The cluster of mumps cases that the San Diego State football team hoped was behind it remains an issue coming into Saturday\u2019s game at Toledo.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 18, SDSU confirmed three cases of the mumps, with another two probable cases. All five cases were \u201cconnected and within\u201d an unnamed Aztecs team, said Dr. Tanushree Ghosh, SDSU\u2019s Student Health Services medical director. Sources have since confirmed that the team involved was the Aztecs football team.<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s school announcement noted that \u201cimportantly, the student-athletes are no longer considered contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week, however, a source indicated there were a couple more cases confirmed.<\/p>\n
SDSU has not released additional information. When asked for a comment on the latest cases, the university provided the following statement:<\/p>\n
\u201cTo protect student privacy and comply with applicable Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements, the university cannot provide additional information that could be used to identify the students. This includes confirming the athletic team in which the cases were confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mumps is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads from close contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC notes that the virus is primarily spread through heavy respiratory droplets that travel 3 feet or less. Mumps immunization is among a dozen vaccinations required for SDSU enrollment. It is still possible to contract mumps even when vaccinated, though vaccinations are 80% to 90% effective.<\/p>\n
Carriers can be contagious before symptoms present, and a negative test for mumps does not rule out infection. Classic symptoms are puffy cheeks and a tender, swollen jaw from infected salivary glands. The condition normally resolves in one to two weeks.<\/p>\n
This is the third time over the past decade the Aztecs football team has been impacted by a contagious disease. SDSU had 20 players miss the 2021 Mountain West championship game against Utah State due to COVID-19. In 2017, a chickenpox outbreak affected nearly a dozen players. That occurred during training camp and cleared before the season began.<\/p>\n
SDSU (1-2) is a 2 1\/2-point underdog against Toledo (2-1). Kickoff is 9 a.m. PDT at the Glass Bowl (CBS Sports Network).<\/p>\n
Here are five things to watch:<\/p>\n
1. Who\u2019s missing?<\/p>\n
SDSU was missing three players from the starting lineup last week against James Madison \u2014 running back Lucky Sutton, left guard Kalan Ellis and wide receiver Donovan Brown.<\/p>\n
Sutton has a lower-body injury. He tested it on the sideline before the James Madison game, but was deemed unfit to play against the Dukes. Sutton is expected to be out again against Toledo.<\/p>\n
The absence of Ellis and Brown was unexplained. They were not seen on the sideline last week, but are expected to return Saturday.<\/p>\n
If Ellis can\u2019t go, then Evan Lawrence will start at left guard for the second straight week. The Aztecs could be without starting right guard Michael Levelle Watkins, who was injured last week and replaced by Charlton Luniewski. Watkins wore a brace on his left knee at practice this week.<\/p>\n
2. SDSU running game<\/p>\n
Sophomore transfer Javion Kinnard will start for Sutton for the second straight week.<\/p>\n
Kinnard made a favorable impression against James Madison, rushing 33 times for 181 yards and catching four passes for an additional 70 yards. The 251 total yards was the most by an SDSU player since Rashaad Penny totaled 283 yards against Army in the 2017 Armed Forces Bowl.<\/p>\n
SDSU coach Sean Lewis said there is a chance Sutton plays against the Rockets, putting the percentage \u201chigher than last week.\u201d Since Sutton didn\u2019t play last week, that meant higher than zero.<\/p>\n
Kinnard should again handle the majority of the workload, although don\u2019t expect him to get 33 carries again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was necessary on that night,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if over the long haul that\u2019s how we need to skin the cat.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Kinnard needs a breather, redshirt freshman Jordin Thomas and true freshman Josiah Lucas are the candidates to get carries.<\/p>\n
Senior Christian Washington, who had two carries for 12 yards in three games, left the team this week. The San Diego native and Helix High School graduate joined the Aztecs in 2025 after stints at New Mexico and Coastal Carolina.<\/p>\n
3. Toledo passing game<\/p>\n
Lewis was complimentary of Toledo quarterback John Alan Richter (63-for-96 passing, 877 yards, 9 TDs\/INT) and a receiving corps led by Adjatay Dabbs (16 catches, 223 yards, 3 TDs), Rico Bond (8-169, TD), Bryson Hammer (9-153) and Terrell Crosby Jr. (9-117). They have helped the Rockets to 20 explosive plays (20 yards or more) in three games.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir wide receivers in their pass game are as explosive as we\u2019ve seen,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThey have made more explosive plays than what UCLA did, and I think their quarterback, he may not be as talented as (Bruins QB) Nico (Iamaleava), but he operates and processes and plays quarterback better than Nico. I think they\u2019re the best throw game outfit that we have seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
4. Edge, Toledo<\/p>\n
Defensive end Andrew Zock had 11 1\/2 sacks among 20 tackles and a school-record 23 quarterback hurries last season at Mercer, then followed coach Mike Jacobs to Toledo.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the FCS National Defensive Player of the Year, so he\u2019s really good,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cHe turned down P4 money to go with his head coach there. He\u2019s not quite (former SDSU edge) Trey White, but he\u2019s similar build, 6-3, 250 pounds, can bend an edge, physical, high motor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expect Zock to provide the biggest test yet for SDSU tackles Joe Borjon and Dennis Jones.<\/p>\n
5. Special teams<\/p>\n
Hammer, who came to Toledo as a walk-on, is a two-time All-MAC specialist. He led the conference last season with 362 punt return yards, ranking 15th in the nation with a 12.1-yard average.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir punt returner is one of the best in the country, so we have to limit him,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n
Toledo kicker Reice Griffith was another key transfer from Mercer, where he made 40 of 52 field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards. Griffith is 0-for-1 this season on field goals.<\/p>\n
SDSU\u2019s most notable player on special teams is punter Tashi Dorje, whose 47.9 yards-per-punt average ranks sixth in the nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cluster of mumps cases that the San Diego State football team hoped was behind it remains an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1327,181,74,76,75,305,127],"class_list":["post-476317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-college-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-sdsu-aztecs","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}