San Diego State was picked to finish 8th in the upcoming 2025 Mountain West Conference football season at this week’s media days at the Circa Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the Aztecs it is the second straight season the program has been projected to finish in that 8th spot. Last year the team performed below that, at just 3-9. They will seek to show some improvement and avoid a third straight year under .500 overall.
In order to do that they will need their stars to shine bright—especially their three All-Conference preseason honorees, Trey White, Gabriel Plascencia, and Tano Letuli.
Defensive lineman Trey White was named preseason Defensive Player of the Year, after putting the college football world on notice last year with his breakout season. White’s 12.5 sacks ranked him tied for third most in SDSU history for a single season.
Those sacks landed him 1st in the Mountain West last year and 5th in all FBS. Meanwhile his 60 tackles—18.5 TFL’s—was #1 in the Mountain West and tied for 7th in all FBS.
The local product by way of Eastlake high school chose to return to an SDSU program that figures to have in part, all 11 defensive starters from a year ago. Definitely something unheard of in today’s college football landscape.
Kicker Gabriel Plascencia was also named Mountain West preseason special teams player of the year. In 2024, Plascencia hit 92.9 percent of his field‑goal attempts (13 of 14) and 94.7 percent of extra points (18 of 19).
The Oakland native continues to show how SDSU has been a consistent overachiever in the special teams. With another full season putting that kicking boot on display, Plascencia could position himself on some draft boards come April 2026.
Also named as Mountain West preseason first team player on the defensive side of the ball is linebacker Tano Letuli. Another local player by way of Cathedral Catholic in Chula Vista, California.
Letuli was a beast last season leading the Aztecs in tackles with 70 total, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception—all despite missing a few games with a broken hand. But in true warrior fashion, Letuli was quick to return with that rock ’em sock ’em protective club.
With such an experienced defense and special teams returning to SDSU, under normal circumstances it would lead you to believe this team is primed for a dominant season. Such is not the case as the Aztecs were picked 8th in a total of 12 teams.
Picked to win it all once again is Boise State, followed by last season’s runner-up UNLV, then San Jose State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Air Force, Hawai’i, then San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming, New Mexico, and finished up with Nevada.
The pick of the Aztecs finishing 8th, sandwiched between Hawai’i for 7th and Utah State for 9th, isn’t a far fetched prognostication unfortunately. These teams picked to finish in the lower half of the conference tend to have a few surprises from time to time.
But for the most part the low pick reveals that if these teams suffer a key injury or two, it could be devastating. Whereas if the other top picked teams suffer the under the same circumstances, their wheels ain’t gonna come flying off the bus—aka they’ve got spares.
It is also especially telling just how many question marks there are on the offensives side of the ball. With a retooled position group across the board, the media unanimously agree it will take another season for Coach Lewis to re-establish his AztecFast style of play and attempt to build some continuity at the skill positions.
SDSU fall camp likely to begin around July 28 will set the stage for Coach Lewis and company to get a better look and understanding of just what they have in the depth chart across the board.
Coaching up the reserves and getting everyone running the schemes to a higher standard will be the difference between maintaining effectiveness when injuries hit—and they will hit—or floundering under the weight of it all.
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