SCENE SETTER (through games of Oct. 31)
* Of the 103 FBS schools that have played football to date, 17 are undefeated. Two of those teams meet Friday night in Carson, Calif., when San Diego State (2-0) plays host to San José State (2-0). This is the first time in the 44 all-time meetings (44th meeting is Friday) that both teams enter the contest unbeaten and untied.
* Among schools that have played at least two games in 2020, only three games this week feature undefeated teams. In addition to the Spartans-Aztecs matchup there is also Clemson (7-0) at Notre Dame (6-0) and Brigham Young (7-0) at Boise State (2-0). If you relax the threshold slightly you could include Purdue (2-0) at Wisconsin (1-0).
* San Diego State carries a four-game win streak into Friday's game. That is the longest active win streak in the Mountain West and is tied for the ninth-longest win streak nationally.
* San Diego State improved to 2-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons on Saturday with a dominating 38-7 victory at Utah State. The Aztecs enjoyed a 570-215 advantage in total offense and a +3 turnover margin (TOs: SDSU 0, Utah State 3). The 31-point victory was the largest by any unranked visiting team in Logan in more than a decade (Oct. 23, 2010).
* The offense delivered for the second straight week, posting 38 points and 570 yards of total offense. Senior running back Greg Bell became the first San Diego State running back in at least 25 seasons to post consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts to open his Aztec career. Bell's second straight 100-yard effort, third of his career and 341st in SDSU history gives him 268 yards rushing through two games. He is third nationally in rushing yards per game at 134.0.
* The Aztec defense limited the Aggies to seven points and 215 yards, while forcing three turnovers. SDSU intercepted two passes, forced two fumbles (recovered one) and had four tackles for loss. SDSU limited the Aggies to 79 total yards on 22 plays after intermission. Senior Aztec Dwayne Johnson leads the unit with 13 tackles through two games.
* The Aztecs appear among the national leaders in a host of categories this week. SDSU leads the nation in scoring defense (6.5), total defense (200.5), yards allowed per play (3.34) and rushing offense (347.0). In addition, the Aztecs also appear among the national leaders in other key metrics - third in scoring margin (+29.5), turnover margin (+1.50), passing yards allowed (109.0) and defensive third-down conversion (22.6), fourth in net punting (45.50), fifth in defensive pass efficiency (93.19) and tackles for loss (9.0), seventh in rushing defense (91.5) and ninth in time of possession (34:33).
* San Diego State is +59 in scoring margin in jumping out to a 2-0 start. The +29.5-point average ranks third nationally (all other teams in the top 10 are ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll), and is the best two-game scoring margin (contained in the same season) for the program since a +64 following wins at San José State (52-7) and Nevada (42-23) late in the 2017 season.
* The +59 scoring margin is the best in a decade for SDSU. In 2010, in the second season of Brady Hoke's first stint as head coach, the Aztecs were +67 after two games following a 47-0 season-opening win over Nicholls State and a 41-21 road win at New Mexico State.
* San Diego State carries a five-game win streak against teams from the state of California into Friday's game. The current win streak includes wins over UCLA, Fresno State, Sacramento State and San José State (twice). The Aztecs are 13-2 against the state since Oct. 3, 2015.
* For the second consecutive week, San Diego State is receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll. The Aztecs, who were nationally-ranked for three weeks in 2019 and have appeared in the AP Poll in three of the last four seasons, are currently 38th in the poll.
Aztecs Welcome Fellow 2-0 Team San José State on Friday
