NEW ORLEANS — Ryan Lindley’s third touchdown pass to Colin Lockett came just a few seconds too soon.
San Diego State celebrated the 12-yard scoring strike with 35 seconds left, only to watch an even bigger celebration when Louisiana-Lafayette kicker Brett Baer hit a 50-yard field goal that beat the stunned Aztecs 32-30 as time expired in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night.
“Thirty seconds on the clock? You’d like to think (the game was over),” Lindley said. “It was a hard-fought game and you have to tip your caps to them.”
Blaine Gautier drove Louisiana-Lafayette 44 yards to the Aztecs’ 38 to set up what was initially a 55-yard attempt, but a presnap penalty on SDSU for trying to bait the Cajuns into a false start moved the winning field goal 5 yards closer.
Aztecs coach Rocky Long called the last penalty a “phantom call.”
“We didn’t have one guy move,” he said. “I have no idea who they called it on.”
It might not have made a difference. The winning kick easily had enough distance and was down the middle.
The bigger problem, Long said, was the Aztecs’ missed opportunities, including a 36-yard field-goal attempt that Abeladro Perez hooked wide right with just more than 10 minutes to go.
“We had opportunities and we didn’t make as many plays as they did,” Long said. “We missed a field goal. They made a field goal.”
Lindley finished 28-of-49 for 413 yards and three touchdowns. The Aztecs needed every bit of that as their offensive star, running back Ronnie Hillman, was bottled up and finished with 55 yards rushing, well below his average of 138.
