A bye week is good for tired bodies. But tired minds bear an extra burden when the break follows a 49-10 setback, in San Diego State‘s case, its fourth loss in a row.
The Aztecs (2-4, 0-2 Mountain West) travel to Honolulu to face Hawaii (2-4, 0-1 MW) at 8 p.m. Saturday, hoping they can begin to right the ship with six games remaining in the season.
“That’s one thing you do during the bye, you get a chance to self-scout, look into what we’re doing and those things and correct the performance that we don’t want,” head coach Brady Hoke said.
San Diego State is entering an easier part of the schedule, after opening the season by playing five opponents in six games – including Air Force, the author of the 49-10 defeat – that had at least nine wins and played in a bowl game in 2022.
First up, Hawaii. Hoke praised quarterback Brayden Schager and wide receivers Pofele Ashlock and Steven McBride. Both teams, though, rank near the bottom of the MW for scoring; the Rainbow Warriors sit just ahead of the Aztecs, 22 points to 19.
“Their offense is similar to what you saw in Idaho State,” Hoke said, referring to the Aztecs’ last win, 36-28 over the Bengals. “The ball is going to come out fast.”
Linebacker Cooper McDonald wants to contain Schager – “they like to spread their offense out and really let the rock fly,” he said – but also to rebound on defense.
“We’ve been in a little drought defensively, so we need to get the ball back for the offense, so they can go down and score,” the senior said.
