San Diego State took one mammoth step this past weekend when they defeated Northern Illinois on the road, 6-3. It was no doubt the dirtiest, toughest slobber-knocker of a game the Aztecs team has had to deal with in this young season.
But a massive step? Step towards what you may ask?
Yes the offense is still staggering about. Bambi’s first steps weren’t as wobbly as this, if we’re being honest. And here at Sons of Montezuma we are definitely truth tellers.
The Aztecs after four games find themselves 12th in total offensive rankings of the 12 teams that comprise of the Mountain West this year so far. For those keeping score at home, that’s dead last. In rushing they stand at 10th—a full 47 yards per game better than San Jose State who doesn’t run it much and over 50 yards per game more than Hawai’i who runs a Timmy Chang version of the run & shoot.
In terms of passing the Aztecs are just above Nevada overall and have only 99 times—2nd lowest next to Air Force’s triple option offense, naturally. Even on far fewer passing attempts Air Force holds a 7-4 TD to INT ratio, while SDSU is holding it down at 3-2.
The Special Teams are the epitome of consistency so far. Kicker Gabriel Plascencia knocked down his 18th straight field goal with his game winner in the final ticks vs NIU. Hunter Green is among the top punters in the nation, receiving Ray Guy Award attention for his depth of kicks and accuracy for placing the ball inside the 20.
Of course, we love our punt-game here at SDSU. But we realize it’s an aid to the defenses ability to have an advantage each possession. Coach Rob Aurich has certainly had his unit seizing upon those opportunities—even if they’ve had to do it the hard way. (See what I did right there Huskie fan).
“Yeah, I think his ability to allow the players to play free, to play clean, and to play fast, to allow them to play has been great and it’s something that we saw with his development and in the way that he coached up the rushers,” detailed head coach Sean Lewis at Monday’s weekly presser.
Taking a young man in Trey White last year who had never played the position and giving him a set of tools, giving him a set of rules, within the set of calls that Trey really knew like ‘hey within this call you can go this far right, you can go this far left,’ and within those parameters of the call with the tools that I’ve given you go solve the problem. Trey didn’t have to be a robot … and I think you see that through all of our defense right now.”
Sounds like freedom within a framework to me. The simple, but not so easy approach successful coaches like Steve Fisher & Brian Dutcher have seemed to make the Aztec-Way.
SDSU on defense ranks #1 in the Mountain West to no surprise after you simply read their results. 39 points given up this season, with 34 of those in one game against Washington State—the team’s only loss. Two shut-outs, eight straight quarters without a touchdown, and no opponent can say they’ve scored one point at Snapdragon Stadium. Not one.
SDSU stands at #1, allowing 94 yards per game on the ground. They rank #1 at 146 passing yards per game, 9.4 yards per completion, 50% opponents pass completion and have 3 interceptions in the last two games. Here are just three players at each level of the defense that help make things go … fast.
Owen Chambliss
Owen had himself a terrific game against NIU, tallying 11 tackles and 1 sack. His game continues to improve the more reps he’s gotten this season, after struggling to stay on the field consistently in 2024. After four games Chambliss ranks 2nd in the Mountain West in total tackles.
His rangy athleticism allows himself to move freely from sideline to sideline, and his intensity continues to grow within the defense the more the game carries on. Often if he wasn’t the first to the ball, you saw Chambliss rushing to gang tackle Huskie ball carries as soon as they tried to gain positive yardage.
He’s a smart player out there on the field and you can truly tell that he has taken to the direction of the coaches, as he echoes their leadership verbiage into his psyche. Fully expect his games to raise up to the next level these next two weeks against a struggling Rams offense and Nevada team on the road.
Trey White
Trey has been tasked with doing even more dirty work this season and he’s anchored the lines ability to put constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks. While his sack number totals are down at this point, his involvement in tackles and being tougher against the run is noticeable.
Leadership has allowed his game to mature, setting the edge and making room for others like August Salvati, Ryan Henderson and Sam Benjamin to step-up.
Against CSU this Saturday could be a wrecking ball game for White. With many passing downs and deep passes expected from the Rams Air-Raid offense, White may be teeing off on the O-line. Causing havoc and having the QB seeing ghosts is a possibility and with the Aztecs excellent play in the defensive secondary it may kick up a few notches now in Mountain West play.
Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson had many expectations coming into this season and so far he has lived up to every single one. He ranks top-10 in passes defended and interceptions in the Mountain West. His pick six against CAL was the play of the game and his interception against NIU last Saturday also showed how much teams should not be throwing his direction.
But Johnson has also stepped up his run support this year. Getting into the mix physically has elevated his play in gang tackling and making sure the defense doesn’t slack off in pursuit angles and proper technique.
The defensive secondary for the Aztecs held the most returners in any unit of the team and so far to this point is has shown itself richly. Their pre snap communication has been absolutely next level the last two games in particular and Johnson has been a leader in that area.
With that tough, gritty, grind it out win against NIU, SDSU is one mammoth step closer to earning bowl eligibility again. It’s been two seasons without earning that distinction and thanks to this AztecFast defense, SDSU is half way towards reaching that goal. Supreme confidence from all three of these standout Warriors is what’s needed if the Aztecs are hoping to make special things happen this season.
“A lot of kids made Aztec fast as just our style of offensive play. Like, that’s our identity and our brand for our program.” said Coach Lewis. “To where those guys are focused, they’re intentional, they’re accountable to the call, they’re playing smart, making good decisions, and man, they’re a tough unit.”
Though there are faults to find in every team and at every unit, overall this unit is exactly that—united. The offense knows they need to improve after leaving many plays out there on the field last weekend.
“Like no matter what positions they were put in on Saturday—because we didn’t put them in some great positions—it was like, okay, put the ball down, let’s go play. I mean, they work their tails off you know, get off the field, punt block team goes out there, we jump off sides, we have a face mask penalty, and give them another set of downs. It’s like … Okay, buckle it back up. So what? Guys demeanor were great, chests were held all up high and again they’re able to go play fast, play confident within the structure of the defense and play together.”
Despite their flaws the team earned the victory and now must work hard to improve in order to take those next steps, together.
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