San Diego State Travels to California for Saturday Night Showdown

San Diego State Travels to California for Saturday Night Showdown

• Following a tough loss to Oregon State last Saturday night, San Diego State looks to get back to its winning ways when it hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to play California at 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday.
• The Aztecs (1-1), who scored 42 points in the second half and received a 223-yard rushing game by Marquez Cooper in a 45-14 win over Texas A&M-Commerce in the first game under new head coach Sean Lewis on Aug. 31, struggled to contain OSU’s running game and offensively were unable to put up any points in a 21-0 loss to the Beavers on Saturday night.
• SDSU was outgained by Oregon State, 420-179, including a 237-72 advantage on the ground. The Beavers also held the ball for 41 minutes, 7 seconds (41:07) of the 60-minute game.
• Against Texas A&M-Commerce on Aug. 31, Cooper, the active FBS leader in rushing yards, ran for 223 yards and two touchdowns. The 223 yards were the second most in a SDSU season opener in its Division I history (since 1969) as he became the first Aztec with a 200-yard rushing game since Rashaad Penny in the 2017 Armed Forces Bowl. It was the 18th career 100-yard rushing game for the Gaithersburg, Md., native, who entered 2024 with three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons (2023 at Ball State, and 2021-22 at Kent State under Sean Lewis).
• Danny O’Neil, meanwhile, showed poise in the pocket as he became the first SDSU true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in its DI era. O’Neil was 11-for-12 for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. For the game, the Indianapolis native threw for 214 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
• San Diego State is meeting California for the ninth time with each team winning four games apiece at their home stadium.
• The last time the two teams met on Sept. 10, 2016, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, the Aztecs came out on top in a 45-40 shootout.
• In that game, SDSU’s Donnel Pumphrey, the all-time leading rusher in FBS history, ran for a career-high 281 yards and three touchdowns. The 281 rushing yards are the fifth most in SDSU single-game history as San Diego State outgained Cal, 334-82, on the ground in that game. The Bears, meanwhile, threw for 522 yards compared to the Aztecs’ 129.
• This is the second of three meetings for SDSU this season against current or past Pac-12 teams. Following the 21-0 loss to Oregon State and Saturday’s clash in Berkeley is an Oct. 26 home contest against Washington State.
• California is off to a 2-0 start with a 31-13 home win over UC Davis on Aug. 31 and a 21-14 road victory at Auburn last Saturday. The Bears are receiving votes in both national polls with three points in the Associated Press Top 25 poll (40th-most points) and five points in the AFCA Coaches Poll (T-41st).
• One of the most innovative minds in college football over the past decade, Lewis was named the 19th head coach in the history of the San Diego State football program, as announced on Nov. 29, 2023. Lewis, 38, brings an extensive résumé to The Mesa, serving as head coach at Kent State from 2018-22 before spending the 2023 campaign as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders. He has also witnessed great success as a coordinator/ assistant coach in stops at Syracuse (2016-17), Bowling Green (2014-15) and Eastern Illinois (2012-13).
• Last season at Colorado, the Buffaloes were ranked sixth in the country in passing yards per game (330.0) and 39th in scoring (32.1) with Lewis calling the plays. When Lewis stopped calling plays, Colorado dropped to 59th in passing (224.0) and 100th in scoring (20.3).
• In 2021, Kent State set program records in plays (1,052), yards (6,907), first downs (364), rushing yards (3,482) and passing yards (3,425). Additionally, the Golden Flashes ranked third in the country that year in rushing (248.6) and first downs (364), fourth in total offense (495.2) and 30th in scoring (33.0).
• In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Kent State led the country in scoring (49.8) and total offense (606.5), ranked second in in pass efficiency rating (191.2) and third down conversion percentage (56.1), third in rushing (283.0) and fourth down conversion percentage (87.5), and 10th in passing (323.5).
• While at Syracuse, his 2016 offense set or tied 40 program records, including passing yards (3,855), while the 5,290 yards were the second most in school history.
• Lewis also had the fourth-ranked offense (546.8) at Bowling Green in 2015 and the sixth-ranked scoring offense (42.2).
• The Aztecs have posted a .500 or better overall record and a winning record in Mountain West action in 13 of the past 14 seasons, only failing to do so last year (4-8 overall, 2-6 in MW).
• San Diego State once again plays one of the toughest schedules in the country with seven of its 11 FBS games against teams that made a bowl game in 2023 and three against former Pac-12 teams (hosting Oregon State on Sept. 7, at California on Sept. 14 and hosting Washington State on Oct. 26).
• SDSU returns only two all-Mountain West players from a year ago in Mekhi Shaw (honorable mention at both wide receiver and punt returner) and Kenan Christon (honorable mention at kick returner).
• Gone from San Diego State are second-team honorees TE Mark Redman, OL Cade Bennett, CB Noah Tumblin and P Jack Browning, including the latter two which are vying for spots in NFL camps. Other all-conference performers gone from SDSU are QB Jalen Mayden, LB Zyrus Fiaseu and CB Dez Malone. In all, 18 starters are gone from the 2023 squad.
• Joining first-year head coach Sean Lewis are 55 total newcomers (combining scholarships and walk-ons).
• The Aztecs have only player - DL Wyatt Draeger - in his final year of eligibility who began his career at San Diego State. Only Troy (zero) has fewer players in their final year of eligibility who began their career at their current school.
• Overall, the Aztecs have 15 players in their final year of eligibility, which is the fifth fewest in the country. Only Illinois (12), Troy (12), Iowa State (14) and San Jose State (14) have fewer.
• Additionally, SDSU returns only 54 players from a year ago, which ranks as the fourth fewest in the country.
• San Diego State has 44 scholarship newcomers, the sixth most in the nation. The 40 scholarship returnees are tied for the sixth fewest in the country.
• Lewis has brought along an impressive coaching staff to The Mesa, including six full-time coaches with previous coordinator experience. Three assistant coaches on the Aztec offensive staff have previous offensive coordinator experience, including pass game coordinator Lanear Sampson (2023 co-offensive coordinator/2022 pass game coordinator at Austin Peay), run game coordinator Mike Schmidt (2023 run game coordinator at Mississippi State, 2022 run game coordinator at Syracuse) and quarterbacks coach Matt Johnson (2023 offensive coordinator at Kent State). Additionally, senior offensive analyst Ryan Lindley was SDSU’s offensive coordinator last season.
• Defensively, Eric Schmidt is in his first season as SDSU’s defensive coordinator. Schmidt previously spent two seasons at Washington as its special teams coordinator and coach of the EDGE position on defense. Defensive edges coach Rob Aurich (2022-23 defensive coordinator at Idaho, 2018-21 special teams coordinator at South Dakota, 2015-17 defensive coordinator at Bemidji State) also has previous coordinator experience.
• Finally, associate head coach Zac Barton is in his first season as SDSU’s special teams coordinator after spending last season at Kansas, where he served as the Jayhawks’ special teams analyst. Prior to Kansas, Barton coached the special teams at Kent State from 2018-22 under Lewis.
• Saturday is the first of consecutive road games for the Aztecs, who, following an open week on Sept. 21, play at Central Michigan on Sept. 28. SDSU doesn’t return to Snapdragon Stadium until it opens Mountain West play on Oct. 5 with Hawai’i.