SAN DIEGO (AP) — Greg Bell had 16 carries for 104 yards and Matt Araiza kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:21 to play to help No. 22 San Diego State beat Nevada 23-21 on Saturday night.
San Diego State (9-1, 5-1 Mountain West) took sole possession of first place in the West Division, a half-game ahead of Fresno State — which beat the Aztecs 30-20 on Oct. 30 — and a full game in front of Nevada.
Araiza — who kicked field goals of 48 yards in the second quarter and 39 yards early in the fourth — bent the winner inside the upright to cap a 12-play, 53-yard drive.
He also had five punts for 278 yards (55.6 yards per punt) and lead the FBS this season with 50 punts of 50-plus yards and 15 punts of 60 yards or more.
Carson Strong completed 34 of 48 passes for 350 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
He hit Romeo Doubs for a 5-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and pair connected on a play-action pass for a 54-yard TD that made it 21-20 with 9:57 to play and give Nevada (7-3, 4-2) its first lead.
Doubs finished with nine receptions for 127 yards.
Nevada is back home on Friday for its home finale at Mackay Stadium with a match-up against Air Force at 6 p.m. on FS1.
Air Force is coming off a 35-21 win at Colorado State.
San Diego State will be in Las Vegas on Friday night to take on UNLV at Allegiant Stadium at 8:30 p.m. on CBS Sports. Nevada finishes the regular season at Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 6 p.m.
