Game Preview: SDSU Aztecs vs. Texas State Bobcats
Credit: Don De Mars/EVT Sports
Game Details
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Time: 7:30 pm PT
Channel: CW
Betting Line: TXST -8.5, O/U 57.5 (FanDuel)
Location: Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, CA)
Records: SDSU 1-3 (0-0), TXST 2-2 (0-0)
Series: N/A (First Meeting)
San Diego State and Texas State kick off their first Pac-12 Conference schedule on Saturday night.
“As we move forward, we have all of our Pac-12 goals in front of us,” said SDSU head coach Sean Lewis at his weekly Monday press conference. “There’s been a lot of great lessons that we’ve learned. The adversity and the resistance that we have felt has made us stronger, has made us better, and we’ll continue to pull upon those lessons that we’ve learned in the first month of the season as we go into Pac-12 play.”
The Aztecs made national news on Wednesday night when the first Pac-12 Availability Report listed 32 players as either probable, questionable, doubtful or out. This coincided with the school releasing that 14 cases of mumps had been diagnosed within an athletic team on campus. Lewis referred to some players being out “for other things and I am not going to comment any further about all that out of respect for those kids’ privacy.”
As the Availability Reports are updated throughout the days leading up to the game, a clearer picture will present whether additional cases will heavily impact the depth of the team come Saturday night.
The Bobcats roll into Snapdragon Stadium on a two-game winning streak. After dropping their opening game to Texas (59-7) and losing a close battle to intrastate rivals UTSA (31-26), wins against North Texas (49-35) and FCS Incarnate Word (63-10) got the Bobcats back on track. In his fourth year as head coach, GJ Kinne is looking to take the Bobcats to a fourth consecutive bowl game.
When SDSU has the ball
The biggest news heading into the week for SDSU’s offense was whether Jayden Denegal would stay the starting QB or if redshirt freshman Draiden Trudeau would get a shot. Lewis did not appear to be a coach who was pondering such a decision when asked about the position on Monday.
Denegal has led an offense that has scored a total of three points in their last three first halves. He has completed only 56.1% of his passes for less than 600 yards through four games. His five touchdown passes match his five interceptions.
The second biggest questions around the offense were the health of running backs Lucky Sutton and Javion Kinnard. Sutton missed the game against James Madison, returned against Toledo but reinjured his ankle. Kinnard injured his knee in the first half against Toledo. Neither returned to the game after hobbling off the field. Sutton will be out this week while Kinnard is listed as doubtful as of Thursday night.
With Christian Washington no longer on the roster, the two remaining backs are redshirt freshman Jordin Thomas (11 car, 54 yds, 1 TD) and true freshman Josiah Lucas (13 car, 48 yds). Thomas fumbled in the second half last week and was replaced by Lucas for the remainder of the game. Safety Max Garrison spent portions of spring camp at running back after starring at the position in high school and could make the move in-season.
The tight end room might be in a worse position come Saturday than the running backs. All seven players on the roster are listed as either out, doubtful, or questionable as of Thursday night. The top three on the depth chart – Jackson Ford (doubtful), Ryan Wolfer (questionable), Kime Fangupo (questionable) – could miss the game and force Lewis to heavily alter the game plan.
The Bobcats defense has struggled mightily this season. They are the second-worst in total defense and worst in pass defense in all of FBS. If there was a game for Denegal and the passing game to turn things around, it would be this matchup.
New defensive coordinator Will Windham is very familiar with Lewis, having coached on the defensive side under him at Kent State (LB and S coach).
“Just knowing Coach Windham’s personality, he’s going to have those boys running to the ball and playing with their hair on fire,” said Lewis. “They play with passion. They play with a level of physicality and a competitive fire that jumps off the tape.”
Terrence Cooks II leads the Bobcats defense with 3.5 tackles for loss and is the highest-graded LB in the Pac-12 so far (52nd nationally). J.P. Deeter is the highest-graded DT in the Pac-12 (43rd nationally). Four different players have an interception. One of them, Trez Moore, also has five pass breakups.
When TXST has the ball
While the Bobcats’ defensive rankings are poor, their offense is the opposite. Their 523.25 ypg are 7th in FBS, while their 281.25 rushing ypg are 6th. They are a very dangerous and explosive team led by QB Brad Jackson (65/93, 854 yds, 10 TD, 3 INT).
RB Torrance Burgess, Jr. leads the team with 537 rushing yards (1 TD), and Chris Dawn, Jr. (19 rec, 247 yds, 4 TD) is their leading receiver. RB Davian Jackson leads the team with 7 total TDs (5 rush, 2 rec).
The Aztecs’ defense has been steadily declining through their first four games, and their last performance against Toledo exposed holes in their secondary. They are 119th, 112th, and 110th in total defense, rushing defense, and passing defense in FBS.
They only record 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss per game. If they are going to have success against the Bobcats’ explosive offense, these stats will need to be improved upon on Saturday.
The LB duo of Sione Hala (39) and Tano Letuli (32) continue to lead the team in tackles. No player has more than two tackles for loss this season.
Avid sports fan and historian of basketball, baseball, football and soccer. UC San Diego and San Diego State alumni living in America’s Finest City. Diverse team following across multiple sports leagues, but Aztecs come first in college athletics.