SAN DIEGO – Coming off a heart-breaking 22-21 road loss last weekend against Central Michigan University, San Diego State will have another crack at getting back in the win column on Saturday against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Snapdragon Stadium.
The last time San Diego State played a game at Snapdragon was on Sept. 7 in their 21-0 loss to Oregon State.
In the past five meetings between these programs, the Aztecs have won four them including last year's 41-34 shootout in Honolulu. The last time Hawaii beat SDSU was back in 2019, winning 14-11 at Aloha Stadium.
This matchup will commence Mountain West Conference play for both teams.
After losing to Conference USA opponent Sam Houston the week prior, the Rainbow Warriors were able to come away with a decisive 36-7 victory over FCS Northern Iowa.
Led by senior quarterback Brayden Schager’s 374 passing yards and four touchdowns performance, UH were able to sling the ball all over the island and oppose their will on defense.
A key factor behind for Schager’s success last week was because of their offensive line, who didn’t allow a sack for the first time this season. Through four games, the o-line has only given up eight sacks, five-of-eight coming from their week three battle against UCLA.
“If our defensive front is getting after him and the quarterback has got to get it out fast, that makes our job easier,” said cornerbacks coach Darius Sumler. “I think we’ve done a pretty job with that this year so far too.”
A matchup to watch is the battle in the trenches for both teams. Hawaii will have their hands full against SDSU’s defensive line, which has the second most sacks (14) in the MWC.
“It’s a relentless effort up front. Those guys (have) taken to the coaching the scheme coach Schmidt has implemented,” said coach Sean Lewis. “That’s the tradition of excellence that we knew that we inherited that we needed to be able to continue and sustain.”
However, the Aztecs’ o-line – which has allowed the most sacks (10) in the conference – will go up against Hawaii’s front seven that has recorded eight sacks.
Looking to improve his career best from his junior year, Schager has thrown for 1,056 yards and completed 60.9% of his passes. That currently ranks fourth in the conference for both.
He is second in the conference with eight passing TDs to go along with five interceptions. He also averages 265.3 yards per game.
“(Schager’s) a gunslinger, anytime there’s a veteran guy who has racked up the yards that he’s racked up they trust their reads,” said safeties coach C.J. McGorisk. “He’s confident in what he’s doing, he's confident in his arm and he’ll extend plays with his feet as well.”
The senior will be facing a tough Aztecs secondary that has allowed the third fewest passing yards (199.0) to opponents. Through the first four games, the Aztecs have allowed only five passing TDs with three interceptions.
Schager’s top receiving target is sophomore wide receiver Pofele Ashlock, who is coming off a 10 catch, 74 yards and a TD. For the season, Ashlock has hauled in 32 receptions with 351 yards and three touchdowns.
Similar to the war at the line of scrimmage, the Rainbow Warriors pass defense could potentially make things difficult for freshman quarter Danny O’Neil. O’Neil in his first four games has not committed a turnover and has thrown for 567 yards with four TD’s.
“His growth is one thing that impresses me the most about it,” Lewis said. “Each week as he goes and as he steps out there and his preparation again his attention to detail continues to get better and better and better.”
Hawaii's pass defense is first in the MWC averaging 180.0 yards per-game with four TDs scored with three picks. Even their run defense ranked the fourth best in MW with an average of 126.0 per-game.
Sophomore linebacker Jamih Otis and junior defensive lineman Jackie Johnson III are tied for the most sacks (2) on the defense. The two together have generated for half of the team's sacks through four games. The two split a pair of sacks last week against UNI.
On the other side of the ball, Hawaii rushing attack lead by starting running back Landon Sims will go up against the Aztecs’ ninth worst run defense (182.3). Averaging four yards per-carry with 112 rushing yards, Hawaii’s second worst run game hopes they can find some mismatches against this struggling front.
Last week, the Scarlet and Black coughed up 154 rushing yards and 275 yards the week prior against the Golden Bears.
The Rainbow Warriors defense will be challenged by FBS career rushing yards leader Marquez Cooper. On 96 carries, Cooper leads all SDSU backs with 474 rushing yards and three TDs, averaging 4.9 a pop. Cooper has the second most rushing yards (474) in the conference only behind Boise State’s Heisman candidate Ashton Jeanty with 845 yards.
Junior defensive back Peter Manuma leads the UH defense with 23 total tackles and last week forced a fumble against UNI.
Hawaii’s coach Timmy Chang is 0-2 against the Aztecs. Not only is this Lewis’ first game against a Mountain West Conference opponent, but it will be his first time against Hawaii.
“If we’re doing it the right way as we continue to build this thing out, each and every single day there should be a great sense of urgency, a great obsession to get it right regardless of who the opponent is, whether it’s a conference game or not. It shouldn’t change our approach and how we do things,” Lewis said.
