San Diego State Aztecs vs. New Mexico State Aggies Preview

After starting the season off on the road with two ranked opponents, the Aggies are finally back at Aggie Memorial Stadium Saturday to square off against the first of three Mountain West foes.

It’s been a tough two weeks for the Crimson and I imagine their return home last weekend looked something like this.

Unfortunately, things won’t be getting any easier. Let’s look at the tale of the tape.

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Game Date: Saturday, September 14

Game Time: 6:00 pm MT

Location: Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico

TV: This will be the first game broadcast on FloSports, the Aggies new TV partner and Fox Sports Arizona Plus.

Radio: The game can be heard on 99.5 KXPZ FM.

Y tambien en español, por la día de la herencia hispana, La Equis 96.7 FM.

Weather: 88 degrees during the day, a low of 69 at night.

Betting Line: As of this writing, San Diego State is a 15.5 point favorite.

Series History: Aztecs lead the series 9-1-1

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Scouting Report

San Diego State comes to town (well, not really into town) hot off their first ever victory over UCLA and one of the best defenses in the nation.

SDSU has only allowed 14 points this season (5th in the nation), 48.5 yards rushing per game (8th in the nation), and 159 passing yards per game (28th) and they are near the top in most other defensive categories. That doesn’t bode well for the Aggie offense, whose stats aren’t too pretty after playing Washington State and Alabama but I think they will be able to score against the Aztecs.

Kyahva Tezino will try and keep that from happening.

The reigning MW player of the week is the leader of the Aztec defense and made a lot of big plays last week against UCLA. So far he’s got 15 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

Also keep an eye out for safety Dwayne Johnson Jr., SDSU’s leading tackler, and CB Luq Barcoo who is a dominant force defending the pass. He’s got a career pass completion against him of just 55%.

SDSU Offense

SDSU’s offense is the weak part of the team, but that’s really not saying much because they are still very good.

Ryan Agnew is the Aztec quarterback and will try to keep his record of not having thrown an interception on the road in his career intact.

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Of course, SDSU always has a good rushing game and the Aggies will need to watch out for Juwan Washington who ran for 1,000 yards last year.

That will be difficult because NMSU defensive lineman Roy Lopez will be out Saturday, as will offensive lineman Sage Doxtater.

Hispanic Heritage Day

This is the first time the Aggies will hold a Hispanic Heritage Day. They have partnered with MillerCoors and will be planning events leading up to the game starting at 2 pm.

There will be a live DJ, food trucks, and the US Army National Guard Mariachi Band will be playing. In addition, El Paso native Jari Alvarez will be making a NM State themed mural inside the stadium.

Prediction

The Aggies will keep it interesting for the first half but I think the Aztecs pull away in the end.

Aztecs 42 Aggies 24