![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SUT-L-azfoot-0921-040.jpg\")
San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson has returned two interceptions for touchdowns this season. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)\nThe defense<\/p>\n
Two weeks and two days into the season, after San Diego State suffered an embarrassing 36-13 loss at Washington State, Aztecs coach Sean Lewis summed it up this way: \u201cA good team that had a bad game.\u201d<\/p>\n
A coach trying to put a positive spin on a negative outcome? Possibly.<\/p>\n
But the four straight victories since that night say otherwise. Maybe Lewis wasn\u2019t blowing smoke but telling the truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a good spot,\u201d Lewis said after practice this week. \u201cIt\u2019s very much a work in progress. The thing that I\u2019ve been pleased with is we take strides each week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside expectations were not high for the Aztecs coming into the season. Las Vegas oddsmakers listed the over\/under for victories at 4 1\/2. They\u2019ve already surpassed that and are now just one win away from bowl eligibility.<\/p>\n
SDSU (5-1, 2-0 MW) was picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West in a preseason media poll. The Aztecs are currently tied for first with UNLV and Boise State. The Aztecs, who return Oct. 25 at Fresno State, could be favored in five of their six remaining games. Expect them to be underdogs only against Boise State.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen how this plays out over the next six games. As well as SDSU has played, Lewis said \u201cthere\u2019s still so many opportunities and base fundamentals that we\u2019re not doing consistently well enough, at a high enough level, and where, in all three phases, all 11 guys are executing together play after play after play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at what the Aztecs have done to position themselves for a successful second half of the season:<\/p>\n
San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson has returned two interceptions for touchdowns this season. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nThe defense<\/p>\n
SDSU returned virtually the entire starting lineup from an average-at-best defense that this season has become the best in the conference and among the best in the nation.<\/p>\n
The Aztecs are tied for sixth in the country in scoring defense (12.2 ppg), eighth in third-down conversion rate (.258) and tied for 11th in red-zone defense (.714).<\/p>\n
Their three defensive touchdowns \u2014 on two interceptions by Chris Johnson and a fumble return by Dwayne McDougle \u2014 are tied for third in the nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve really been pleased with is their growth in how resilient they are,\u201d defensive coordinator Rob Aurich said. \u201cWhen we gave up a first down last year, I thought it was more of a panic situation. Now, we just kind of reset into the moment and execute the call.\u201d<\/p>\n
Standouts have emerged at all levels, led by edge Trey White up front, linebacker Owen Chambliss in the middle (along with currently injured Tano Letuli) and cornerback Johnson on the back end.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like the interior defensive linemen are kind of the unsung heroes of the unit,\u201d said Lewis, noting the play of Sam Benjamin, Krishna Clay, Malachi Finau and Amari Comier, among others. \u201cThey\u2019ve done a really good job. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys inside have done a good job of growing each week. A lot of other guys are making the play, but they\u2019re making the play because of what those interior linemen are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Statistical leaders: LB Owen Chambliss (52 tackles, 2 sacks); CB Chris Johnson (32 tackles, 3 INT, 6 PBU); LB Tano Letuli (28 tackles); Edge Trey White (26 tackles, 6 TFL, 4 sacks, 9 QB hurries); S Dalesean Staley (27 tackles, 4 PBU); CB Bryce Phillips (20 tackles, 5 PBU).<\/p>\n
Grade: A.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SUT-L-azfoot-100426.jpg\")
San Diego State running back Lucky Sutton is on pace for a 1,000-yard season. (Hayne Palmour IV \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nThe offense<\/p>\n
Not long after he was hired, Lewis said it would be about midway through the second season before the offense came together.<\/p>\n
That estimate seems pretty accurate based on a pair of high-scoring victories over Colorado State (45-24) and Nevada (44-10) the past two weeks. At the very least, offensive doubts from the Washington State loss and a 6-3 win at Northern Illinois have been replaced with reasons for optimism.<\/p>\n
