San Diego State has its sights set on reaching 10 victories for only the 10th time in the program’s Division I history when it meets No. 23 North Texas on Saturday afternoon in the New Mexico Bowl.
“As you watch all these bowl games, who can start quick, who can start fast, is going to be critically important,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said Friday. “Because, for us, it’s been close to a month since we’ve played a ballgame.
“We just want to do a great job with our communication, our alignments, our assignments, and try to impact a good quarterback as much as possible.”
That quarterback, North Texas redshirt freshman Drew Mestemaker, made the Mean Green the nation’s highest-scoring offense with 44.8 points a game. It’s the season’s biggest challenge for an SDSU defense that ranks fifth in the nation in scoring defense with 12.6 points a game.
What gives? We’ll see.
The Aztecs (9-3) are 6 1/2-point underdogs against North Texas (11-2) in a game that kicks off at 2:45 p.m. PT (ESPN) at the University of New Mexico’s University Stadium.
Here are five things to watch:
1. QB or not QB?
Rumors began swirling two weeks ago that North Texas redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker would hit the transfer portal after leading the nation with 4,129 passing yards while throwing for 31 touchdowns.
That led to questions about whether Mestemaker, a former walk-on who could be in line to collect perhaps $3 million next year at a Power Four school, would opt out of the bowl game.
“I am not one to quit out on the team and kind of leave before we finish something,” Mestemaker said at Friday’s news conference in Albuquerque. “I felt like we had more on the table. I didn’t want to go out like how we went out. I know we’re a better football team than how we went out against Tulane, and so my thing was, I wanted to come back, finish this thing the right way and get our 12th win for the season.”
There is some speculation that Mestemaker will not play the entire game. Behind him, North Texas has well-traveled senior Reese Poffenbarger, who played at Miami, Albany and Old Dominion before coming this year to Denton, Texas. He barely played behind Cam Ward last year at Miami, although Poffenbarger did throw for more than 6,500 yards and 60 touchdowns across two seasons at Albany.
There is plenty of talent beyond the QBs. The receiving corps is led by Wyatt Young (63 catches, 1,209 yards, 10 TD), Cameron Dorner (50-845, 6 TD) and Miles Coleman (46-536, 2 TD).
There’s also a 1,000-yard rusher in Caleb Hawkins (200 carries, 1,236 yards, 23 TD), along with Mackenzie McGill (75-389, 5 TD) and Kiefer Sibley (45-224, 5 TD).
“I don’t know if you really stop or take away anything,” Lewis said. “We’re going to try to limit all their explosive playmakers.”
2. That is the question
When SDSU starting quarterback Jayden Denegal had season-ending surgery last week, the Aztecs turned to backup Bert Emanuel Jr. to lead them in the New Mexico Bowl.
“We have a next-man-up mentality,” SDSU running back Lucky Sutton said. “I truly belief in any quarterback that steps up in this game. Whoever steps in we’re going to do what we have to do to and control what we have to control.”
Emanuel played sparingly this season. He completed 5 of 9 passes for 37 yards, and there were some special packages to take advantage of Emanuel’s running ability.
Denegal’s workload was limited in practice so he could be as healthy as possible for games. The extra practice reps went to Emanuel, and Lewis said the backups has done “a great job all year long of being prepared.”
“We’ve navigated this in-house,” Lewis added. “Obviously, it’s new and it’s forward-facing to the public, but this is something the guys have done a great job handling all year long.”
Emanuel transferred in January from Central Michigan, where he made four starts among 13 games played over three seasons. He completed 27 of 51 passes for 439 yards and five touchdowns while rushing 145 times for 844 yards and 12 TDs. His last start was Sept. 23, 2023, against South Alabama.
“We’ll match and build the game plan to what BJ’s skillset is,” Lewis said. “He’s started games before, so we know we’re going to give him the ball and he’s going to give us a great chance to win.”
