Fresno State's week has its own question mark. In their first Pac-12 season, the Bulldogs hosted No. 23 Boise State on homecoming night, and that's the bigger league game. Fresno State came into it 4-1 and 1-0 in conference. Their one loss was a 39-0 shutout at USC to open the year. How the Boise game went, and how much it took out of them, decides whether they show up in San Diego still rolling or a little beat up.
The injury reports favor Fresno State. San Diego State is down 2 tight ends, P. Guiltinan and J. Ellis. WR A. Doe is out and WR N. Acevedo is doubtful, and both lead backs, J. Kinnard (knee) and L. Sutton (ankle), are questionable. That's a lot of missing pieces for an offense that's already struggling to move the ball. Fresno State's worries are at running back. B. Ramirez is out for the season and R. Luke was in the concussion protocol going into the Boise game.
San Diego State has a week at home to fix things, while Fresno State is coming off a big home game and has to travel. That's the Aztecs' best case. The bad news is what Fresno State does well: they take away an offense and grind out drives, and San Diego State has managed 16 points or fewer in 4 of its last 5 games. The forecast is clear and warm, so the weather won't be what decides it.