Aztecs’ game Friday night against New Mexico is shaping up to be a shootout – San Diego Union-Tribune

On By Littum

San Diego State is coming off its lopsided loss of the season.

Falling 56-24 on now-No. 12 Boise State had SDSU’s coaching staff and players review and reflect on what happened before looking ahead to this week’s Mountain West game against New Mexico.

“Sometimes part of that learning process, growing and mastering skills and building the culture, can be pretty messy,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said, “and sometimes that means getting hit in the face and taking a good old American sucker.”

Lewis believes that “at times it will stimulate growth and the guys will respond the right way through it all.”

The answer is at hand as SDSU (3-5, 2-1 MW) takes the field against New Mexico (3-6, 2-3). The Aztecs are 2 1/2-point favorites 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. Potential shootout

New Mexico ranks 26th in the nation in scoring at 34.8 points a game. The Lobos have scored more than 30 points six times. That includes 50 points or more during a three-game winning streak against New Mexico State, Air Force and Utah State.

SDSU hasn’t scored at least 30 points since a season-opening 45-14 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. If ever there was a battle for the “AztecFAST” offense to light up the scoreboard, this is it.

Because as good as New Mexico’s offense has been, the Lobos’ defense has been as bad – and worse. The Lobos are allowing 40.8 points a game (131st in the nation) and 492.3 yards of total offense (130th).

“It definitely has the potential to be (a shootout) with the explosive play on both sides of the ball,” Lewis said. “They’ve been in quite a bit as they’ve been through, but as things settle, each game and each game is something unique.”

Lewis said he’s been doing this long enough to know that you can anticipate and prepare all you want, only to see things unfold in unexpected ways.

“When the lights come on and things start to settle in front of you,” Lewis said, “the pieces on the chessboard start moving around, you’ve got to do a good job of managing the situation you’re in. . “

2. Brake damper

The explosiveness of New Mexico’s offense is directly linked to 5-foot-10 sophomore quarterback Devon Dampier.

The dual-threat Phoenix native is coming off a game against Wyoming in which he passed for a touchdown and rushed for three others. Dampier’s third rushing TD went 85 yards and was the second-longest run from scrimmage in school history. He gained 207 yards on 12 carries against the Cowboys.

For the season, Dampier has rushed for 13 touchdowns and passed for 10 TDs (with 12 interceptions).

“It’s amazing on some of these long runs where he’s able to keep full speed, or even get full speed while changing direction,” Lewis said. “It’s almost like he’s rolling down a water slide at times, right? …

“You have to do a great job of maintaining where he wants to be and keeping a cage around him. Otherwise, if he catches a crease, he’s dynamic.”

New Mexico has other standouts.

Running back Eli Sanders, the team’s second-leading rusher, had 205 yards on 17 carries against Wyoming. That made New Mexico just the ninth school in NCAA history to have a pair of 200-yard rushers in the same game.

Wide receivers Luke Wysong (50 catches, 663 yards, TD) and Ryan Davis (41 catches, 587 yards, 2 TDs) have combined for more receptions than anyone else on the roster.

Remarkable numbers, but stopping no. 4 – Dampier – will be prioritized.

3. SDSU linebackers

Linebacker is one of the deepest positions on the Aztecs’ roster, but that depth has been tested in recent weeks.

Starting linebackers Tano Letuli and Owen Chambliss both suffered right hand injuries last month that required surgery and heavy padding to return to the field.

Letuli hasn’t missed a beat with 10 tackles in back-to-back games. Chambliss missed last week’s game at Boise State and didn’t practice the first two days of this week, so his participation against the Lobos is in doubt.

The backups on Chambliss’ weak side are senior Cody Moon and Brady Anderson, both of whom have had leg injuries.

Moon was limited to non-contact drills Monday, but was back at it again Tuesday. He has added incentive to suit up against New Mexico, having played three seasons for the Lobos — he was their leading tackler in 2022 — before transferring to SDSU last year.

4. Snapdragon Turf

SDSU’s home game against Washington State two weeks ago was notable for all the sand kicked up on each play.

That’s when talks about field conditions at Snapdragon Stadium took root. A few days later, that talk picked up steam when the San Diego Wave FC match was moved to Louisville.

Lewis played things down on Monday, saying: “I have no concerns at all safety-wise. We’ve had a good chat about where it’s at.”

SDSU senior cornerback Bryce Phillips is literally expecting a home field advantage.

“It has to be an advantage for us at this point,” Phillips said. “We know what we’re getting into. We know what to do. If you plant one foot off, you know it’s going to be slippery, so you have to plant the (correct) foot off.

“As an offense, they won’t be ready for it.”

One would hope that two weeks to be rested and ready for the field should be more than enough for conditions to improve.

5. What a win means

Both teams need three wins to reach bowl eligibility and signal progress with their programs.

SDSU was bowl eligible 13 straight seasons before going 4-8 last year in Brady Hokes last year.

The Aztecs are expected to be double-digit underdogs next week at UNLV. They should be favored over Utah State and Air Force.

That means SDSU must beat New Mexico or the Aztecs will be required to run the table if they are going to bowl.

New Mexico has already played nine games, so the Lobos need to run the table to reach six wins. Yours is a bigger task. They face Washington State and Hawaii to close out the season.

The Lobos have been bowl eligible just four times over the past 20 years, the last time in 2016. Eight straight losing seasons followed.

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