GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, October 12
Location: War Memorial Stadium
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. MT (12:30 p.m. PT)
TV: CBS Sports Network
Aztecs Radio Network: San Diego Sports 760

After 34 days, the Red and Black won the season’s second victory.

A win against Hawai’i at Snapdragon Stadium to open Mountain West Conference play may be the confidence builder SDSU head coach Sean Lewis and his squad needed. Six of the next seven games are against Mountian West opponents, with a road trip to War Memorial Stadium to face Wyoming next.

“Great energy in the building yesterday, was really pleased with the way that the guys showed up to clean up the tape,” Lewis said at Monday’s press conference. “A lot of how they approached the film and the review yesterday was in a very mature manner and very humble, obviously knowing that there was a lot of good to build off but still plenty that we need to clean up and continue to get better. Now looking forward to going on the road and earning our first road victory of the year against a very good opponent in Wyoming.”

The Aztecs and Cowboys have faced off 38 times. The first matchup was in Wyoming in 1978. The Cowboys won 31-22. The series is even. Each team has won 19 games.

The last matchup was on October 12, 2019, at SDCCU Stadium. SDSU came out on top 26-22 after a back-and-forth game with four lead changes. The Aztecs won in the end on a Daniel Bellinger touchdown from Ryan Agnew to cap off a nine-play, 76-yard drive.

Wyoming and SDSU are tied for second in the Mountain West standings at 1-0. The Cowboys are 1-4 this season. Their lone win came last week against conference foe, Air Force. Wyoming started the season with four straight losses.

Wyoming’s offense runs the ball more than it passes but has not been successful in either phase. The Cowboys’ rushing attack averages just over 100 yards a game, and they have scored six rushing touchdowns in five games. Quarterback Evan Svoboda has completed just under 50 percent of his 114 pass attempts for 628 and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Cowboys have struggled to stop opponents this season. They have surrendered 926 rushing yards, eight touchdowns on the ground, 1,110 yards through the air, and another eight touchdowns.

Through the first five games, they have given up an average of 32.4 points per game. They have given up over 40 points twice this season, both on the road against Arizona State University (48) and the University of North Texas (44).

Despite the tallies in the loss column, the defense is nothing to be overlooked.

“Their physicality and the way that they’re connected,” Lewis replied when asked about Wyoming’s defense. “They do a really good job falling back and making sure that they are gap sound and in good position to leverage the football.”

Lewis and his squad will be looking to capitalize on the momentum of last week’s win. A triumph in Wyoming would be the Aztecs’ first road win of the season.

Key to the game: Opportunistic offense

Last week, the Red and Black continued to struggle on offense. They found some success in both the passing and rushing games. Danny O’Neil completed 24 of his 33 pass attempts for 224 yards and one touchdown to Louis Brown IV. Marquez Cooper rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, they gained only 323 yards of total offense. On the year, they rank no. 113 in the country in that category, averaging 322 yards per game.

On the positive side, they are tied for no. 8 in the country in turnovers lost. SDSU has three turnovers on the season. The offense took advantage of the one turnover the defense produced last week and turned it into seven points.

The key to winning this game against the Cowboys is to be an opportunistic offense. Produce big plays when needed, score from any field position, and produce points off turnovers.

SDSU’s offense is averaging 130.6 rushing YPG and 191.4 passing YPG. Wyoming surrenders more in each category, with 171.3 rushing YPG and 213 passing YPG. Lewis, as an offensive-minded coach, will need to figure out how to take advantage of what the defense gives him and be able to attack on the ground and through the air.

O’Neil is completing just above 60 percent of his passes and has yet to throw an interception. If he can put up similar numbers to last week’s win and Cooper finds a little more success rushing the football, the offense should be moving up and down the field.

SDSU’s defense has produced seven turnovers this season. Wyoming’s offense has fumbled six times and lost one. Svoboda has thrown one interception this season. As with every contest, winning the turnover battle will be vital.

“It’s critical, anytime that you can build off of that momentum and those swing plays that becomes a piece of who we are that’s critically important,” Lewis said. “Just like in the first half of the game, being able to go answer a score with a score that becomes who we are.”

Players to watch: Cowboys ground attack

Svoboda is Wyoming’s leading rusher with 161 yards. Sam Scott is the running back with the most yards. He has 154 yards and one touchdown. Svoboda has 180 yards and one touchdown. Their backfield is by committee with Scott and DJ Jones. Scott has rushed 35 times, while Jones has received 40 carries for 119 yards but has failed to find the endzone.

“They all work in cohesion together and have a good understanding of where the even points are on their runs,” Lewis said. “They know where they’re protected and where the strengths of the runs are on the calls. They do a good job of finding those dirty yards…they do a good job finding a little crease, and the O-line does a good job pushing the pile.”

SDSU was able to hold Hawai’i’s Brayden Schager to only 21 yards rushing last week, but Svoboda will be more of a challenge. Svoboda has nearly double the rushing stats as Schager, who has only 96 net rushing yards and only two touchdowns. Svoboda has 161 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

The defensive line and EDGEs will again have to contain a quarterback who can escape the pocket and run. They must also make the correct decisions against the read/option.

With Svoboda completing less than 50 percent of his passes, SDSU’s best bet to shut down the passing game is to contain him and force him to be a pocket passer. If Wyoming is forced to run the ball even more than they have this season, then the advantage will go to SDSU if they can hold Scott and Jones to minimal success.

As noted earlier, the Cowboys average just over 100 rushing yards per game. Schmidt and his defense, who just held Hawai’i to 84 rushing yards, will have a tougher task this week. Both running backs are tough runners and get a lot of yards after first contact.

DJ Herman held his own in last week’s game with four total tackles, three of which were solo, and made some key plays in coverage. With Tano Letuli still sidelined with his injury, Herman will have to step up again.

Trey White is another Aztec who will also greatly affect this game. His ability to sack the quarterback and disrupt the backfield will be key in halting this Wyoming ground attack.

“Having a guy like Trey White and a group up front that’s ready to hunt that helps,” Lewis said about how the defense can keep Svoboda off rhythm. “Allowing those guys to be at their best by putting them in a position that uses their skillset and varying the looks and fronts so we don’t become stagnate and become a stationary picture that they can block over and over again.”

If SDSU can play to the same level as last week, it should leave Wyoming with a victory.

Fun Facts

• Trey White leads the country in sacks per game (1.80), total tackles for loss (12), tackles for loss per game (2.40), and tackles for loss yards (83).
• SDSU has started this season with three different offensive line combinations in five games
• Danny O’Neil won Mountain West Freshman Player of the Week.
• Trey White won Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week.

Johnny Olivieri

Johnny is born and raised in San Diego and a diehard fan of all his hometown teams. He is an avid collector of sports memorabilia that help paint a picture of the history of sports in San Diego. He spends a lot of his time attending sports games across San Diego county and enjoys studying the history and spreading knowledge of San Diego’s diverse sports.