SCENE SETTER (through games of Nov. 21)
* The third time is a charm. After the original schedule had the Aztecs slated to face Hawai'i in the final regular-season game of the season on Nov. 28 and a reissue schedule had SDSU playing at Fresno State on Nov. 27, San Diego State will instead play a non-conference contest at Colorado on Saturday (Nov. 28).
* The Aztecs and Buffaloes are meeting for the second time with Colorado winning the lone contest, 34-14, on Sept. 7, 2002 at Folsom Field. At the time, the Buffaloes were ranked 14th in both national polls.
* San Diego State is 5-1 in its last six games against Pac-12 competition, including two straight victories. The Aztecs have defeated a team from the Pac-12 Conference in each of the past four seasons (2016: California, 45-40; 2017 - No. 19 Stanford, 20-17; 2018 - No. 23 Arizona State, 28-21; 2019 - at UCLA, 23-14).
* Since the start of the 2016 season, San Diego State's 5-1 record and 83.3 winning percentage against Pac-12 competition is the best in the nation. That includes Pac-12 teams (USC owns the best record among league teams at 29-10, 74.4 percent). The next best record by a non-Pac-12 team against the league is Notre Dame's 5-3 record (62.5 percent).
* The game features one of the top defensive teams in the country (San Diego State - 3rd in overall, 8th in scoring, 7th in rushing, 12th in passing) against one of the best offenses (Colorado - 17th overall, 12th in scoring, 22nd in rushing, 44th in passing).
* Last Saturday, San Diego State was unable to overcome four starters lost due to injury - including both team captains - and a first-time starter in quarterback in a 26-21 setback at undefeated Nevada. Despite the obstacles, the Aztecs had first-and-goal inside the five in the game's closing moments, but was unable to convert in suffering the loss.
* With the offensive struggling in the second half, the defense held the high-powered Wolf Pack offense to 140 yards in the second half, including four three-and-outs on its final six drives. Junior cornerback Darren Hall, who recorded a career-high 11 tackles and added two PBUs on the day, intercepted a pass with a little over three minutes to play deep in Nevada territory.
* Despite a second narrow loss this season, the Aztecs rank 18th nationally in scoring margin (+13.4). That is second in the Mountain West, trailing only San Jose State at +14.0. All three of SDSU's victories have come by at least 24 points.
* Since the start of the 2019 season, SDSU is 6-2 in road games. That is tied for the 11th-best record nationally and tops in the state of California.
Football Set for Colorado on Saturday
