Feb. 24, 2003
SAN DIEGO - Six home games and a road match-up with defending national champion Ohio State highlight the 2003 San Diego State football schedule, released Monday by second-year Aztec head coach Tom Craft.
The Aztecs kick off the season with a home game against Eastern Washington University on Aug. 30, before heading off to Columbus, Ohio (Sept. 6), for the second time in three years. In 2001, SDSU led the heavily-favored Buckeyes 12-6 at halftime, before Ohio State escaped with a 27-12 victory in front of over 100,000 fans.
"We're going to be playing a different type of team than they played two years ago," said Craft about the Ohio State game. "They're not in a transition year like they were in 2001. It's going to be an extremely difficult game, but also very attractive for our football program with the opportunity to play the defending national champion in front of more than 100,000 people."
SDSU renews its rivalry with former Western Athletic Conference foe UTEP for the first time since the 1998 season, when it travels to El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 13. The Aztecs then return to San Diego on Sept. 20, for its first-ever meeting with Samford University, which was a late addition to the 2003 schedule after Kansas opted out of its contract with SDSU.
The team wraps up its non-conference slate with a trip to UCLA on Sept. 27, the Aztecs' first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1992 season.
San Diego State plays three of its first four conference games at home with Brigham Young (Oct. 4), New Mexico (Oct. 18) and Wyoming (Oct. 25), sandwiching a road game at Utah on Oct. 11.
"I think that the biggest focus for us was how the conference schedule was going to unfold," Craft said. "Last year, we played three games in which our league opponent had a bye the week before we played them. Having gone through that now, I think that is a pretty big advantage for someone to have before a conference game, particularly in the last half of the season."
After its only mid-season open date on Nov. 1, SDSU heads on the road for games at UNLV (Nov. 8) and 2002 MWC conference champion Colorado State (Nov. 15). The team will then look for its second consecutive win over the Air Force Academy, playing host to the Falcons in the season and home finale on Nov. 22, at Qualcomm Stadium.
San Diego State completed its 2002 campaign with a 4-9 overall record, playing eight schools which advanced to bowl games. The Aztecs' schedule includes five bowl teams in 2003.
SDSU finished tied for third with a 4-3 Mountain West Conference record in Craft's inaugural season as head coach. The Aztecs had been predicted to finish last in the eight-team league.
All kick-off times and television information will be announced at a later date.
2003 San Diego State Football Schedule
(As of February 24, 2003)
Aug. 30 EASTERN WASHINGTON(San Diego, Calif.)
Sept. 6 at Ohio State(Columbus, Ohio)
Sept. 13 at UTEP(El Paso, Texas)
Sept. 20 SAMFORD(San Diego, Calif.)
Sept. 27 at UCLA (Pasadena, Calif.)
Oct. 4 BRIGHAM YOUNG*(San Diego, Calif.)
Oct. 11 at Utah* (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Oct. 18 NEW MEXICO* (HC)(San Diego, Calif.)
Oct. 25 WYOMING* (San Diego, Calif.)
Nov. 1 Open
Nov. 8 at UNLV* (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Nov. 15 at Colorado State*(Fort Collins, Colo.)
Nov. 22 AIR FORCE* (San Diego, Calif.)
All home games in Bold CAPS
Home games played at Qualcomm Stadium
* = Mountain West Conference game
HC = Homecoming