San Diego State Heads to New Mexico for Final Regular-Season Road Game
- Coming off its first 40-point game against an FBS opponent in almost three years and first against a Mountain West foe in five seasons, San Diego State travels to New Mexico for its final road game of the regular season on Friday night.
- It's the lone road contest in November for the Aztecs (6-4, 4-2 MW) but the 28th played outside San Diego County in their last 34 games. Prior to this season, SDSU had played its previous 23 games (two-plus seasons) out of San Diego County, including 12 "home" contests at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, some two hours away from the San Diego State campus.
- The Friday night matchup with the Lobos (2-8, 0-6 MW) is one of two down the stretch where the Aztecs have had plenty of recent success. SDSU has won eight consecutive games in the series with UNM. San Diego State closes out its regular season at home against Air Force on Nov. 26, a team the Aztecs have beaten nine straight times. The last loss by SDSU to a New Mexico or AFA team was a 26-14 setback at Air Force on Sept. 26, 2009.
- Friday marks the 44th meeting between the Lobos and the Aztecs with SDSU owning a 28-15 series advantage.
- San Diego State's 28 victories are the second most for the program against any Division I opponent, trailing 30 wins over Fresno State.
- The Aztecs are coming off a 43-27 win over San Jose State last Saturday night. SDSU spotted the Spartans 14 points before scoring the next 38, cruising to a 16-point triumph and becoming bowl eligible for a 13th straight season. Jalen Mayden threw for 268 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, improving to 4-1 as the team's starting quarterback. Against a 6-2 Spartan team that was ranked in the top 30 on defense in scoring (10th, 16.38), passing (28th, 196.50), rushing (28th, 120.38), total (20th, 316.88) and pass efficiency (34th, 122.58), San Diego State managed 43 points, 268 passing yards, 157 rushing yards, 425 total yards and a 206.14 pass efficiency rating. The 206.14 pass efficiency rating was the highest allowed by San José State since a 245.7 mark against SDSU on Nov. 4, 2017. San Diego State overcame a 14-point deficit for the first time since Nov. 9, 2013 and Mayden became the first Aztec quarterback to be named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week since Ryan Katz on Oct. 8, 2012.
- Jordan Byrd woke SDSU up with a 95-yard kick return touchdown, the third of his career. It was San Diego State's 14th kick return touchdown since 2015, the most in the country. To put that stat into perspective, 15 other teams have played at least 60 games over that span and do not have a single kick return touchdown.
- Byrd is the first FBS player with at least one rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, kick return touchdown and punt return touchdown in the same season since Temple's Isaiah Wright in 2018 and just the second Aztec since at least 1996 (Rashaad Penny in 2017). No other Mountain West player has accomplished the feat (league started in 1999).
- After giving up 14 points and 104 yards on SJSU's first two drives, San Diego State held the Spartans to 13 points and 119 yards over their final nine drives of the game. The Aztecs sacked SDSU five times and have 18 total over the last four games.
- San Diego State continues to play its best football over the last half of the season in all three phases. Through its first five games, SDSU averaged 19.0 points, 12.4 first downs, 65.6 passing yards, 258.2 total yards, 28:21 time of possession and an 18.2 third-down conversion percentage. Since head coach Brady Hoke made coaching changes (moving associate head coach/running backs coach Jeff Horton to offensive coordinator and adding Ryan Lindley to the staff as the quarterbacks coach) and Jalen Mayden became the team's quarterback, over the last five games (since Oct. 8) San Diego State is averaging 24.8 points, 20.6 first downs, 250.6 passing yards, 384.6 total yards, 34:37 time of possession and a 41.4 third down percentage. See comparison on page 3.
- Defensively, San Diego State is looking more like its defense of the last decade following its bye week. Over the last four weeks (since Oct. 22), the Aztecs have 18 sacks (4.5 avg.), 34 tackles for loss (8.5), 104 pressures (26.0, sacks/hits/hurries according to Pro Football Focus) and forced nine turnovers (2.3), while allowing just 291.5 total yards and 44.5 rushing yards per game. Over the first six games, SDSU totaled eight sacks (1.3 avg.), 29 tackles for loss (4.8), 97 pressures (16.2) and forced nine turnovers (1.5), while allowing 394.2 yards and 166.7 rushing yards per game. See comparison on page 3.
- ESPN's special teams efficiency rating, meanwhile, has San Diego State at 79.6, which ranks second in FBS, trailing only South Carolina (80.6).