Football

San Diego State Closes Season Against Air Force for Senior Day on Saturday Night

The Aztecs end the 2024 campaign at 7:30 p.m. PT at Snapdragon Stadium this Saturday.

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San Diego State Closes Season Against Air Force for Senior Day on Saturday NightSan Diego State Closes Season Against Air Force for Senior Day on Saturday Night
Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State

San Diego State Closes Season Against Air Force for Senior Day on Saturday Night

  • San Diego State wraps up the 2024 season Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium against Air Force. Kickoff for the Aztecs (3-8, 2-4 MW) and the Falcons (4-7, 2-4 MW) is set for 7:30 p.m. PT on FS1 and San Diego Sports 760.
  • SDSU is coming off its second consecutive 41-20 loss, this time at Utah State on Saturday night. San Diego State led, 13-0, but the Aggies scored the next 41 points, scoring a touchdown on six of their next seven drives, to take a 41-13 lead. The Aztecs closed the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson to Mekhi Shaw with 32 seconds remaining.
  • SDSU was outgained, 488-412, for the game, including a decisive 322-188 advantage on the ground. In the second half, San Diego State was outgained, 318-177.
  • Aztec running back Marquez Cooper ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for his fifth 100-yard game of the season and 22nd of his career. 
  • In the game, Cooper became the 23rd player in NCAA FBS history to record at least 5,000 yards rushing.
  • On the season, Cooper has rushed for 1,180 yards and 10 touchdowns, the first SDSU player with a 1,000-yard season since Greg Bell in 2021.
  • Cooper is the first player in NCAA FBS history with 1,000-yard rushing seasons with three different teams, including 1,080 and 1,326 while at Kent State in 2021 and 2022, respectively, 1,043 last year at Ball State and 1,180 so far this year.
  • Cooper’s four 1,000-yard rushing seasons overall are tied for the most in NCAA FBS history. The other players to accomplish the feat are Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh, 1973-76), Amos Lawrence (North Carolina, 1977-80), Denvis Manns, New Mexico State (1995-98), Ron Dayne (Wisconsin, 1996-99); Cedric Benson (Texas, 2002-05), DonTrell Moore (New Mexico, 2002-05), Tyrell Fenroy (Louisiana, 2005-08), Damion Fletcher (Southern Miss., 2006-09), Justin Jackson (Northwestern, 2014-17) and Myles Gaskin (Washington, 2015-18).
  • Cooper is the active leader in FBS play in rushing yards (5,036) and all-purpose yards (5,746), and is third in rushing yards per game (95.0, min. 25 GP) and rushing touchdowns (43), and tied for fourth in total touchdowns (44).
  • Saturday’s San Diego State-Air Force game will feature two of the most successful teams in the country the last decade. The Aztecs are 79-46 (.632) since the 2015 season, the 20th-best record over that span (min. 100 games) and the fourth best among non-Power 4 schools. The Falcons, meanwhile, are 75-45 (.625), the 23rd-best record over that span and fifth among non-P4 schools.
  • Remarkably, this is the first time both teams have been under .500 when playing one another since 2013. From 2014-23, the teams played each other seven times. The combined record heading into those meetings was 73-30 (.709). This year SDSU and AFA enter the game at 7-15 (.318). 
  • This is the 39th meeting between San Diego State and Air Force with the Falcons owning a 21-18 series lead. 
  • The Aztecs won a school-record nine straight games in the series before falling, 13-3, on Senior Night in 2022 and then again last year in Colorado. The nine straight wins at the time were the longest active win streak against the Academy.
  • SDSU is 10-8 all-time against AFA in San Diego.
  • This could be the last time the two teams meet in the regular season as San Diego State is joining the Pac-12 Conference in the 2026 season and next year’s schedule - SDSU's last in the Mountain West - is yet to be set. 
  • It’s a tale of two streaks right now for San Diego State and Air Force. The Aztecs have lost five consecutive games for the first time since 2008 after starting the season with a 3-3 record. The Falcons, meanwhile, have won three straight games following a seven-game losing streak. 
  • AFA has outscored its opponents, 86-47, over its three-game winning streak.
  • QB Danny O’Neil, the first true freshman to start a season-opener in SDSU’s Division I history (since 1969), has completed 185 of 298 passes (62.1 pct.) for 1,951 yards and 11 touchdowns with six interceptions, while posting a 125.2 pass efficiency rating. 
  • EDGE Trey White ranks second in FBS in total tackles for loss (18.5) and tackles for loss per game (1.68), third in tackles for loss yards (102), fourth in total sacks (12.5) and sacks per game (1.14), and eighth in total sack yards (68). White leads the Mountain West in all of those categories.
  • White is ranked in a tie for third in SDSU single-season history with 12.5 sacks with Andy Coviello (1991), only trailing Mike Douglass (21.0 in 1976) and Brett Faryniarz (13.0 in 1987).
  • Last month, White was added to the Bednarik Award Watch List for the most outstanding defensive player and was named to five midseason All-America teams.
  • The San Diego State special teams has continued to impress as this year’s unit is ranked sixth in the country, according to ESPN’s special teams efficiency rating (68.8). The Aztecs have won five of the nine Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year awards issued since 2015. Those five include three kick returners (Rashaad Penny from 2015-17), two punters (Matt Araiza in 2021 and Jack Browning in 2022) and one kicker (also Araiza in 2021).
  • Both of SDSU’s kickers are leading the league in their respective categories. Punter Tyler Pastula leads the Mountain West with a 46.16 punt average, which ranks seventh nationally and ranks third in San Diego State single-season history. Pastula has two of the six longest punts in FBS play this season (79-yarder at Boise State on Nov. 1 and a 75-yarder at Wyoming on Oct. 12). 
  • Placekicker Gabe Plascencia, meanwhile, has made 12 consecutive field goals - tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the country - and is 13-for-14 on the season. His 92.9 field goal percentage leads the MW and would be a school record if the season ended today. For his career, Plascencia is 17-for-18 in field goal attempts and his 94.4 percentage would be a school record if he had enough attempts (25) to qualify.
  • Prior to the game, SDSU will honor 24 departing seniors, who will most likely be playing in their final collegiate game.