Pac-12 rumors and speculation once swirled around San Diego State, but on Saturday, as underdogs against UCLA, the Aztecs will let their play do the talking.
SDSU (2-0) will try to stay perfect to close out their season-opening streak of three games at Snapdragon Stadium when they welcome the Bruins (1-0) at 4:30 p.m.
And after many years of hard times against the Pac-12, the last seven years have been a boon for San Diego State, which has gone 7-4 against the conference since the start of the 2016 season.
The program lost 19 straight against the league from 1996 to 2011. Win or lose, with the gutting of the Pac-12 – including UCLA’s impending departure – there will be few more opportunities for the Aztecs to burnish their Pac-12 record.
Included in the seven wins is 2019’s 23-14 victory at the Rose Bowl, when the Aztecs snapped a 19-game losing streak against UCLA. SDSU up until that point had a 0-21-1 all-time record in the series.
No current Aztec started in that 2019 game, but two current teammates took the field – sixth-year senior captain Cedarious Barfield and fellow captain Garret Fountain. Both appeared on special teams.
“It was a close, hard-fought game, so being able to win that game and get that first win between us and UCLA was just a very exciting atmosphere,” Barfield recalled this week.
Tight end Mark Redman – though he tried – couldn’t maintain the “just another game” label for UCLA.
“They might be a little bit higher up than the level of competition that we played, but we’re just ready for anything,” he said.
One of those things is the Bruins’ unique quarterback situation. They have three, led by Ethan Garbers and Dante Moore, who each had more than 200 yards in UCLA’s 27-13 opening victory over Coastal Carolina.
Bruin head coach Chip Kelly declined to name a starter ahead of Saturday’s game.
Aztec head coach Brady Hoke said his focus will be on containing Bruin runs.
“You gotta be able to affect the running game and then affect the quarterback, so from that standpoint, I think we’re getting ready for all three of them,” he said.
Hoke noted his team’s clear advantage in time of possession in their win over Idaho State. For Redman, that’s the key Saturday.
So I think if we can win the time possession battle, there’ll be a huge uptick for us.” the senior said. “And it will just allow us to control the game a little bit more and have our defense be a little bit more fresh when they get on the field for whatever they have to take on.”
