- On Thursday night, San Diego State begins its 103rd season of football, 57th at the Division I level, last in the Mountain West and second under the direction of Sean Lewis, one of the brightest offensive minds in the country.
- The Aztecs welcome Stony Brook at 7 p.m. PT in a game that will be broadcast locally on KUSI and be streamed on the Mountain West Network. The game will also air on San Diego Sports 760, the flagship radio station of San Diego State athletics.
- On July 1, 2026, SDSU officially becomes a member of the new Pac-12 along with league stalwarts Oregon State and Washington State, as well as Boise State, Colorado State, Gonzaga (for men’s basketball only), Fresno State, Texas State and Utah State.
- The Aztecs are 62-34 (.646) since the current 12-team Mountain West conference began play in 2013 (includes championship and bowl games), which ranks as the second-best mark in the league behind Boise State (82-18, .800). Utah State (third, .590), Fresno State (fourth, .582) and Colorado State (sixth, .500) each will join SDSU and BS in the new Pac-12 next season.
- The Aztecs were 3-3 halfway through the 2024 campaign but lost their final six games of the season en route to a 3-9 finish.
- SDSU lost three games in 2024 by five or fewer points, going 2-3 on the season in one-score games.
- Lewis began his head coaching career at Kent State in 2018, as the Golden Flashes went 2-10 in his first season at the helm. The following year, Lewis led Kent State to a 7-6 record, including a 6-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play and a berth in the MAC Championship game. The Golden Flashes then went on to win the Frisco Bowl over Utah State, 51-41, the program’s first bowl win in program history.
- 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).
- 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).
- Lewis departed Kent State to be the offensive coordinator at Colorado in 2023. Over the last two seasons without Lewis at the helm, the Golden Flashes are 1-23 with 21 consecutive losses, including a 0-22 mark against FBS teams and an 0-16 mark in MAC play.
- This will be the fourth season of SDSU playing its home games at Bashor Field at Snapdragon Stadium.
- The Aztecs have posted a .500 or better overall record and a winning record in Mountain West action in 13 of the past 15 seasons, only failing to do so in the past two years.
- SDSU returns seven of its nine all-Mountain West players from a year ago, including first-team EDGE performer Trey White. White had a breakout season in 2024, totaling 60 tackles (40 solo), 18.5 tackles for loss (No. 1 in MW, No. 7 (tied) in FBS), 12.5 sacks (No. 1 in MW, No. 5 (tied) in FBS), two pass breakups and a forced fumble. White was named the MW preseason defensive player of the year earlier this month at the media days in Las Vegas. He is the first San Diego State defensive lineman to be named the MW preseason defensive player of the year and the fourth defensive player overall, joining cornerback Leon McFadden in 2012, cornerback Damontae Kazee in 2016 and safety Patrick McMorris in 2022.
- San Diego State also returns second-team all-league kicker Gabe Plascencia, who has made 12 consecutive field goals, tied for the sixth-longest active streak in the country entering the season and the second longest by an Aztec since at least the 1996 season. Plascencia’s 92.9 field goal percentage (13-of-14) last year was a SDSU single-season record. Plascencia was named the MW preseason special teams player of the year. He became SDSU’s third MW preseason special teams player of the year over the last four seasons (also KR/PR Jordan Byrd in 2022 and P/K Jack Browning in 2023.
- The Aztecs also return honorable-mention performers safety Eric Butler, cornerback Chris Johnson, linebacker Tano Letuli, who joined White and Plascencia on the preseason all-MW team, wide receiver Jordan Napier and offensive lineman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli.
- SDSU brings back all 11 starters on defense (note that returning Teivis Tuioti and departing Tupu Alualu each had six starts at defensive tackle and are counted as co-starters).
- The Aztecs have 26 players in their final season of eligibility, which is tied for the 11th most in the country.
- Additionally, SDSU returns 13 starters from a year ago, which is tied for the ninth most in the country. The only teams with more starters returning are Arizona State (16), Clemson (16), Illinois (16), Penn State (16), Alabama (14), Boise State (14), Duke (14) and Texas A&M (14).
