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
Down 17-3 at halftime, the San Diego State Aztecs football team looked like a group worn down by a three-game losing streak, numerous star players out with injuries, a wide-spread case of the mumps making it necessary for guys deep down the depth chart to step into prominent roles, and an opponent with a potent offense that was having its way early in the contest.
Folks that gave the points and took the Texas State Bobcats to cover felt pretty good about their prospects of cashing in. Trust me, I was sitting nearby one such interested party.
Then, the second half kickoff sailed into the arms of SDSU’s Jaylon Hawkins and the fortunes of the home team were about to turn.
The redshirt freshman from Argyle, Texas started up field from the four-yard line and quickly saw a lane developing to his left. The speedy receiver followed a couple of excellent blocks, one from senior captain Max Garrison, and raced to the end zone untouched.
With his second kickoff return for a touchdown this season, Hawkins injected life into his squad and the Aztecs reeled off 21 unanswered points to take a 24-17 lead later in the third quarter.
Although the visitors made a valiant effort at a comeback, the men from Montezuma Mesa did just enough to prevail 31-29.
In his Monday press conference, Head Coach Sean Lewis spoke about his side’s willingness to keep competing despite the circumstances of Saturday’s game.
“You know this is a resilient group,” Lewis said. “They’re going through a lot, and you know they went through a lot on Saturday night to find a way to victory, and you know I think that’s going to be the character and resolve of this club.”
The depth and the challenges that we’re going to face in this league, each opportunity is going to be a four-quarter fight, and so all these lessons that we’ve learned, we got to apply them as we go forward.”
For this week’s “Stock Up” designation we call out the Aztec Warrior fight that San Diego State showed throughout their first Pac-12 win. If ever a team had reason to pack it in and not go that extra bit to try and win it was last week’s SDSU team. Instead, this team showed a competitive spirit that Aztecs fans can rally behind.
The special teams were special once again, scoring a touchdown on Hawkins’ return and blocking a field goal attempt.
The defense made plays to put their offensive counterparts in favorable positions in the second half. They even contributed a huge pick-six to thwart the Texas State fourth quarter comeback.
Even the offense deserves credit for cashing in several short fields with touchdown runs by true freshman running back Josiah Lucas.
Every unit contributed, each showing a resolve that proved paramount in getting this season back on track.
Stock Down
Despite the stirring second half performance leading to a much-needed win, lots of work remains before SDSU should be considered a threat to the top teams in the Pac-12.
Once again, San Diego State’s offense appeared stuck in neutral for the first half. The running game showed signs of life behind the freshman Lucas’ 111 rushing yards, but putting up points early in the contest continues to be a challenging proposition for this unit.
In four games against FBS opponents, the Aztecs have posted six first-half points. We’re talking two field goals, one each in the last two games.
No wonder casual observers quickly took the under when it read 52 points for last Saturday’s game.
For the night, San Diego State managed 239 yards of offense, a lowly 109 yards through the air. Compare that to 565 yards of offense for Texas State and the shortcomings of this side of the ball become obvious for the Aztecs.
And while the offense did enough to put up 31 points in total, serious work needs to be undertaken to make this aspect of the team a threat to opposing defenses. The team can’t continue to rely on special teams and the defense to score touchdowns.
So, the Sons of Montezuma “Stock Down” designation is awarded to the San Diego State offense.
Coach Lewis and his staff need to get the offense clicking, and soon. A trip to Corvallis, Oregon awaits this Saturday.
Oregon State comes into the game averaging 497 yards of offense an outing, ninth best in the country. SDSU checks in at 304 yards per game, good for 127th in the nation.
No matter who takes the field versus OSU, the offensive execution must begin to trend upward if San Diego State is to make a run in their new conference home.
San Diego State will travel for a game against the Beavers of Oregon State on Saturday. Kick-off is 3:00 P.M. and the game can be seen on USA.
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