Oct. 13, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU NOTES vs. SJSU| GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Top Teams in West Division of Mountain West Meet Saturday in San Jose
- San Diego State, the only West Division team of the Mountain West without a league loss, faces its third consecutive intradivision opponent when the Aztecs travel to San José State to face the second-place Spartans. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPNU and The Mighty 1090 (AM) and The Max 105.7 (FM).
- SDSU is coming off a second straight victory, winning at Hawai'i, 28-14, last Saturday. The Aztecs scored a pair of touchdowns in the first 4:50 of the contest en route to the school's fourth consecutive win over the Warriors.
- Junior running back Donnel Pumphrey rebounded from his ankle injury, suffered the previous week in a win vs. Fresno State, by carrying a career-high 30 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns. It was the second straight 100-yard rushing effort for the Las Vegas, Nev., native, his third of the season and the 16th time he has hit the century mark in his career. On Monday, Pumphrey earned MW Offensive Player of the Week honors (third time in his career).
- Linebacker Calvin Munson matched a career high with 12 tackles and added 1.5 sacks, two pass break ups and a quarterback hurry in the contest. Munson earned national defensive player of the week honors earlier this season when he returned two interceptions for touchdowns against San Diego.
- With last Saturday's victory, head coach Rocky Long recorded career victory No. 100 as a head coach. Of the 128 FBS schools, only 30 currently have a head coach with at least 100 career victories.
- Dating back to last season, San Diego State has won four consecutive Mountain West games by a composite score of 117-42. The Aztecs have won 20 of their last 25 Mountain West games (20-5).
- The Aztecs are searching for the school's 20th conference championship (hence the hashtag #Win20). Rocky Long guided SDSU to its most recent crown, a 2012 shared title with Boise State and Fresno State (Mountain West had one division that season). The Aztecs did claim a share of the 2014 West Division title (does not count toward the program total of 19 championships).
- San Diego State has held its last nine conference opponents to less than 400 yards of total offense. During that period, the opposition is averaging 275.4 ypg. That is tied for the second-longest conference streak nationally (Penn St., 10).
- In the last 10 halves (second half at Penn State and entire Fresno State and Hawai'i games), the SDSU defense has been dominant. In those 10 halves, the opposition has had 35 drives resulting in 24 points, 443 yards, 24 first downs and 3.19 yards per play (139 plays). During that span, the opponents are 6-for-35 on third-down conversions (17.1 percent). Within this stretch, opponents failed on 20 consecutive third-down chances (not currently active).
- For the first time since the 2000 season, San Diego State has held three consecutive opponents (Penn State, Fresno State and Hawai'i) to less than 100 yards rushing.
- For the first time since 1996, San Diego State has gone four consecutive games in a single-season without throwing an interception. Senior quarterback Maxwell Smith has gone 86 consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception and is one of seven players in FBS since Sept. 13 who haven't thrown a pick (min. 80 att.).
- SDSU's offensive unit is a perfect 10-for-10 in the red zone this season. The Aztecs are one of just five teams nationally, and the only team in the MW, that has posted points in every red zone opportunity in 2015. Equally as impressive is the fact that the Aztecs have scored touchdowns on seven of those 10 red zone trips, including their last six appearances inside the 20.
- San Diego State is tied with five schools for second in the nation in non-offensive touchdowns this season with four (Utah, 5). The Aztecs have returned two kickoffs and two interceptions for touchdowns.
- Earlier this season, San Diego State lost three consecutive games in a season for the first time since opening the 2013 campaign 0-3. SDSU is looking for some deja vu. That season, the Aztecs won their next three games and seven of their next eight contests and ended the season 8-5.
- Sophomore Rashaad Penny, who earned Mountain West Special Teams Player-of-the-Week honors earlier this season, is second in the nation in kick return average at 37.5. He is one of four players in the country to have two KR for touchdowns this season. The Aztecs are currently third in kickoff return average (31.38).