and because of that, Stone will start this week,” Lewis said at his weekly news conference on Monday. “So, he'll get the bulk of the one reps as we go forward with all things.”

After last Saturday’s wild 56-59 loss at Colorado State, SDSU (3-4, 2-2 Pac-12) needs to win three of its last four games to become bowl-eligible. WSU is 1-7 and 0-4.

Saunders earns another opportunity after breakout performance

There’s a tradition in sports that an injury shouldn’t cost a starter his job. But with Denegal still recovering from an ankle injury suffered the week before, Lewis made the logical choice in naming Saunders the starter for the second straight week. 

Saunders was beyond impressive in his first college start. 

He stepped right into a duel with CSU QB Hauss Hejny, who was coming off a three-game absence with a hamstring injury.

Saunders completed 23 of 33 passes (70%) for 369 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions. His first interception was returned 38 yards for a touchdown to swing the momentum late in the second quarter. 

Hejny was pretty much unstoppable. He passed for 333 yards and three touchdowns while adding 85 yards and two scores on the ground. 

The shootout ended with the Aztecs outgaining CSU 565-549.

Lewis praises Saunders while acknowledging costly mistakes

“It's probably one of the best performances that we've had since we've been here. 369 yards passing, the whole collective of the group, each guy doing their part,” the coach said. 

“Stone was timely with his throws. He was accurate. He was making good decisions both in the pass game and the RPO game,” Lewis said.

“Obviously, there were two decisions that were critical errors that we need to address, and that we cleaned up this morning. And in the moment, looking at it, and him explaining why he did what he did, there was sound logic behind it, and he'll learn from that as we go, and we can help him better as a staff as well in those moments, but he did a good job. He's been working for this opportunity and was able to take advantage of the moment.”

Saunders credits preparation and veteran teammates

“It felt good. It was nice being back out there. Obviously, you know, I've been waiting to play a little bit, but yeah, it felt good through a week of practice; I got a lot of reps at practice during the week,” Saunders said. “I felt comfortable when I was out there through the preparation, so it felt like just another day. I was just worried about going out and executing the plan that we had and being at Colorado State.”

Saunders didn’t play last season at Kentucky as he utilized his redshirt season. He transferred to SDSU in the offseason due to a coaching change. He made a mopup appearance in the 53-20 season-opening win against Portland State, but broke his collarbone. 

When Saunders was cleared to return, there was speculation he would replace Denegal for the Fresno State game after the senior was benched in favor of Draiden Trudeau in a 66-14 loss at Oregon State. 

Lewis stuck with Denegal against Fresno State and he led the Aztecs on three scoring drives before limping off the field. Saunders came on and directed the Aztecs to the 26-23 victory behind Cooper DiLeva, who kicked a 53-yard field goal with 57 seconds left. 

Wisely, Saunders taps more experienced teammates for advice.

“I just rely on the guys around me,” the QB said. “I have a lot of veteran guys around me and guys that have been through a lot of battles, and you know they help me out a lot.” 

Running game provides support for young quarterback

Sauders also credits the play of SDSU’s 1-2 punch of Lucky Sutton and Javion “Chop” Kinnard at running back. 

“They're both amazing backs,” Saunders said. “Lucky's been a huge help to me. I feel safe giving him a ball every time. I feel like we're going to get at least five yards a clip every time Lucky gets it. They're just both so fun to watch. You know, when you hand the ball off to him, “Chop” might jump over somebody or do something special every time. But yeah, we’ve got two great backs, and they play with a great offensive line. It was a lot of fun to watch them go.”