- Riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak and off to its best start since the 2021 team started 7-0 en route to a 12-2 season, San Diego State travels to Reno to play Nevada on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT with the game airing on CBS Sports Network and San Diego Sports 760, the flagship radio station of San Diego State athletics.
- Amazingly, this is the sixth time that the Aztecs (4-1) have been at least 4-1 through five games over the last 10 seasons. Out of the five previous times it started with at least a 4-1 record, SDSU has four 10-wins seasons, including 2016 (started 4-1, finished 11-3), 2017 (started 5-0, finished 10-3), 2019 (started 4-1, finished 10-3) and 2021 (started 5-0, finished 12-2). In all five previous instances, San Diego State made a bowl game that year, and both the 2016 and 2021 teams finished ranked 25th in the final AP Top 25 poll.
- At 4-1, SDSU has already surpassed its win total from the first season under head coach Sean Lewis in 2024, where it went 3-9 with a six-game losing steak to close the season.
- San Diego State is one of 20 teams who had three or fewer wins in 2024. Out of those 20 schools, only SDSU (4-1) and Mississippi State (4-2) have four victories through the first week of October in 2025.
- The Aztecs are coming off a 45-24 victory over Colorado State on Friday night. After mustering just a pair of field goals, including one with no time left, in its previous game in a 6-3 win at Northern Illinois on Sept. 27, the SDSU offense came alive against the Rams, scoring touchdowns on four consecutive drives in the first half and, following a kneeldown to end the half, a field goal and two touchdowns in the second half.
- San Diego State outgained CSU, 540-355, for its first 500-yard offensive game since Oct. 31, 2020 at Utah State. In addition, the Aztecs outrushed Colorado State, 281-149, winning their 18th straight game when rushing for at least 200 yards.
- The 540 yards were the most by SDSU in Snapdragon Stadium history, while the 45 points matched its most in the stadium and were its most against a FBS team scoring 48 vs. Central Michigan in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl.
- QB Jayden Denegal had his best game as an Aztec, throwing for career highs of 256 yards and two touchdowns despite not playing a snap in the fourth quarter. In just his fifth career start, the Michigan transfer was 13-for-16, finishing with the third-highest pass efficiency rating (min. 12 att.) in SDSU’s Division I history (since 1969) of 256.90 and the best since Kevin McKechnie’s school-record mark of 291.81 vs. Navy on Sept. 5, 1997. Denegal connected on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Brown and a 42-yard touchdown to Jordan Napier. On the season, he is 69-for-109 for 892 yards and five touchdowns, against two interceptions.
- Napier caught seven passes for a career-high 153 yards and now has 22 catches for 356 yards over his last three games. For the year, Napier has 32 receptions for 443 yards.
- Not to be outdone, running backs Lucky Sutton and Byron Cardwell Jr. each logged a 100-yard rushing game. Sutton picked up his second career 100-yard rushing game with 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts, while Cardwell Jr. ran for a career-best 129 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, all in the second half. Sutton has 450 yards and five touchdowns on 88 attempts, averaging 90.0 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry.
- It was the first time San Diego State had multiple 100-yard rushers in a game since Sept. 24, 2019 at New Mexico State (Jordan Byrd - 118, Chance Bell - 116) and the 31st time overall (the Aztecs are 30-1 when having multiple 100-yard rushers).
- K Gabe Placencia hit a career long and Snapdragon Stadium record 53-yard field goal in the third quarter, passing Chris O’Brien (1984-85) for the longest field goal streak (19) in program history. Saturday at Nevada will be 406 days since Plascencia last missed a field goal (Aug. 31, 2024 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (now East Texas A&M)).
- Plascencia is 24-for-25 in field goal attempts for his career and his 96.0 field goal percentage is a program record.
- EDGEs Trey White and Niles King each had two sacks apiece. Three different Aztecs (also EDGE August Salvati) have at least two sacks in a game this season.
- Through five games, the SDSU defense leads the Mountain West in scoring (12.60, 10th in FBS), pass efficiency (101.86, 10th in FBS), total (260.80, 14th in FBS), opponent first downs (74, 15th in FBS), passing (158.00, 17th in FBS), rushing (102.80, 27th in FBS) and sacks (2.60, 31st in FBS). San Diego State is also second in both third down percentage (26.58, 11th in FBS) and red zone percentage (72.73, 18th in FBS).
- The Aztecs have allowed just 63 points on the season, including 36 of those at Washington State on Sept. 6 and 24 last week vs. Colorado State.
- LB Owen Chambliss leads the San Diego State defense with 46 tackles, including 4.5 tackles or loss and two sacks. CB Chris Johnson has 29 tackles, two interceptions and six pass breakups, while LB Tano Letuli has 28 tackles in four games and White’s 23 tackles with five tackles for loss, three sacks and nine quarterback hurries.
- SDSU is outscoring the opposition, 121-24, in three home games this season. That’s an average of 40.3 for San Diego State and 8.0 for the visitors.
- Last Friday’s home game, however, is the last one for the Aztecs until Nov. 1 against Wyoming, a period of 29 days in between home contests. SDSU plays at Nevada on Saturday, then has its second and final idle (bye) week of the season before heading to Fresno State on Oct. 25 and then returning to America’s Finest City for the Wyoming game on Nov. 1.
- 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 63-34 (.650) 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 (83-18, .822). Utah State (third, .594), Fresno State (fourth, .590) and Colorado State (sixth, .495) each will join San Diego State in the new Pac-12 next season.
- Saturday is the 17th meeting between San Diego State and Nevada with the Aztecs owning a 9-7 series lead.
- Five of the last six meetings have been decided by one score or less.
- Saturday will be the first home game for Nevada since Sept. 13. The Wolf Pack is 1-4 on the season with three games decided by one score (NV is 1-2 in those contests).
San Diego State Heads to Nevada to Take on Wolf Pack on Saturday Night
Riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak and off to its best start since the 2021 team started 7-0 en route to a 12-2 season, San Diego State travels to Reno to play Nevada on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. PT.
