Sitting in sole possession of first place in the Mountain West, San Diego State football (8-2, 5-1 MW) hosted the San Jose State Spartans (3-7, 2-4 MW) in the final regular-season home game of the year.
The Aztecs had a bounce-back win over Boise State last Saturday, 17-7, to take first place in the Mountain West, where the Aztecs now control their own destiny to clinch a spot in the conference championship game.
San Jose State comes to the Mesa on a two-game losing streak and a recent 55-10 loss on the road vs. Nevada. Despite the poor record, the Spartans have the highest-ranked passing offense in the Mountain West, averaging 313.8 yards per game through the air.
“Throw the record out, don’t get caught in the trap of that,” head coach Sean Lewis said in a press conference on Monday. “[There’s] a really good opponent in San Jose State. A really dangerous team, with a really dynamic offense and potent passing attack.”
Quarterback Walker Eget ranks third in the country in passing yards with 3,015 through 10 games, along with 17 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
“He’s really, really accurate, he knows the system well, he’s got good touch and ball velocity,” Lewis said. “They are going to stress you a lot of different ways offensively.”
The San Diego State secondary faces one of its most challenging opposing wide receiver groups to date. San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero leads all of the Football Bowl Subdivision in receiving yards with 1,155 and is tied for third with 10 touchdowns. Junior Kyri Shoels has totaled 727 yards ranking fourth in the Mountain West and two touchdown receptions for San Jose State this year.
“They have a great passing offense and some great receivers,” said SDSU senior cornerback Chris Johnson. “We’ll go about it just like we do every other week, the biggest focus on us is what we’re going to do to stop them.”
Johnson, one of the top-ranked cornerback prospects in college football, has held his own against top receivers this season. Totaling seven pass deflections, three interceptions — two of which he returned for touchdowns — and 45 total tackles this year. Saturday’s game will be Johnson’s final regular-season game at home as a member of the Aztecs in what has been a bittersweet four years.
“My whole career here has had some ups and downs, going from seven wins down to four, then three, but now we back up,” Johnson said. “Looking at myself four years ago as a freshman, I’ve changed as a player, as a man. I loved my time here, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
San Diego State has allowed 12.5 points per game this season, ranking fourth in the nation behind three teams ranked in the College Football Playoff top five rankings. SDSU has totaled 11 interceptions and 21 sacks, while holding opponents to 146 first downs this season, ranking sixth in the FBS.
Offensively, San Diego State will continue to rely on its dominant running game, led by junior running back Lucky Sutton. He was recently named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the best running back in college football.
“I’ve had that as a goal to be the best running back in the nation, to be awarded around all those great running backs is a great feeling,” Sutton said. “I give all the praise to my team and the coaches and everybody that helped me get to this point.”
Sutton has rushed for 1,048 yards and eight touchdowns this season, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He ranks seventh in the country in rushing yards while leading the Mountain West.
Fellow running backs Christian Washington and Byron Cardwell Jr. have played big roles this season behind Sutton. They are in a prime position to get more opportunities going forward after an injury to top wide receiver Jordan Napier against Boise State.
Napier left last Saturday’s game with a leg injury and is listed as questionable to play against San Jose State. Alongside Napier, wide receiver Jacob Bostick also remains questionable for Saturday.
“I have great confidence in all of our skill players, whether it’s the wide receiver group or the growth and development of the tight ends, it’s the running backs that continue to develop,” Lewis said. “There’s a lot of ways you can play this game; we’ll uncover every single stone that there is and put the best people out there to stress San Jose State.”
