San Diego State's offense sputtered at times for the second consecutive week, but when it mattered most the Aztecs were able to lean on their leader at quarterback in Saturday's game against Idaho State.

Ultimately, Jalen Mayden rushed for a game-high 132 yards to pace the Aztecs in a 36-28 victory as SDSU picked up its second win of the season.

The Aztecs (2-0) went down early in Saturday's game at Snapdragon Stadium after the Bengals were able to jump out to a 3-0 advantage after a field goal midway through the first quarter.

Eventually, SDSU was able to gain a two-score lead after a 4-yard rushing score from Jaylon Armstead with 6:35 to play in the first half. That cushion is all that the Aztecs would need to outlast what ultimately proved to be a pesky Idaho State team.

The Bengals would only get as close as 7 points the rest of the way.

While Mayden was key offensively, it was again the secondary that came up with big plays for the Aztecs on Saturday. In all, the SDSU defense had three interceptions resulting in 10 points off those turnovers.

Safety Cedarious Barfield came through with his second interception in as many weeks while fellow defensive backs Dez Malone and Noah Tumblin accounted for the other two takeaways.

The Bengals had the game as close as 8 points early in the fourth quarter, but that fire was quickly put out when Mayden ran for his second touchdown of the day. He broke off a 56-yard score putting SDSU up 15 points to effectively seal the victory for his squad.

First quarter

8:49, ISU -- K Thomas Kopcho 32-yard field goal; 3-0 ISU

6:50, SDSU -- K Jack Browning 36-yard field goal; 3-3

2:54, SDSU -- QB Jalen Mayden 24-yard run; 10-3 SDSU

Second quarter

14:50, ISU -- K Thomas Kopcho 33-yard field goal; 10-6 SDSU

6:35, SDSU -- RB Jaylon Armstead 4-yard run; 17-6 SDSU

1:10, SDSU -- K Jack Browning 41-yard field goal; 20-6 SDSU

0:14, ISU -- QB Jordan Cooke to WR Christian Fredericksen, 24-yard TD; 20-13 SDSU

Third quarter

8:48, SDSU -- Safety, snap out of the end zone; 22-13 SDSU

6:09, SDSU -- RB Martin Blake 3-yard run; 29-13 SDSU

13:34, ISU -- QB Hunter Hays to WR Chedon James, 8-yard TD; 29-21 SDSU

Fourth quarter

6:50, SDSU -- QB Jalen Mayden 56-yard run; 36-21 SDSU

0:39, ISU -- QB Hunter Hays 2-yard run; 36-28 SDSU

Picking a sequence that took place in the first quarter of a game that was within one possession late may seem a little foolish. However, it was part of the game that the momentum began to shift with Mayden looking poised for a big day on the ground.

Barfield's third career interception came at a good time as it allowed the Aztecs to have good field position. He was able to step in front of a pass from Jordan Cooke and go out of bounds at the Idaho State 32-yard line.

Because of that, it set up the two-play drive that gave SDSU a 7-point lead. Mayden ran the ball twice on the the drive with his first run going for a more modest 8 yards before the Aztecs quarterback burst through on the short side of the field blowing by defenders on his way to the end zone for a 24-yard score.

That small bit of separation proved to be valuable on a day where both offenses had some difficulties moving the ball through the air.

Martin Blake certainly deserves some consideration for his 98 all-purpose yards to go along with a rushing touchdown. However, San Diego State doesn't win Saturday's game without its quarterback. Now into his second season leading the offense, Mayden appears to be coming into his own at the position. That wasn't more evident than during the win over the Bengals.

The passing game needs to continue to improve to prevent teams from simply keying in on the run, but that didn't seem to matter much Saturday as Mayden was able to use his speed and playmaking ability to move the offense despite coming up with just 87 passing yards.

His rushing performance is the best ever by an SDSU quarterback, and he is just the fourth quarterback to run for 100 yards in a game in program history.

There were several members of the San Diego State defense that could have been considered the top performer by the end of the night. The Aztecs generated 10 points off three turnovers, all interceptions. Among the group of players to finish the game with a takeaway was the junior from Fresno.

Malone's interception came on a floated pass by Idaho State quarterback Hunter Hays, who split time with Jordan Cooke on Saturday, and came at a time when the Aztecs were building a comfortable cushion late in the first half.

The play eventually helped lead to a field goal for SDSU giving the team a one-touchdown advantage at halftime after Idaho State quickly responded with a score of its own in the final seconds.

It was not just that Malone came up with one of the three SDSU interceptions that puts him at the top of the list, however. In addition to that, he was also able to come up with a team-high four pass breakups nearly doubling his career total. He came into Saturday's game with five career pass breakups.

Add to that a pair of tackles, and it is clear to see how important he was to the latest victory.

Though it never felt like SDSU was at risk of losing Saturday's game, there were certainly moments where the momentum shifted. That happened again late in the game, like it did last weekend when Ohio made the Aztecs a bit uncomfortable in the final minutes, but Saturday the answer was Mayden.

While his first touchdown run was impressive with his ability to fight through the defense. His sheer breakaway speed made his career-high 56-yard run stand out above any other play made Saturday, and it proved to be a backbreaker for the Bengals.

The touchdown run was part of a three-play, 70-yard drive for the Aztecs that put them up 15 points with under 7 minutes to play. That was enough to withstand another late touchdown and give SDSU its second win of the season.

Much like the win over Ohio, Saturday's game came down to the play of its defense while the offense made enough plays to keep the opponent at bay. Mayden's play at the quarterback position proved to be the difference as his two big touchdown runs came at key moments when Idaho State was pushing to make it a competitive affair at Snapdragon Stadium.

The plays energized the team and worked right into what the defense was doing on the other side of the ball.

Being able to have three takeaways for a second consecutive week proves how important that element of the defense will be moving forward, and those plays continued to put the offense in strong position to score.

The competition level will hit a new level next week as UCLA makes the trek down from Los Angeles to face the Aztecs on Saturday, and there will be plenty to improve on, especially offensively, but the SDSU certainly seems to be finding its way heading into its third game.

Passing

Jalen Mayden - 13/19, 87 yards

Tobin O'Dell - 0/1, 0 yards, 1 interception

Rushing

Jalen Mayden - 8 rushes, 132 yards, 2 touchdowns

Jaylon Armstead - 10 rushes, 58 yards, 1 TD

Martin Blake - 12 rushes, 58 yards, 1 TD

Kenan Christon - 7 rushes, 40 yards

Cam Davis - 7 rushes, 17 yards

Receiving

Martin Blake - 3 catches, 40 yards

Mekhi Shaw - 2 catches, 26 yards

Baylin Brooks - 1 catch, 7 yards

Mark Redman - 1 catch, 7 yards

Brionne Penny - 1 catch, 4 yards

Cameron Harpole - 1 catch, 4 yards

Joshua Nicholson - 1 catch, 1 yard

Defense (top 5)

Marcus Ratcliffe - 6 solo tackles

Cedarious Barfield - 4 solo tackles, 1 interception

Cody Moon - 3 solo tackles ,1 sack

Trey White - 3 tackles, 1 solo

Dez Malone - 2 tackles, 1 interception, 4 pass breakups