San Diego State Aztecs at Colorado State Rams

Oct 24, 20265:30 PM CTCWFort Collins, CO
By JR·2 min read

TLDR: Two first-year Pac-12 members, 2 defenses that just got run through, 1 Saturday night in Fort Collins. San Diego State at Colorado State won't make anyone's playoff conversation, but somebody's leaky defense has to hold up for 4 quarters on Saturday, October 24.

SAT 10/24, 5:30 PM CT · Week 8CW
Kickoff 63°16 mph

San Diego State at Colorado State matches 2 teams that came into the week at 2-4, one with a defense allowing 56-plus a game over its last 3 and the other with an offense that has rarely cleared 16 against FBS teams. The Rams' QB status (Hauss Hejny, questionable with a hamstring injury) and SDSU's health after its October 17 game against Fresno State are the 2 unknowns. Colorado State gets the extra rest and the home field.

San Diego State Aztecs
  • Beat Texas State, which then put 66 on CSU
  • Rams defense allowed 56+ in 3 straight
  • Denegal established as the starter
  • Under 17 points in 4 of 5 FBS games
  • Gave up 66 at Oregon State
  • Short week after late-night Fresno State game, then travel
Colorado State Rams
  • Offense scored 45 at UTSA, 27 even in a blowout
  • Extra rest after a Thursday game
  • Home field in Fort Collins
  • Allowed 59, 56, 66 in last 3 games
  • Hejny questionable, Farrar started last game
  • Lost 4 straight, 0-2 in conference

Start under center, because that's where the uncertainty is. Colorado State has been without Hauss Hejny, who sat out the 66-27 loss at Texas State with a hamstring problem, and K'saan Farrar started in his place. Hejny is listed questionable again for this one. On the other side, Jayden Denegal has handled most of the snaps for Sean Lewis's Aztecs, and the question there is less who plays than whether anyone can keep the offense on the field long enough to protect the defense.

There's also a game the data here hasn't caught up to. San Diego State hosted Fresno State on October 17, and every SDSU number on this page dates from before that one. Both Aztecs on the injury report, WR D. Overstreet-Glover (out) and RB L. Sutton (questionable, ankle), were listed for the Fresno game. Their status for Fort Collins depends on how that week went, so treat the SDSU injury picture as unsettled until the next report.

The schedule matters here too. Colorado State played on a Thursday and gets 9 days before this kickoff. San Diego State finished Fresno State late on a Saturday night and then has to travel to Fort Collins, so the Rams have the extra rest and the home field. They'll need both, because their recent results are rough.

10/18WvsFresno State26-23
10/10L@Oregon State14-66
10/04WvsTexas State31-29
09/26L@Toledo16-41
09/20LvsJames Madison13-26
10/16L@Texas State27-66
10/03LvsOregon State26-56
09/26L@UTSA45-59
09/20Lvs2BYU23-41
09/12WvsSouthern Utah58-24

Look past the records and the problem is the Colorado State defense. The Rams have given up 59 to UTSA, 56 to Oregon State and 66 to Texas State in consecutive games, and they're 1-4 in the last 5 and have lost 4 straight. In the Texas State game, Torrance Burgess Jr. ran for 224 yards and 4 scores and Brad Jackson added 181 rushing yards. That's 2 players topping 180 on the ground in the same game. San Diego State has its own matching scar: Oregon State put 66 on the Aztecs before the Fresno State game, and the 2 programs share that opponent.

The Aztecs' issue runs the opposite way. Before Fresno State they hadn't scored more than 16 against an FBS opponent except in the 31-29 win over Texas State. Colorado State can at least score. It put up 45 at UTSA and 58 on Southern Utah, and even the Texas State blowout left the Rams with 27. So San Diego State's offense, which has struggled to score, meets a Rams defense that hasn't been stopping anyone. Whichever of those gives out first probably decides the game.

Both teams arrive at the same 2-4 record by different routes, and both are new to the reworked Pac-12. Colorado State is still looking for its first conference win. If Hejny comes back healthy, the Rams have the better offense. If he doesn't, this is a game between 2 struggling teams in light rain in Fort Collins.

San Diego State vs. Colorado State: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 24) — San Diego State Visits Colorado State With Both Defenses Under Siege · Barstool Bush