Jesse

Matthews

Matthews (6'0/190) had a star-making performance in the Frisco Bowl. It started early when Matthews ran a whip route, giving quarterback Lucas Johnson a target when he escaped the pocket, got the edge, and dove Superman-style for a 20-yard touchdown. His second touchdown also came on a scramble drill. On third and 10, Johnson broke the pocket with nobody open, ran out to his left, and threw opposite his momentum to find Matthews wide open in the back of the end zone for 11 yards. He ended the first half with six receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns and the last of those was a diving effort on the right sideline that will be on SDSU highlight reels for years to come. On the season, Matthews did his most damage over the last three games, amassing 37 catches for 465 yards and seven touchdowns.

Matthews (6'0"/190) was targeted early and often and was really one of the few bright spots for the Aztecs. He was a consistent chain mover, and caught SDSU’s only touchdown. Granted, it was deep into garbage time in the fourth quarter, but still. He showed good fight and focus to bring down the quick slant with a defender all over him. Matthews was limited by the poor showing by the rest of his team, including his quarterback, but Matthews did what he could. He’ll finish off a solid decent year in a bowl game.

Matthews (6'0"/190) has been fantastic in the last two games, and after these games deserves a much bigger role in the offense then he’s been getting this year. He made incredible catch after incredible catch to keep the Aztecs alive and in the game. QB Jordon Brookshire was not entirely accurate, but it seemed as long as the ball was within grasping distance Matthews would come down with it. He caught a 30-yard pass (by far SDSU’s biggest play to that moment) that ignited their offense by reaching behind the defenders head and snagging it while falling. He made another highlight reel grab in the 3rd that set up a SDSU touchdown. The ball was thrown past Matthews and behind him, and Matthews, twisting in the air and going nearly horizontal, barely grabbed it with his fingertips. It hasn’t been the greatest season for Matthews, but these past two weeks have proven he can play. He’ll face Utah State next in the Mountain West championship, hoping to continue his fantastic recent play.

This game was deadlocked at 6-6 heading into overtime, thanks to two offenses who simply couldn’t move the ball down field. Apparently what both offenses needed was a short field in overtime to get the ball in the end zone, which is exactly what happened. Matthews (6'0/190) reeled in two targets in overtime, catching passes of 14 and 24 yards, with his 24-yard score being the game winner on the night. Matthews will look to ride that momentum into Week 8 against Air Force.

The pass game had its issues in this road setback, but Matthews (6'0/190) paced the team in receptions and yardage. In fact, no other Aztecs pass catcher had more than two receptions. He has yet to find the end zone in his four contest this season, but he does have an impressive 11 grabs for 219 yards over the past two outings. He’ll look to re-discover the end zone in Friday’s scheduled road contest against Fresno State.

Nobody on either side earned a longer gain than Matthews’ 51 yard reception. In fact, no other player, air or ground, had any gain over 35 yards, let alone the big five-o. With just four receptions for 34 yards headed into the night, Matthews got off to a slow start, especially considering his success as a freshman last year, but he really got back into the groove in this game. Unfortunately, it was not enough for SDSU and they fall to 2-1.

Matthews got the Aztecs off to a strong start when he connected with Ryan Agnew on a 22-yard touchdown on the first possession of the game. The two hooked up again on a 74-yarder in the second period; one where the 6-foot, 190-pound wideout did the majority of the work on busted coverage in the Central Michigan secondary. Matthews really came on strong at the end of the year, and he should be the go-to target for the Aztecs in 2020.

Matthews (6'0/190) has come on strong for SDSU over the past month or so. Just a freshman, this was Matthews’ third consecutive game with at least four receptions. He had no such stretch at any point in the year beforehand. Look for Matthews to continue shining through SDSU’s postseason.

Matthews (6'0/190) was really dialed in and he jelled nicely with senior QB Ryan Agnew, who also had a career high in terms of passing yardage. His previous bests were six grabs for 73 yards back on Oct. 12 against Wyoming. Matthews is the 86th player in San Diego State history to record a 100-yard receiving game. While he has yet to find the end zone through 10 collegiate games, he has managed two or more grabs in nine of his 10 contests, and his role in the offense has really grown in the second half. Next up is a trip to Hawaii Nov. 23.