A weekly look at what Aztecs football stock is up and which is trending downward
Throughout the 2026 San Diego State football season the Sons of Montezuma will take stock of the team’s recent performance.
After each game, we’ll provide an assessment of what position group or unit seems to be trending upward. They’ll be in the “Stock Up” category. Conversely, the team’s area that might need some tweaking to better maximize outcomes will be listed as “Stock Down.”
Stock Up
At the end of the third quarter of Saturday’s game against UCLA, San Diego State’s defensive unit could look at the scoreboard at the famed Rose Bowl and see their good work reflected in lights – UCLA – 7, SDSU – 0.
The Aztecs played smart, aggressive defensive football with sure tackling and togetherness that has been the hallmark for that side of the ball for many seasons now.
The Bruins did put together two long drives in the first half, one of ten plays and another of nine plays, only to be rejected by SDSU’s defense each time. In both cases the Aztecs kept the home team out of the end zone with huge turnovers.
Sure, the defense looked a little worn down in the fourth quarter—but the points UCLA put up were due in large part to the short fields they were gifted by the Aztecs.
Leading the defense in tackles were two members of the San Diego State secondary. Junior safety Jelani McLaughlin paced the defense with eight tackles. Meanwhile his safety running mate Josh Hunter also contributed eight total tackles.
The linebacking duo of Sione Hala and Tano Letuli, dudes who seemingly are always around the ball, made it four defense stalwarts with eight tackles a piece against the Bruins.
The defense looked like an Aztecs’ defense should look, for three quarters especially.
“There’s a culture of excellence, defensively, that’s been sustained here for a really, really long time,” Coach Sean Lewis offered in this week’s press conference.
“A lot of those players that we acquired through the vetting processes, we were talking to them about that standard that we need to keep, and they leaned into that, and they were eager to do that. The defense played with physicality that showed and the way that they were creating knockback, where they set that edge.”
This year’s defense has the chance to be one of the top units in the Pac-12 if the early season performances are indicators of what’s to come.
Stock Down
In sports there is an understanding that on occasion stats can lie. The numbers tell a story, but it is not always the whole story.
Watching SDSU fall to UCLA 28-10 last Saturday there was little need to consult the stat sheet to understand where this game was lost.
The Aztecs’ passing game performed poorly. How else do you describe a 6 completions, on 17 pass attempts, for 45 yards and one interception performance?
It doesn’t matter how good your defense plays and how hard your running backs carry the ball when your passing game gives you a total of 23 yards in the first half—only to follow that with a measly 22 yards in the second half.
Holy Ryan Leaf! That’s awful.
Our week two Stock Down designation falls squarely on the quarterback position—and that goes for the whole position room, not just QB1.
To make matters worse, Aztec fans found out at the end of last week that the team’s backup quarterback had suffered an injury at the end of the Portland State game. Transfer Stone Saunders who was brought in with confidence for his prolific passing instincts will miss several weeks after suffering a collar bone injury tthat required surgery.
Apparently, it happened on the last play of the game when SDSU, up 33 at the time, decided it needed more and ran a play attempting to score, rather than taking a knee in the greatest formation that can never be defended—the victory formation.
So, as senior starting quarterback Jayden Denegal struggled to complete passes versus the Bruins, the team actually had few options to switch up gears and make a change.
Let’s say it directly: the coaching staff needs to do a better job of play calling. That’s a given when even the television commentators are questioning all the go routes that aren’t working.
But a second year QB1 must deliver more than he did in the second game of the season. That’s if the team truly wants to compete for a Pac-12 conference championship or even a bowl berth.
The Aztecs return to the comforts of Snapdragon Stadium this Saturday with a seven-game home winning streak on the line, as they match up against the Dukes of James Madison.
The team from Harrisonburg, Virginia made the College Football Playoff last year and blasted FCS opponent Wagner 87-3 last week. Kickoff is set for 7:00 P.M. PST.
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