Aztecs Set for Road Outing at No. 14/15 Utah

HITTING THE ROAD
*  San Diego State heads to No. 14/15 Utah for its first road game of the season Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
* It's the 24th time away from San Diego County for the Aztecs (1-1) in their last 26 games. Prior to this season, SDSU had played its previous 23 games (two-plus seasons) out of San Diego County, including 12 "home" games at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, some two hours away from the San Diego State campus. 
* The Aztecs are meeting the Utes (1-1) for the second straight season after not playing one another since Utah left the Mountain West in 2010.
* SDSU snapped the Utes' five-game winning streak in the series (longest for either team) last year in Carson with a 33-31, triple-overtime victory. Utah backup quarterback Cam Rising replaced starter Charlie Brewer with 5:24 left in the third quarter and, down, 24-10, rallied the Utes back with two touchdown passes on their final two drives in the fourth quarter. After each team scored a touchdown in the first overtime and missed a field goal in the second, San Diego State converted its 2-point conversion in the third while Rising's pass attempt failed, giving the Aztecs the win.
* Following the loss to SDSU, the Utes went 9-2 the rest of the way, winning the Pac-12 Championship over Oregon, 38-10, before falling to Ohio State, 48-45, in the Rose Bowl. 
* San Diego State, meanwhile, finished with its most victories in program history in 2022, going 12-2.
* Saturday's game marks the 32nd meeting between San Diego State and Utah with the Utes owning a 17-13-1 series lead. 
* Utah owns a slim 9-6 series advantage in games played in Salt Lake City. The Utes have won the last two meetings in Salt Lake City and five of the last six. SDSU's last victory in Salt Lake City was a 28-19 win on Oct. 15, 2005. 
* Utah has won nine straight home games and 20 of its last 21.
* San Diego State has lost all four meetings against the Utes when Utah was nationally ranked (2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010). The Utes enter Saturday ranked 14th in the AP Top 25 Poll and 15th in the coaches poll.
* The Aztecs got in the win column last Saturday with a 38-7 victory over Idaho for their first victory at Snapdragon Stadium. SDSU spotted the Bengals a 75-yard touchdown on their opening drive and scored the final 38 points.
* San Diego State rushed for 380 yards and averaged 8.84 yards per attempt, improving to 53-2 in its last 55 games when rushing for at least 200 yards.
* After giving up 75 yards on ISU's first two plays in just 14 seconds, the Aztecs allowed only 263 over the final 71 plays (3.7 avg.) and zero points over the final 59:46.
* SDSU's special teams, which is ranked second in the country in ESPN's efficiency rating, also got a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jordan Byrd and four punts inside the 5-yard line from Jack Browning. 
* Since the start of the 2016 campaign, San Diego State is tied for the nation's best record against the Pac-12 Conference. (min. 6 games played). The Aztecs and Notre Dame are each 7-3. The next three-best teams against the Pac-12 are members USC (36-17), Washington (34-17) and Utah (34-19).
* Only six schools have more wins than SDSU's 13 since last season, including Georgia (16), Alabama (15), Louisiana (15), Cincinnati (14), Michigan (14) and Oklahoma State (14).