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. Converserly, the team’s area that might need some tweaking to better maximize outcomes will be listed as “Stock Down.”
Stock Up
What a difference a healthy running game makes, especially for a redshirt freshman quarterback starting only his second college game of his young career.
San Diego State followed the lead of its dynamic running back duo of senior Lucky Sutton and sophomore Javion Kinnard to a critical 26-20 win over Washington State on Halloween.
In total, the Aztecs piled up 202 rushing yards against the visiting Cougars. Sutton, the local standout from Cathedral Catholic High School, carried the ball 18 times for 122 yards, a cool 6.4 per carry average.
The shifty Kinnard got 17 rushing attempts and contributed 89 yards on the ground. The Colorado State transfer showed both his quick feet and then his ability to break tackles in running for two touchdowns on the evening.
A shoutout must go to the SDSU offensive line. The big guys up front had one of their best games of the season opening running lanes for Sutton and Kinnard while giving time for Stone Saunders to go through his progressions in the passing game. The line, led by seniors Joeseph Borjon and Kalan Ellis, gave up no sacks on 22 pass attempts.
For Week 9, the Sons of Montezuma’s “Stock Up” designation goes out to the Aztecs running game. Finding success on the ground allowed San Diego State to sustain drives, they had two 79-yard drives of eight and 11 plays respectively, and gave the defense a chance to catch its collective breath.
For Sutton, the win mattered more than the numbers he and Kinnard were able to rack up.
“It’s very exciting being able to finally be out back out there, almost to 100 percent after coming off injuries in the beginning of the year,” Sutton said postgame. “I’m just glad I’m able to do what I can to help get wins for this team, and I just feel like there were a lot of things that I wanted to attain personally, but none of those things really mattered to me more than the team goals. I’m just excited that we were able to get that win tonight, no matter how many yards I had or how many touchdowns I had. I just wanted to do my job to achieve a team win.”
Stock Down
A rainy Halloween evening against a team that came in 1-7 on the season was never going to lead to a large crowd showing up for the SDSU vs. Washington State football game.
But a turnstile count of 8,532? That’s a problem.
Even a ticket promotion for families with young trick-and-treaters couldn’t entice San Diegans to make it out to Snapdragon Stadium last Saturday.
Attendance for football, honestly, has lagged behind expectations and predictions for several years now.
And yet, the Aztecs have made winning at home a habit.
According to SDSU’s Athletic Media Team, the win over Wazzu improved the Aztecs record to 10-1 at home over the last two seasons (since 2025). The mark trails only six schools – Brigham Young, New Mexico, Ohio, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Texas Tech – who are undefeated at home during the same stretch of games.
If you can’t bring in fans when you’re winning at home, when are they going to come out and support the local squad?
Reluctantly, the Sons of Montezuma Week 9 “Stock Down” designation is awarded to the dwindling attendance numbers for SDSU football.
At least Head Coach Sean Lewis is keeping it positive when it comes to the home fans’ support of his team.
“It was really good to defend Snapdragon Stadium yet again, making that a place that is a tremendous home field advantage and big thanks to our fans and supporters who came out and braved the elements and got their trick or treating in early to be there with us,” he offered during his press conference. “They helped us get that hard fought win.”
With San Diego State’s slim bowl chances still alive, the next game could play a significant part in determining if the Aztecs enjoy post-season football this year. A little more fan support couldn’t hurt.
San Diego State receives a much-needed bye week this week. The team will return to the home field on Saturday, November 14 when the Aggies of Utah State come to San Diego. Gametime is set for 6:30 P.M.
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