Lewis said the Aztecs were just inches away from big plays before things clicked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intentionality and the focus in the practice reps, we were right there,\u201d he said. \u201cGuys did a good job of re-committing to that process and having more success and more execution in practice led to greater confidence, which led to greater production and execution within the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Aztecs also have done a better job, Lewis said, of \u201cmaximizing the opportunities within the explosive plays. We\u2019ve done a better job in the run game of straining and finishing, so now backs are getting through to the third level cleaner and generating explosive runs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior transfer quarterback Jayden Denegal has completed 77% of his passes and displayed solid decision-making in the four games since struggling at Washington State.<\/p>\n
Wide receiver Jordan Napier, who had a breakout freshman season, is establishing himself as one of the nation\u2019s best. Transfer wide receivers Donovan Brown and Jacob Bostick have provided other receiving options to prevent opponents from focusing on Napier.<\/p>\n
Junior running back Lucky Sutton leads a deep running backs room that has both balanced the offense and prevented opponents from pressuring Denegal.<\/p>\n
The success stems from an offensive line that has been outstanding, a year after it was penalty-prone, undermanned and overmatched.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest difference is we started the same lineup each and every game so far, so we\u2019ve had good fortune there,\u201d SDSU offensive line coach Mike Schmidt said.<\/p>\n
The O-line includes Christian Jones, Kalan Ellis, Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli, Bayo Kannike and Joe Borjon from tackle to tackle. Ellis, a junior transfer, is the only non-senior among them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re seeing constant improvement that we can go up there and play against any front that\u2019s lined up there against us,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cOne of the biggest improvements we\u2019ve made is eliminating the penalties. We haven\u2019t really had a presnap penalty all year. We\u2019ve been clean in that area and need to continue to stress that so it doesn\u2019t bite us in the ass down the stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cEliminating that, staying ahead of the chains, being balanced, has really given us a chance to dictate what the defense does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Statisical leaders: QB Jayden Denegal (83-for-126, 1,097 yards, 7 TDs\/2 INTs); RBs Lucky Sutton (105 carries, 531 yards, 6 TDs), Byron Cardwell (32-202, TD), Christian Washington (49-201, 2 TDs); WRs Jordan Napier (37 catches, 553 yards, 2 TDs); Donovan Brown (16-198, TD); Jacob Bostick (11-157, 3 TDs).<\/p>\n
Grade: B.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SUT-L-azfoot-0829-014.jpg\")
San Diego State kicker Gabe Plascencia has made 22 straight field goals. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nSpecial Teams<\/p>\n
SDSU features two of the nation\u2019s best in kicker Gabe Plascencia and punter Hunter Green.<\/p>\n
Plascencia is 10-for-10 on field goals, including a career-long 53-yarder, stretching his school and Mountain West record to 22 straight field goals. Green ranks 12th in the nation with a 46.6-yard punting average. He has nine punts of 50 or more yards, including three games with 60-yard punts, and has dropped 15 punts inside the 20-yard line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got a guy who can flip the field and kick it 60-plus yards, it\u2019s really cool to help you win the field-position game,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThen when you\u2019ve got a guy who\u2019s got the longest field-goal streak in the country and you can trot him out there from the 35-yard line and in, you feel good that you\u2019re going to get points.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a luxury to have those weapons to win the field position game and put points on the board in a day and age where the kicking game is not as consistent as it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis has made a point of putting the team\u2019s best athletes on special teams. It has been evident for downing punts and pressuring opposing punters. Most notable was last week, when Napier had a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown against Nevada.<\/p>\n
Grade: A<\/p>\n
Originally Published: October 16, 2025 at 6:50 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two weeks and two days into the season, after San Diego State suffered an embarrassing 36-13 loss at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1327,181,74,76,75,305,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-8965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-college-sports","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-san-diego","11":"tag-san-diego-headlines","12":"tag-san-diego-news","13":"tag-sdsu-aztecs","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8965","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=8965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}