- On offense, the Aztecs will have many new faces with just two starters returning in offensive linemen Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli and Christian Jones.
- SDSU returns only 34 rushing yards from a year ago (second fewest in the country according to a recent FBS athletic communications survey), 48 passing yards (none by a quarterback, fourth fewest in the country), 82 yards of total offense (second fewest in the country) and 36 points scored (third fewest in the country).
- In all, San Diego State welcomes 55 total newcomers (combining scholarships and walk-ons).
- Michigan transfer Jayden Denegal has been named the starting quarterback. Denegal, who spent three seasons at Michigan from 2022-24 and was the backup quarterback to J.J. McCarthy for the Wolverines’ national championship season in 2023, beat out Central Michigan transfer Bert Emanuel Jr. as head coach Sean Lewis announced publicly following practice on Aug. 13. Denegal appeared in seven games at Michigan, completing 4 of 5 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. The Aug. 28 opener will be his first career start.
- Denegal becomes the fourth straight quarterback to start at San Diego State having never started at another institution. The others were Jalen Mayden, who went 9-11 from 2022-23, Danny O’Neil (3-8 in 2024) and Javance Tupou'ata-Johnson (0-1 in 2024). The previous three quarterbacks went a combined 12-20 for a .375 winning percentage.
- Gone from San Diego State are first-team all-MW selections running back Marquez Cooper and punter Tyler Pastula.
- San Diego State is opening its season on a Thursday for the fifth time in its Division I history (since 1969), but first time since opening up with UTEP on Aug. 31, 2006. Amazingly, the Aztecs did not open their season on a Thursday for their first 31 seasons of DI play, then played four openers on a Thursday in a seven-year span from 2000-06 (2000 vs. Arizona State, 2001 vs. Arizona, 2022 at Fresno State and 2006 vs. UTEP).
- Thursday’s Aug. 28 opener will be SDSU’s second-earliest game in program history, only behind an Aug. 26 start in a 20-13 victory over Ohio to kick off the 2023 campaign. San Diego State has played 12 games in the month of August, going 5-7, including three straight wins.
- Thursday will mark the first meeting on the gridiron between San Diego State and Stony Brook.
- The two schools are 2,809 miles away from each other, which would take nearly 42 hours to drive from one campus to the other without stopping. If you were to opt into taking the toll roads, you could save about two hours on your commute.
- The Seawolves are ranked 24th in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 and 25th in the coaches poll. SB had five consecutive losing seasons, including a 0-10 record in 2023, before Billy Cosh took over as head coach in 2024. Cosh led Stony Brook to an 8-4 record in his first season for the largest turnaround in the FCS last year (0-10 to 8-4). Cosh was named the Walter Camp FCS Coach of the Year, AFCA FCS Coach of the Year, AFCA Regional Coach of the Year, and CAA Coach of the Year. He was also the fastest coach in program history to reach eight wins.
- San Diego State is 2-0 all-time against teams from the Colonial Athletic Conference, beating New Hampshire, 31-0, in the 2016 season opener and Towson, 48-21, in 2021. In each of those seasons, the Aztecs finished with double-digits in wins (11-3 in 2016 and 12-2 (school record for wins) in 2021)) and a No. 25 final ranking in the Associated Press Top-25 poll. It is two of the three seasons SDSU has ever been ranked in the final AP poll.
- San Diego State has won its last 10 games against FCS schools and 14 of its last 15. The Aztecs’ lone loss in that stretch came against Eastern Illinois in 2013. That EIU coaching staff featured current Aztec head coach Sean Lewis as the wide receivers coach. The Panthers, led by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, totaled 361 yards through the air on their way to scoring 40 points in the season opener for both teams.
- Prior to its current 14-1 stretch, SDSU was 4-2 against FCS schools since the turn of the century.
- Following Thursday’s clash with Stony Brook, San Diego State plays at Washington State on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:15 p.m. PT.
San Diego State Kicks Off 2025 Season Thursday Night Against Stony Brook
Aztecs host Stony Brook at 7 p.m. PT Thursday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
