SAN DIEGO – Not only was last Saturday the first time that San Diego State’s “AztecFAST” style of offense was put on full display at Snapdragon Stadium, but it was coach Sean Lewis first win with the program following the team’s 45-14 win over Texas A&M Commerce.
Heading into week two, the Aztecs will look to produce a similar performance on The Mesa on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. taking on the PAC-12’s Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers, one half of the current PAC-12 conference, started off their 2024 campaign with a 38-15 home win over the Big Sky’s Idaho State Bengals.
This will be the seventh meeting between the two universities, with the Beavers leading the series 4-2 over the Aztecs including four consecutive wins. OSU has outscored the Scarlet and Black 89-19 during the last four meetings.
During last season’s match up, SDSU managed to get inside their opponent’s territory nine of its 11 drives, but only came up with nine points in their 26-9 loss in Corvallis. The Aztecs only touchdown came with under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter from running back Jaylon Armstead. The Aztecs also were forced to punt on six different occasions and missed two field goals.
OSU, who cracked the top 50 on ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s preseason SP+ rankings, and the Washington State Cougars were recently granted to go head-to-head against teams in the Mountain West Conference via a scheduling agreement for 2024. Saturday’s match up will provide both SDSU and Oregon State with their first big assignment under new head coaches.
Coach Lewis already has some familiarity with some of the opposing players. OSU running back Anthony Hankerson, center Van Wells, and left tackle Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan all were with Lewis the previous season at Colorado.
Before their game against Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl, OSU promoted former defensive coordinator Trent Bray to the school’s 32nd head coach after former coach Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State. Since Bray was elevated to DC, the Beavers have gone 20-9.
However, Bray and the Beavers have lost nine starters from the 2023 team through the transfer portal including Miami running back Damien Martinez and Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
Bray, who was a DC and a linebackers coach from 2022-2023, also played middle linebacker for the Beavers from 2002-2005 where he was named 2005 Pac-12 First Team selection and is ranked sixth in tackles (337).
With almost identical starts, both SDSU and OSU had difficulty finding early consistency on offense. The only difference, OSU put up 17 points before halftime, while SDSU’s only points were from Gabriel Plascencia’s 50 yard field goal.
The Beavers' driving force was their rushing attack led by senior Jam Griffin and junior Hankerson, combining for 315 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Hankerson finished with the most carries (24) for the Beavers along 155 yards and two touchdowns, meanwhile Griffin ran the rock 20 times for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
For Griffin and Hankerson, it was the first time they both surpassed the 100-yard mark in their respective careers. Also, OSU's 362 yard rushing day was the fourth time that the Beavers reached over 350 yards on the ground since 1996.
“They’re going to lean on the run game,” said Lewis. “They’re both dynamic, they can both hurt you in a lot of different ways. They both have short area quickness, they both find dirty yards and really help them stay on schedule with everything that they’re doing.”
Idaho State was gashed by Griffin’s eight yards per carry and Hankerson’s 6.5 yards per attempt. With that type of outing, it took away some pressure from quarterbacks senior Gevani McCoy and freshman Gabarri Johnson, who only threw for a combined 11 completions on 14 attempts with 148 yards. McCoy was tabbed as the starter before Week 1.
“I’ve got to be a little more focused because the fact that they only threw 14 times means the times that they do throw are probably fairly important times,” said cornerback Chris Johnson.
If you compared OSU to the rest of the Mountain West, they would be third in total offensive yards (510), second in rushing yards (362) and tied third in third down conversion percentage (50.0%). Running backs Griffin (third) and Hankerson (fourth) would only be behind Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty (267) and SDSU’s Marquez Cooper (223) in rushing yards.
The Beavers have allowed 12.25 points on average over the last four games against the Aztecs. However, the Aztecs offensive weapons could cause some mismatches against the Beavers.
With Cooper’s massive 223 yard rushing day, it is expected they will continue to feed him until the wheels fall off. If Oregon State wants to make SDSU one dimensional, their front seven will have to play a crucial role. OSU allowed the Bengals to rush for 82 total yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
OSU junior defensive backs Junior Kane and Skyler Thomas both came up with an interception, causing the only turnovers for the Beavers.
After facing four different quarterbacks who combined for 229 yards and two TDs, OSU will only have to gameplan for SDSU freshman Danny O’Neil. O’Neil, in his college debut, went 22-for-33 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns last week against TAMUC.
SDSU’s leading receivers were junior Colorado State transfer Louis Brown IV with 91 yards on three catches and a TD. After him was freshman Jordan Napier who also recorded three catches with 40 yards and a TD.
“We’re going to have to be multiple,” said Lewis. We’re going to put our kids in the best position to be successful… get us in the structure that we feel best suits how we can slow them down.”