Kai Delgado-Sorensen · San Diego State Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Gnarly. Hey, dudes and dudettes, I'm Kai Delgado-Sorensen. I'm out in the water at Ocean Beach most mornings before the sun's all the way up, and I'm at every Aztecs game when it goes down. I travel with this team and I live with this team, and every week I'll bring you the players, the matchups, the history and the storylines. Fair warning: I rate defenses by swell size. A soft defense is ankle-high mush. A great one is a ten-foot wall, totally gnarly. Don't let the surfer drawl fool you, though. I've watched every snap this season, some of them twice, with a notebook full of salt stains. When we win, I yell "Gnarly!" and mime catching a wave. When we lose, it's "Wipeout, dude," and I paddle right back out.
The School in 60 Seconds
The Aztecs represent San Diego State University and began playing football in 1921. We went to our first bowl game in 1948 and won our first major bowl in 1969. The Aztecs have won 21 conference championships and are 10-10 all-time in bowl games. Now we play in the Pac-12, at Snapdragon Stadium, which opened in 2022 and seats 35,000. The last five seasons had some big waves and some flat days: 12-2 in 2021, 7-6, 4-8, 3-9 and then a 9-4 bounce back last year.
The Coach and the Scheme
Sean Lewis is the head coach; CFBD dates his hire to Nov. 29, 2023. Real talk, dudes: the offense has been flat water this year. We average 292.9 yards (133rd in FBS) and 23.3 points (101st). The passing game is 148.4 yards a game (132nd), and we convert 29.3% of third downs (135th). Our run game, 144.4 a game, is 87th. The defense has given up 449 yards a game (133rd) and 33.3 points (127th). But here's the thing: the pass rush is real. We have 16 sacks, and linebacker Djibril Rahman has 4. And the Aztecs have found ways to win close ones: 31-29 over Texas State and 26-23 over Fresno State.
Players to Know
QB Jayden Denegal: 83 of 151, about 900 yards (ESPN says 899, AP says 896), 7 TD, 5 INT. Against Fresno he was efficient, 7 of 10 for 112 and a score.
RB Javion Kinnard: 432 yards on 81 carries, 1 TD.
RB Lucky Sutton: 110 rushing yards on 18 carries against Fresno State. That's a set wave, dude.
WR Nathan Acevedo: 17 catches, 181 yards, 2 TD. WR Jaylon Hawkins: six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown against Fresno.
LB Sione Hala: team-high 67 tackles. LB Djibril Rahman: 4 sacks. CB Mike Lindsay: 2 interceptions.
The Conference Picture
San Diego State is 3-4 and 2-1 in the Pac-12. We're 3-1 at home and 0-3 on the road. The season: a 53-20 win over Portland State, losses at UCLA 28-10, to James Madison 26-13 and at Toledo 41-16, a 31-29 win over Texas State, a rough 66-14 loss at Oregon State, and then a 26-23 win over Fresno State. After Fort Collins, we host Washington State on Oct. 31. Not doing table math, dude. But a winning league record is a nice place to be standing up on the board.
The road thing: we haven't won away from home yet. Every surfer knows a new break takes some figuring out. This is the one to figure out.
Why I love this team: it keeps paddling back out. After the Oregon State wipeout, these dudes came home and beat Fresno State by three. Sione Hala leads the team with 67 tackles and seems to be in on every play. That's a surfer who never gets out of the water.
This Week: San Diego State (3-4) at Colorado State (2-4)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 6:30 p.m. ET · Canvas Stadium, Fort Collins · The CW.
Last week: we beat Fresno State 26-23 on Oct. 17. Colorado State lost 66-27 at Texas State on Oct. 15.
Our offense vs. their defense: Colorado State gives up 530.3 yards a game (138th) and 274.3 rushing yards (138th). Opponents convert 43.7% of third downs against them (133rd). Dudes, that's knee-high mush. Kinnard and Sutton should be paddling in.
Their offense vs. our defense: this is a real swell. Colorado State scores 35.7 points (29th) and throws for 274.7 yards a game (26th). Quarterback K'saan Farrar threw for 282 yards last week. And the Rams have a plus-8 turnover margin, 6th in FBS, while we're minus-2. Our 131st-ranked pass defense has to show up.
Series: I couldn't find an all-time series record in a free source.
Availability: no injury or availability report found for either team as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Our run game against the 138th-ranked run defense. (2) Slowing Farrar and receiver Reginald Vick Jr. (3) Holding onto the ball against a team that takes it away.
To Ansel Rimrock, Colorado State's insider: thin air? Brah, I hold my breath under a six-foot set every morning. We'll be fine. Respect, though.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
Back in San Diego? Eureka! on La Jolla Village Drive makes a solid burger after a dawn patrol.
My call: San Diego State Aztecs 32, Colorado State Rams 31.