San Diego State Welcomes Utah State on Saturday for Senior Night
- Fresh off its first idle weekend of the season, San Diego State plays host to Utah State on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT with the game airing on USA Network and San Diego Sports 760, the flagship radio station of San Diego State athletics.
- Prior to Saturday’s game will be a ceremony honoring SDSU’s departing seniors.
- The Aztecs (4-5 overall) and the Aggies (4-5 overall) are two of an incredible four teams that are tied for second in the Pac-12 standings with identical 3-2 records. The other 3-2 teams are Oregon State and Texas State.
- 17 Boise State, which SDSU concludes league play with in Boise on Nov. 21, sits atop the Pac-12 standings with a perfect 5-0 mark and is 8-1 overall.
- San Diego State enters Saturday’s tilt with a 10-1 record at home over the past two seasons, where it is outscoring the opposition, 336-159 (30.5-14.5).
- There are only four teams in the country who are undefeated at home over the last two seasons, including No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 12 Brigham Young, No. 23 New Mexico and Ohio.
- The Aztecs are one of only 19 schools with one home loss over the last two years (min. 6 GP). SEE THE MIDDLE CHART AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.
- SDSU in the midst of a 27-day stretch without a road game. San Diego State last played at road game at Colorado State on Oct. 24, falling by a 56-49 score. The Aztecs next beat Washington State, 26-20, at home on Oct. 31 and were idle last week. SDSU then meets Boise State in the Pac-12 finale on Nov. 21 before another road matchup on Nov. 28 against a “flex” team in a game still to be determined.
- The Pac-12 Championship is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5.
- In its last game on Oct. 31, Lucky Sutton ran for 115 yards, and Javion Kinnard added 87 yards and two touchdowns as San Diego State didn’t trail in a victory for the first time this season in a 26-20 win over Washington State.
- Redshirt freshman quarterback Stone Saunders picked up his first career win, completing 12 of 21 passes for 102 yards, as the Aztecs won their 11th consecutive game when leading after three quarters.
- SDSU won its sixth straight game played on Halloween, improving to 7-1 in its Division I era (since 1969) in Halloween games and 9-4-2 in program history.
- San Diego State will be playing one of the hottest teams in the league in Utah State. After starting the season with 1-4 record, the Aggies have won three of their last four games, including consecutive home games on Oct. 31 against Colorado State (W, 31-14) and Nov. 7 vs. Fresno State (W, 17-10).
- USU has won three straight games in the series with the Aztecs for the first time, but SDSU leads the all-time series, 13-5.
- The 1-2 punch of Javion Kinnard (613 yards, 5 TD) and Lucky Sutton (473 yards, 5 TD) have combined for 1,086 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.
- Sutton entered 2026 on three preseason NFCAA watch lists, including the Maxwell Award (college player of the year), Walter Camp Player of the Year and the Doak Walker Award, but missed 3 ½ games because of an injury. Since returning on Oct. 17 vs. Fresno State, Sutton has 323 yards and two touchdowns on 58 attempts (5.6 avg.) over the three games.
- For his career, Sutton has rushed for 1,970 yards and 17 touchdowns on 394 attempts (5.0 avg.). Sutton is ranked 16th all-time at SDSU in rushing yards and tied for 15th in rushing touchdowns.
- A year after being just one of eight schools to start the same starting five on the offensive line in every regular season game (also Duke, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Old Dominion and Texas Tech), the Aztecs have already started five different offensive lines in nine games this year for various reasons. Only four schools - Arizona State, Oregon, Hawai’i and Fresno State - have started more different offensive line combinations than SDSU’s five this year.
- Jayden Denegal was 12-7 as the team’s starting quarterback for his career, throwing for 899 yards and seven touchdowns, but missed the past two games with an injury. Redshirt freshman Stone Saunders is 1-1 as the team’s starter, and has completed 43 of 69 passes for 552 yards and two touchdowns in four appearances (two starts).
- SDSU has started six different wide receivers with Nathan Acevedo leading the way with 23 catches (for 246 yards and two touchdowns), while Jaylon Hawkins has 21 receptions for team highs of 357 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
- Hawkins has also been electric in the kick return game with three touchdowns and a 32.8 average. Hawkins’ three kickoff return touchdowns this year are already tied with Rashaad Penny (2025) for the most in San Diego State single-season history and are the most in a season in FBS play since Kentucky’s Barion Brown had three in 2023, and match the most in FBS play since Marcus Green (Louisiana-Monroe) and Tony Pollard (Memphis) each had four in the 2017 season.
- With the three receiving touchdowns, Hawkins has scored a touchdown on six of the 41 times he has touched the ball this season, averaging 24.7 yards per touch.
- SDSU only returned one starter from a defense that posted an FBS-leading three shutouts a year ago in DT Malachi Finau (note that Tano Letuli started six games last season, but Owen Chambliss (13 starts) and Mister Williams (8 starts) are listed as the starters since they had the most at the linebacker position in the 5-2-3 defense). The one returning starter is tied for the seventh fewest in the country on defense with only Colorado, Iowa State, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Washington State returning zero defensive starters.
- Linebacker Sione Hala leads the team with 91 tackles, which are tied for the sixth most in the country, while Letuli, the first three-time Aztec captain since current Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was a four-time captain from 2004-07, is second with 76 stops.
- SDSU’s defense has been on the field for 696 snaps, easily the most among the teams who have played nine games (No. 2 is Auburn at 678). Only San Jose State, James Madison and Old Dominion have played more defense snaps (711 each), but have each played 10 games.
- San Diego State went 1-3 in its non-conference play, facing a difficult schedule. After beating Portland State, 53-20, with the most points in Snapdragon Stadium history in the opener on Sept. 5, San Diego State fell to UCLA, 28-10, at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 12. The Aztecs held the Bruins scoreless in the first half, the first non-conference opponent to do that at the Rose Bowl since Tennessee on Sept. 9, 1989. UCLA, which at 9-0 is ranked fourth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, finished with 365 yards and 28 points vs. SDSU. In their other eight games this season, the Bruins are averaging 440.3 points and 34.3 points per game.
- San Diego State then returned to Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 19 and saw its seven-game home winning streak snapped in a 26-13 loss to James Madison. Playing without three offensive starters in LG Kalan Ellis (now 35 career starts), WR Donovan Brown (now 21 career starts) and RB Lucky Sutton (now 19 career starts), the Aztecs struggled out of the gate with two turnovers in the first half and allowing the Dukes to score on their first three possessions. After trailing, 19-0, at the half where it was outgained, 281-163, SDSU regrouped in the second half, outgaining JMU, 238-136, before eventually falling, 26-13. James Madison is 8-2 this season, has won 20 of its last 24 games (20-4) and made the College Football Playoff in 2025.
- San Diego State then made the trip to the Eastern Time Zone to Toledo, Ohio, falling to the Rockets, 41-16. Toledo, which has the 17th-best overall winning percentage in FBS play since 2015 at .664 (97-49) and only trailing Boise State (.735), Memphis (.689) and Appalachian State (.682) among the non-Power 4 schools, extended its home winning streak to nine games (average winning margin of 34.2 points). It was tied for the 10th-longest active home winning streak in the country after the win. The Rockets are now 7-2.
- The Aztecs’ three FBS non-conference opponents have combined to go 24-4 (.857), including a 21-4 (.840) record in games not involving SDSU.
- Overall, San Diego State has had 36 different players earn starts through eight games for various reasons, including 21 on offense and 15 on defense.