The games begin Saturday.
Though arguably there’s been gamesmanship all summer, due to the Mountain West-Pac 12 drama swirling about San Diego State, the Aztecs remain members of the MW as they begin the college football season at home against Ohio.
They will be enjoying their second season at Snapdragon Stadium, now open for a year, with SDSU picked to finish fourth – behind Boise State, Air Force and Fresno State – in the first one-division MW preseason poll in more than a decade.
“Obviously, we want to win championships, and we haven’t done that since 2016, so we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I’m excited about what’s ahead of us,” head coach Brady Hoke told reporters as the team started fall camp.
They face a tough schedule, but return 14 starters from last year’s squad, five on offense, seven on defense and two on special teams.
The group includes MW all-conference honorees – among them Special Teams Player of the Year Jack Browning, who handles all three kicking duties – along with tight end Mark Redman, guard Cade Bennett, quarterback Jalen Mayden and cornerbacks Dallas Branch and Dez Malone.
In addition, Browning, also the preseason Special Teams Player of the Year, made the preseason all-conference team, along with Redman, Bennett and linebacker Cody Moon, a new addition due to his transfer from New Mexico.
San Diego State plays one of the toughest schedules in the country this year with five games against teams coming off 10-win seasons – Ohio, Boise State and Fresno State at home, and Oregon State and Air Force on the road.
The front end of the Aztecs’ schedule is stacked – five of their first six opponents made a bowl in 2022, Ohio, UCLA, Oregon State, Boise State and Air Force.
The Aztecs are 15-1-1 against current members of the Mid-American Conference, including a 17-14 win over MAC champion Toledo last September. Ohio, which lost to Toledo in the MAC title game, is the preseason favorite to win one of the two conference divisions this year.
“They’re a good physical team that won’t be intimidated coming in here because they play big schools all the time, ” Hoke said.
SDSU’s lone blemish against a current MAC member, however, was memorable, and it came at the Bobcats’ hands. San Diego State fell 27-0 in the 2018 Frisco Bowl, the only shutout of the Aztecs over 204 games dating back to Nov. 18, 2006.
SDSU is 53-42-5 all-time in season openers, including a 45-17-4 record at home. The Aztecs have won seven of their last eight home openers.
Last year, SDSU rallied from offensive challenges during a a 2-3 start by winning five of their next six games and finishing 7-6 overall for a 13th consecutive .500 or better season.
San Diego State begins the 2023 football season at 4 p.m. Saturday against Ohio. Tickets remain for the opener, at Snapdragon Stadium. Prices start at $30.
