SCENE SETTER (through games of Saturday, Nov. 9)
* San Diego State continues its quest for football conference title No. 22 on Friday evening when the Aztecs play host to Fresno State in a pivotal Mountain West, West Division showdown.
* San Diego State, which has won Mountain West titles in 2012 (shared), 2015 and 2016, currently leads the division by one game over Hawai'i and Nevada (each 3-3), and by 1 1/2 games over Fresno State (2-3).
* The Aztecs and Bulldogs will meet for the 59th time on Friday in the battle for the "Old Oil Can." San Diego State leads the series 29-25-4, including a 15-13-2 advantage in San Diego.
* San Diego State's four-game winning streak was snapped last Saturday night in a 17-13 setback to Nevada. The Aztecs owned advantages in total offense (309-226) and time of possession (32:19-27:41) but could not overcome a red zone turnover and a 10-yard average starting field position disadvantage. SDSU has lost 25 straight games when having a field position disadvantage of at least 10 yards (last win in that situation was vs. UNLV, 21-7, on Nov. 11, 2006).
* San Diego State has won at least seven games each of the last 10 seasons (includes this season).
* SDSU's defense ranks among the national leaders in nearly every statistical category. Among its highest rankings are: 2nd in rushing defense (65.3), 2nd in rushing yards allowed per carry (2.4), T-6th in rushing touchdowns allowed (5), T-6th in first downs allowed (130), 8th in scoring defense (14.4), 8th in total defense (277.1), T-8th in TD allowed (15), T-13th in passing touchdowns allowed (9), 21st in passing yards per attempt (6.29), 23rd in third down conversion (32.2) and 26th in passing efficiency rating (117.8).
* San Diego State has played five games decided by one possession (actually six points or less) this season. The Aztecs are 3-2 in those games (4-0 in games decided by seven or more points). Including last season, the Aztecs have played 13 one possession games (eight points or less) in its last 22 games.
* San Diego State leads all of FBS with five road victories in 2019, one more than Florida Atlantic (4-1) and SMU (4-1). No other team is 4-0 on the road this year (nine teams are 3-0 in road games).
* SDSU, which is 30-1 the last 31 times it has owned a turnover margin advantage, is seventh nationally in turnover margin at +1.11 (15 gained, 5 lost).
* This is the third consecutive season that San Diego State is 7-2 after nine games.
* Head coach Rocky Long, the all-time winningest coach in Mountain West history, has guided San Diego State to a bowl game in each of his first eight seasons as head coach. He is one of just six active coaches to lead his current team to a bowl game in each of his first eight seasons.
* The Aztecs' final three regular-season games are against Fresno State (4-5), at Hawai'i (6-4, wins vs. Arizona and Oregon State) and Brigham Young (5-4, wins at Tennessee, USC, Boise State and at Utah State).
Football Ready for Fresno State on Friday Night
