San Diego State and Fresno State renew the battle for the Old Oil Can trophy when they meet for the 62nd time in a series that dates to 1923.
SDSU has played the Bulldogs more than any other school, going 30-27-4 over the years.
The Aztecs’ top rushing performance against Fresno State came in 1995 when George Jones ran for 270 yards. Former quarterback Jesse Freitas had the top passing performance with 450 yards in 1973 and wide receiver Gary Garrison had the top receiving performance with 289 yards in 1964.
Those records are probably safe when SDSU (3-8, 1-6 Mountain West) meets Fresno State (8-3, 4-3) on Saturday night at 7:30 (Fox Sports 1) at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Aztecs are 5-point underdogs against the Bulldogs.
Here are five things to watch:
1. Brady Hoke’s last game
SDSU head coach Brady Hoke has been selected Saturday’s “Honor Warrior” and will lead his team onto the field.
The role is typically filled by a former Aztecs great invited to return and be recognized by the crowd.
On this occasion, it is to recognize Hoke for six years as SDSU coach in which he guided the Aztecs to a 39-32 record. He ranks seventh in school history in victories.
SDSU announced on Nov. 13 that Hoke would not be returning, wrapping up a 42-year career in coaching that included 16 years as a head coach at Ball State (2003-08), SDSU (2009-10, 2020-23) and Michigan (2011-14). Hoke has a career record of 104-90.
With a win over the Bulldogs, the Aztecs would bookend 4-8 seasons under Hoke, between his first season in 2009 and the 2023 season.
In between were three bowl appearances, beginning with a 2010 Poinsettia Bowl victory over Navy.
Hoke is credited with revitalizing a program that did not have a winning season during the first decade of the 2000s and had not been to just one bowl game in the 17 seasons before he arrived.
2. So long, seniors
The Aztecs’ 18 seniors will be honored before the game.
The group includes five starters on offense (left tackle Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, quarterback Jalen Mayden, running back Kenan Christon, wide receiver Brionne Penny and tight end Mark Redman), five starters on defense (defensive ends Daniel Okpoko and Garret Fountain, linebacker Cooper McDonald, cornerback Noah Tumblin and safety Cedarious Barfield) and punter/kicker Jack Browning.
Three backups — defensive end Wyatt Draeger, linebacker Vai Kaho and safety Deshawn McCuin — will also be honored, which means the Aztecs are losing 13 of the 44 players on their two-deep roster.
The other four seniors being honored are safety Davaughn Celestine, wide receiver Darius Hyde, tight end Dez Melton and defensive lineman Samuela Tuihalamaka.
Barfield and Okpoko are the longest tenured, coming to SDSU as part of the 2018 recruiting class. Saturday marks Barfield’s team-high 50th game. SDSU has gone 36-23 with him on the field.
“It’s been a class that I think has worked very, very hard,” Hoke said. “I think it’s a class that has fought, that’s the only thing I can tell you, when I hear football on the field and the seniors are fighting.”
3. Bulldogs offense
Fresno State is hoping to close out the regular season on a high note after losing two straight games — to San Jose State (42-18) and New Mexico (25-18) — that removed the Bulldogs from the Mountain West championship race.
Of particular note is how Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene (230-for-344, 21 TDs/8 INTs) performs.
Keene was sidelined recently with a concussion. He watched most of the New Mexico last week while Logan Fife started, but Keene replaced Fife with 8:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs trailing 25-14.
Fresno State went three-and-out after two incompletions and a sack on Keene’s first series.
The following possession, Keene threw 14 straight passes in a drive that led to a field goal. He was 9-for-16 for 58 yards.
Fresno State has been very productive offensively this season when Keene’s on his game, averaging 31 points (41st in the nation) with a pass-heavy attack producing 280.6 passing yards a game.
Fresno State has four players with at least 40 catches — seniors Erik Brooks (49 catches, 641 yards, 5 TDs), Jaelen Gill (44 catches, 448 yards, 6 TDs) and Mac Dalena (40 catches, 479 yards, 3 TDs) and redshirt freshman Jalen Moss (49 catches, 613 yards, 5 TDs). SDSU, by comparison, has none. Tight end Mark Redman leads the Aztecs with 34 catches.
4. Turnover margin
A big reason for Fresno State’s success this season is the Bulldogs have been protective of the football.
For all of the passing, the Bulldogs have thrown just 10 interceptions.
Even more impressive, they’ve lost only one fumble, matching Iowa State, Northwestern, Ole Miss and Utah for fewest fumbles lost this season.
With 22 takeaways (16 interceptions, 6 fumble recovered), Fresno State is plus-11 in turnover margin. That ranks sixth in the nation.
SDSU is tied for 62nd in the category, breaking even with 17 takeaways (11 interceptions, 6 fumbles recovered) and 17 giveaways (10 interceptions, 7 fumbles lost).
5. What a win means
A victory over Fresno State would give the Aztecs two conference victories this season.
That won’t be enough to get them out of last place in the Mountain West, but it would prevent them from going 1-7 in conference for only the second time (the other was in 2008) in the Mountain West’s 25-year history.
The best SDSU could do is tie for last, if the Aztecs win and New Mexico, which was 2-5 in the MW coming into Friday’s game against Utah State, lost its last game.
If Fresno State wins, then SDSU finishes with its fewest overall wins since the 2008 team went 2-10.
