- Having to stew on its first loss of the season followed by a 14-day break in between games, San Diego State welcomes California to Snapdragon Stadium for a Saturday night showdown. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and will air on CBS Sports Network and San Diego Sports 760, the flagship radio station of San Diego State athletics.
- The Aztecs (1-1) led Washington State, 7-0, early in Pullman in their last game on Sept. 6, but the Cougars (now 2-1) scored 29 consecutive points, including 16 in less than a 5-minute span from late in the second quarter until the beginning of the third. WSU ultimately won the game, 36-13.
- Lucky Sutton ran for 88 yards on 15 attempts (5.9 avg.), while Jayden Denegal completed 15 of 30 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, and also ran in another score. Jacob Bostick caught his second touchdown pass in as many games, while Tano Letuli had a game-high 11 tackles to pace the SDSU defense.
- The Golden Bears are off to a 3-0 start, outscoring the opposition, 96-32. Included in the three victories is a 34-15 win at Oregon State on Aug. 30 and a 27-14 victory over Minnesota on Saturday night.
- Cal is the fifth team from the former Pac-12 Conference (before 2024) that SDSU will play over its last 14 games dating back to last season. San Diego State lost to Oregon State (21-0 on Sept. 7), at California (31-10 on Sept. 14) and vs. Washington State (29-26 on Oct. 26) last season, and at Washington State (36-13) on Sept. 6 this year.
- On July 1, 2026, the Aztecs officially become 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.
- SDSU is 62-34 (.646) in league play 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, .594), Fresno State (fourth, .582) and Colorado State (sixth, .500) each will join San Diego State and Boise State in the new Pac-12 next season.
- Sutton leads the Mountain West with 94.0 rushing yards per game, which also ranks 25th in FBS play. He ran for 100 yards with two touchdowns in a 42-0 Aztec win over Stony Brook on Aug. 30 and then had 88 last game at Washington State on 15 carries (5.9 avg.).
- Jayden Denegal is 28 of 55 for 340 yards and two touchdowns on the season without throwing an interception, while adding a rushing touchdown.
- Jordan Napier has a team-high 10 catches for 87 yards, while Jacob Bostick has six catches for 101 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
- Letuli leads SDSU with 20 tackles, while Owen Chambliss has 16 tackles and Chris Johnson 10 with three pass breakups and a forced fumble.
- Gabe Plascencia, who did not attempt a field goal at Washington State, has made 14 straight dating back to last year, which is tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the country and the second longest by an Aztec since at least the 1996 season (John Baron II, 15 from Nov. 12, 2016-Sept. 16, 2017).
- Amazingly, San Diego State has played in three consecutive turnover-free games dating back to last season (zero turnovers for either team in the game). It has matched the longest streak in FBS play since at least the 1996 season (Rutgers from Oct. 4-18, 2008).
- The Aztecs are one of only 18 teams who have only played two games this season.
- During the Cal game on Saturday night, SDSU will honor the 2015 Mountain West Championship team. After starting 1-3 in non-conference play, the 2015 San Diego State team went 8-0 in conference play, outscoring the opposition, 289-90 (36.1 ppg-11.3 ppg). The Aztecs then beat Air Force, 27-24, in the MW Championship game and finished with a decisive 42-7 win over Cincinnati in the Hawai’i Bowl.
- SDSU finished 11-3 for the season, tying a record for the most wins in program history (the 2021 team broke the record with 12 victories). San Diego State became the first FBS team to open with a 1-3 record or worse and win every remaining game, including the bowl game, in 29 years. The only other team to accomplish that feat since at least 1980 was Boston College in 1986 (opened 1-3 and ended 9-3).
- Donnel Pumphrey won his second of three consecutive John Simcox Memorial Trophies for the team’s MVP after rushing for 1,653 yards and 17 touchdowns on 309 carries (5.3 avg.). Chase Price added 1,008 yards and six touchdowns on 190 attempts (5.3 avg.), giving the Aztecs multiple 1,000-yard rushers in the same season for the first time in program history.
- SDSU swept the major MW awards with Pumphrey being named the offensive player of the year, cornerback Damontae Kazee (75 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 2 FF, 8 INT) the defensive player of the year and kick returner Rashaad Penny (24 KR, 804 yds., 33.5 avg., 3 TD) the special teams player of the year. All three players then swept the awards once again in 2016.
- Saturday’s game marks the 10th meeting between the San Diego State and California football programs, with Cal leading the series, 5-4.
- The home team has won all nine games in the series.
- The last time the Golden Bears visited America’s Finest City on Sept. 10, 2016, the Aztecs came out on top in a wild game by a 45-40 score. Donnel Pumphrey ran for a career-high 281 yards and three touchdowns en route to breaking Marshall Faulk’s career rushing record at SDSU. Pumphrey would finish his career as the all-time leader in rushing yards in FBS history.
- Rashaad Penny added two touchdowns - a 25-yard catch from Christian Chapman and a 100-yard kick return - as San Diego State overcame a 522-yard passing effort by Cal’s David Webb.
- In last year’s meeting in Berkeley on Sept. 14, the Aztecs trailed the Bears, 7-3, at the half, but California scored in its four possessions of the second half in a 31-10 win. The two teams combined for 27 penalties for 237 yards, including 15 penalties for 120 yards for the Aztecs. SDSU’s 13 penalties in the first half were tied for the most in any half for an FBS team in the previous 10 seasons.
- Following Saturday’s clash with California, San Diego State travels to Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 28. A time has not been set yet for the NIU game as of Sunday, Sept. 14.
San Diego State Welcomes Undefeated California for Saturday Night Showdown
The Aztecs (1-1) welcome undefeated California (3-0) on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
