POLL ALERT: SDSU Enters AP Top 25 at No. 25

#25 SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (4-0)

During a bye week and with an impressive 4-0 start to the year, The Aztecs of San Diego State are now ranked No. 25 (111 votes) in this weeks Associated Press Top 25 College Football Poll. SDSU is at No. 27 on the Coach’s Poll.

The last time SDSU football got enough votes for a national ranking was in 2019, when the Aztecs hit No. 24. They have reached the polls 11 times since 2016 and before that, the last time SDSU made the ranking list was in 1986, coming in at No. 25.

The best ranking the SDSU football program has ever achieved was in back-to-back years in 1966-67, when the Aztecs were the No. 1 team in the nation.

With a #25 stamp coming into conference play, the Aztecs will have something extra to play for. This is the programs second 4-0 start in the last 40 seasons, looking to go 5-0 for the first time since 2017.

The Aztecs are notoriously great against non-conference opponents, going undefeated again this year extending their non-conference game win streak to 14 games. Head Coach Brady Hoke has this years Aztec team going in the right direction for another Mountain West Conference Championship. It will be nice to have momentum heading into conference matchups in the next coming weeks.

SEASON SO FAR

The San Diego State offense has been on an absolute tear all season, thanks to the running game. Senior running back Greg Bell leads the pack with 409 yards on 73 attempts and 4 touchdowns. Bell has rushed for over 100 yards in 3 of 4 games this season and he his ranked second in total yards in the Mountain West.

Three other Senior running backs Jordan Byrd, Chance Bell and Kaegun Williams have all rushed for over 100 yards on the season. Byrd has 3 touchdowns with 142 yards, C. Bell with a touchdown on 138 yards and Williams with a touchdown on 128 yards.

Jordan Byrd is also a member of the special teams as the kick and punt returner. He has one kick off returned for a 100-yard touchdown, which came against Utah in Week 3.

SDSU quarterbacks have also been efficient this year, although the spotlight has been on the run game. Senior QB Jordon Brookshire started the first two games and accumulated 259 yards on 16/33 passing, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Brookshire has only completed 16 passes on the year, but has 2 rushing touchdowns on 37 yards.

Senior QB Lucas Johnson has started the other two games this year as Brookshire had a minor foot injury. He has completed 26 passes on 45 attempts for 193 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Johnson has scrambled 11 times for 96 yards as well. Both QB’s have been rather similar all year, giving Head Coach Brady Hoke the option to start either quarterback and essentially get the same result.

As for the defense, the Aztecs have the top rated rushing defense in the Mountain West and are #2 in the country. They have allowed just 184 yards on the ground with zero touchdowns. They have an average of 46 yards allowed per game and less than 2 yards per carry. Bottom line, you don’t want to run against the Aztecs - that has been established and it should be known around the nation that this defense is a brick wall.

The Aztec defense has also made statements on third down all year, allowing just a 28% success rate on third down. On 4th down, the Aztecs have blocked two punts, one of them being returned for a touchdown. They also rank third in interceptions in the Mountain West with 6.

UP NEXT FOR AZTECS

The 4-0 Aztecs will take on the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday, Oct. 9. Kick off is at 6pm PT. The game will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA.

The last time these two teams faced was on Nov. 3rd, 2018, as the Aztecs won 31-23. SDSU has won the last 7 meetings in a row dating back to 2009.