The Aztecs look to finish with a flourish in the season finale against Air Force – San Diego Union-Tribune

On By Littum

San Diego State coach Sean Lewis says every contest in a 12-game regular season is valuable.

That’s because after hundreds of practices and meets and endless hours of preparation, it all boils down to just a dozen times to test yourself on the field.

SDSU (3-8, 2-4 Mountain West) its final test of 2024 needs a win against Air Force (4-7, 2-4) to end a five-game losing streak and match last year’s win total.

A loss would leave the Aztecs with their worst record since a 2-10 finish in 2008.

“A great opportunity here to end this season the right way, send our seniors off the right way,” Lewis said, adding, “We’ve got to do a great job handling the adversity we’re in right now and continue to build the character of our team, of ourselves, of our identity, and finish this thing the right way.”

The Aztecs are 3 1/2-point underdogs entering the game at Snapdragon Stadium. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. for a game televised on Fox Sports 1.

Here are five things to watch:

1. The Aztecs’ opening drive

SDSU has another opportunity to get off to an “AztecFAST” start after failing to score on its opening possession in all 11 games this season.

Eight drives ended in punts, two ended in downs and one was stopped by an interception. Average drive: five plays, 16 yards.

The Aztecs came very, very close to a score last week at Utah State, advancing to the Aggies’ 1-yard line before losing three yards on a fourth-down screen pass.

It’s been at least 25 years since SDSU went an entire season without scoring on its first possession.

2. To tackle the triple possibility

Air Force annually ranks among the nation’s rushing leaders with a triple-option action that gives opponents fits because it provides such a contrast to most offenses it faces week to week.

The Falcons rush for 213.3 yards a game, which is 12th in the nation. It’s low for them. It’s also a bit misleading. Air Force struggled early as new personnel acclimated to the offense. Most notable was quarterback Quentin Hayes, who didn’t start until midseason.

The Falcons rushed 67 times for 318 yards (they were 0-for-3 passing) in last week’s win over Nevada. It marked the team’s third win in a row. A win over Fresno State included 80 carries for 358 yards and the win over Oregon State included 66 carries for 270 yards.

“It’s obviously something you don’t see every week,” SDSU defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt said after a midweek practice. “It’s really important that we do a really good job of trying to look like what it’s going to look like on Saturday night as much as we can.

“That’s the thing, we’ve got to find ourselves quickly. Every time we’ve played selection teams, the first drive is a lot quicker than it is during the week and it takes a bit of seeing what they need to see every play and the speed of the game.”

Schmidt said the Keys are “really disciplined with our eyes, they’re good tacklers and every single play we do our job.”

One more note: Air Force used the pass as an element of surprise against the Beavers, with Hayes going 5-for-5 for 110 yards. That shouldn’t be a surprise to SDSU. The Aztecs were torched for 53- and 54-yard touchdown passes by the Falcons in last year’s 49-10 loss.

3. Penalties

As would be expected from a service academy program, Air Force is among the most disciplined teams in the nation with just 3.3 penalties per game. This average ranks second in the nation for fewest penalties; Iowa, with 3.2 per battle, is best.

On the other hand, SDSU is tied with New Mexico for the most penalties in the nation with an average of 9.4 per. match. The Aztecs were whistled for 13 penalties (one was tied for a total of 12) last week, most of them along the offensive line.

4. Last chance

With 11 games in the books, the Aztecs have another chance for a complete performance.

They really haven’t put together four good quarters in a game this season.

The offense has been limited to one touchdown or less in the first half of four games and one touchdown or less in the second half of five games while producing 21.5 points a game (112th).

The defense is allowing 332.6 yards per game, which is 114th in the nation. It was able to keep most of the scoring manageable — except for the 56 points (including an interception returned for a TD) scored by Boise State.

That was before it allowed 41 points in back-to-back road losses to UNLV and Utah State, which has pushed points allowed to 25.5 per game (99th).

What does Lewis want to see the Aztecs do with this last option?

“I want us to do the simple things better,” Lewis said. “I want us to communicate as well as we have. I want us to play with the best fundamentals that we have. I want us to play with the most passion, the most fight that we has all year round.

“We’re doing the simple things better, and I think the results are going to be better.”

5. So long, seniors

The Aztecs will honor 24 seniors before the game, including seven players who have been with the program their entire college careers — running backs Jaylon Armstead and Nick Gardinera, cornerbacks Arnold Escano and Joshua Goynes, defensive lineman Keion Mitchell, wide receiver Mekhi Shaw and longsnapper Ryan Wintermeyer.

Shaw was a walk-on from Scripps Ranch High School who earned a scholarship midway through his career. He is among 12 starters in the group, along with defensive tackle Tupu Alualu, running back Marquez Cooper, tight end Mikey Harrison, defensive end Marlem Louis, safety Deshawn McCuin, linebacker Kyle Moretti, cornerback Bryce Phillips, punter Tyler Pastula, wide receiver Ja ‘Shaun Poke, offensive lineman Nate Williams and tight end Jude Wolfe.

Last week, Cooper became one of 23 players to rush for more than 5,000 career yards. He enters the game with 5,036 yards and could move up to 18th all-time if he matches his 107-yard season average against the Falcons.

The other seniors being honored are wide receiver Nate Bennett, safeties JD Coffey II and William Nimmo, kicker Nick Lopez, linebacker Cody Moon and offensive lineman Myles Murao.

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