San Diego State’s Lucky Sutton has rushed for 1,267 yards this season. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
3. SDSU run game
The fewest pass attempts in a game for SDSU is seven, a mark set at San Jose State when the Aztecs put up a school-record 554 yards on 71 carries.
Could SDSU pass fewer than seven times against North Texas? Hmmm.
Denegal is out, and starting wide receivers Jordan Napier and Jacob Bostick have suffered season-ending knee injuries.
Then, there’s an SDSU running game led by Sutton, who was a first-team all-Mountain West selection after rushing for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He is supported by running backs Christian Washington (88 carries, 486 yards, 3 TD) and Byron Cardwell Jr. (47 carries, 162 yards, TD), as well as Emanuel (22 carries, 102 yards).
And North Texas’ defense ranks 126th out of 136 FBS teams against the run, allowing 207.2 yards a game.
“Besides the service academies, I don’t know anyone in the country that has run the football more than we are,” Lewis said. “Running the football has always been a big staple of who we are and what we’re about. We want to be able to win the game from the inside out and control the trenches. Obviously, BJ has a skillset that helps us accentuate what that is.”
SDSU has rushed twice as many times (505) as it has passed (253) this season. But run even more?
“We’re already stretching some margins there to run it any more than we already have this year,” Lewis said.
Know this: If SDSU could, it wouldn’t throw the ball at all against the Mean Green — choosing instead to run the clock, keeping the ball away from Mestemaker and Co.
The key will be whether North Texas’ offense forces SDSU to chase points and throw the ball to get back in the game.
3. Case for the defense
While SDSU’s defense has been elite this season, the Aztecs face some challenges against North Texas.
It is the first game calling the defense for cornerbacks coach Demetrius Sumler, who was promoted to defensive coordinator last week following the departure of DC Rob Aurich to Nebraska.
Also, Sumler won’t have his full complement of defenders against the Mean Green. Starting linebacker Tano Letuli suffered a season-ending knee injury in midseason, though Mister Williams has been an able replacement. Two backups on the offensive line — Jared Badie and August Salvati — are entering the transfer portal and have left the team.
All-American cornerback Chris Johnson has not practiced while healing from a foot injury, and his participation is questionable at best. Fellow starting corner Bryce Phillips has opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft.
There is some additional incentive for the Aztecs. This is the same field they were on in the regular-season finale against New Mexico. The loss to the Lobos cost them a berth in the Mountain West championship game.
“We’re going to take the lessons we learned on that field and try to learn from our mistakes and not make them again,” linebacker Owen Chambliss said. “It’s a little bit of motivation. Every single time we faced adversity this season we handled it well. We’re just excited to get back out there and compete.”
San Diego State’s Gabe Plascencia kicks a 50-yard field goal before halftime during Saturday’s game against Fresno State in Fresno. (Justin Truong, SDSU athletics)
5. If it comes down to kicking …
Give the Aztecs a slight edge if the game is decided by the kickers and punters.
SDSU kicker Gabe Plascencia is 19-for-22 in field goals this season with a long of 53 yards. North Texas’ Kali Nguma is 12-for-13 with a long of 46 yards.
SDSU punter Hunter Green has averaged 47.6 yards this season, with a long of 68 yards and 26 punts inside the 20-yard line. North Texas’ Sawyer Evans has averaged 40.9 yards with a long of 51 yards and nine inside the 20.
BOX: Two assistants hired
Lewis is adding edges coach Colin Ferrell and linebackers coach Scott White to the coaching staff, according to a source within the athletic department.
The moves come after Nebraska hired both Aurich, who was both DC and linebackers coach, and edges coach Roy Manning earlier this month.
Ferrell, 41, was the defensive line coach at Rutgers the past two years. He played at Kent State from 2004-07, then coached there for 11 seasons, including five years as defensive line coach when Lewis was head coach.
White, 42, is an experienced linebackers coach who has spent the past decade at San Jose State and UCLA. He played at Mission Bay High School, where he was the San Diego Section’s 2001 Defensive Player of the Year, before playing at Washington.