SAN DIEGO — It’s Wednesday, ahead of the San Diego State football team’s first of two consecutive Friday night contests when they travel to face the No. 15/19 Boise State Broncos at Albertsons Stadium on Nov. 1 at 5 p.m.
Yet for the Aztecs (3-4, 2-0 Mountain West), what’s happening today is what normally happens on a Thursday of a regular game week.
The short week meant in addition to head coach Sean Lewis, edge rusher Marlem Louis and offensive lineman Brayden Bryant took part in the press conference on Monday, amongst a host of other changes to the schedule that included watching game film on Saturday night.
“We were smart with the amount of work that we did on the field, with all of it,” said head coach Sean Lewis. “We kind of live in this alternate reality for the next two weeks as we move and as we go through it all.
“Then, we'll kind of rinse, wash and repeat as we get into another Friday game week next week.”
Here are some of the storylines heading in to Friday night:
It’s all on the line for the lines
After seeing a pair of linemen miss time during the Washington State game after having their legs rolled up on from behind, offensive line coach and running game coordinator Mike Schmidt said that every member of the injury-depleted Aztec line is expected to be available and ready to go for Friday.
“We're obviously rotating a bunch of bodies in this week and it's going to be probably a game time decision to see what the lineup looks like on Friday night,” Schmidt said.
The Boise State (6-1, 3-0) four-man defensive front will be the biggest test of the season so far for the Aztecs, as the unit leads the nation with 35 sacks and is third with an average of 8.9 tackles per loss per game.
Defensive end Ahmed Hassanein is tied for seventh in the county with 7.0 sacks, rush edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan has 6.5 sacks and defensive tackle Braxton Feely has 4.0 sacks. Both of the nickel backs Seyi Oladipo (4.5 sacks) and Rodney Robinson (3.0 sacks) also get into the action for a unit that ranks 33rd in the country with an average of 117.4 rushing yards allowed.
“They're a strong front, they do a good job keeping those backers free and letting those support players come down and stop the run,” Schmidt said. “They do a good job of like there's a bunch of guys that show up around the quarterback… making sure that we're in the right spots, we're helping where we need to be is going to be critical to our success when we do drop back.”
There has also been additional time detailing on how tight ends and backs can help in blitz pick up, while also finding ways to get running back Marquez Cooper the opportunity to create in space.
“I think it's going to be the light box stuff and all that and we’ve got to hold enough air to make (and) give the back room on some of their support players coming down,” Schmidt said.
Keying on Jeanty’s juice
On the other side of the line, Boise State’s running back Ashton Jeanty has been the stuff of nightmares as the national leader in rushing yardage (1376 yards), rushing yards per game (196.6) tied for lead in touchdowns (19, 18 rushing and one receiving) and second in average yards per rush (8.65 yards).
“Their run game and their blocking schemes, they get things moving, they move people,” said defensive line coach David Lose. “They do a great job of that and they do a good job with their combination blocks, getting two hats on one and then separating back to get a hat on a hat throughout their blocking schemes.
“Big challenge for us this week is to stay fit, physical and make it physical at the point of attack and get after those guys.”
One of the hallmarks in Jeanty’s eight touchdown runs of 54 or more yards (four had been for 70 or more yards) has been his ability to get through the initial wave at the line of scrimmage and make men miss in space.
“When you have the opportunity for the defense to put a body on a body and then go through our tackling techniques- come up with a body part and ‘kill the engine,’” Lose said. ”(Jeanty’s) just a real good runner, special player (with a) low center of gravity, so we've got to be low in our pad level, great with our knee bend and our tackle posture.”
Beyond the challenge of the most dynamic back in college football, the Boise State offensive line has only allowed their quarterback to be sacked six times and had three games where they did not allow a sack, including last week at UNLV.
In order for the Aztec rush edges to get to Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen, Lose emphasized the need to stay in rush lanes and collapsing the depth of the pocket so that the edges can attack the width.
Above all else?
“Focus,” Lose said. “Locked into our keys on our assignment and playing physical football.”
Remembering the 2012 ranked road win
While SDSU’s most recent win over a ranked team came away from The Mesa when they knocked off the No. 24 UTSA Road Runners in the 2021 Frisco Bowl, the Scarlet and Black have just one true road win over a ranked opponent in the program’s DI history.
It came on Saturday, Nov. 3 in 2012 on the blue turf of Boise State, and featured all the hallmarks that then second-year head coach Rocky Long would become known for.
The Aztecs had reeled off four straight wins after opening conference play with a loss at Fresno State, and faced a Boise State team that was ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
Wide receiver Colin Lockett returned the opening kick 100 yards up the right sideline for a touchdown, but SDSU fell behind 13-7 at halftime as the Broncos got a pair of rushing touchdowns by running back D.J. Harper — though a bad snap foiled their extra point attempt on the first score.
Running back Adam Muema had a three-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Walter Kazee cashed in a one yarder early in the fourth to build a 21-13 lead for the Scarlet and Black.
Boise State scored with 5:35 remaining, but on the ensuing two-point try the Aztecs flushed the BSU quarterback Joe Southwick out of the pocket and his conversion attempt pass was picked off by linebacker Rene Siluano.
On the ensuing drive SDSU used a key conversion on third-and-13, with quarterback Adam Dingwell finding tight end Gavin Escobar for 25 yards, then a 13-yard burst by Muema on fourth-and-two to put the game away.
The Aztecs out-gained Boise State 164-112 on the ground, converted 7-of-15 on third down and held a Broncos team that would average 391.3 yards of total offense per game for the season to just 276 yards.
It’s the only time SDSU has knocked off Boise State on the road while the Broncos have been ranked and is also the most recent time that the Aztecs have beaten a ranked conference opponent.