{"id":278257,"date":"2025-10-04T23:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T23:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/278257\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T23:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T23:40:11","slug":"3-thoughts-on-the-aztecs-45-24-win-over-colorado-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/278257\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Thoughts … on the Aztecs’ 45-24 win over Colorado State"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three thoughts after San Diego State\u2019s 45-24 Mountain West win over Colorado State on Friday night at Snapdragon Stadium:<\/a><\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego State coach Sean Lewis (right) and Colorado\u2019s State coach Jay Norvell speak briefly after SDSU beat the Rams. (Hayne Palmour IV \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\n1. Sleepover<\/p>\n

SDSU coach Sean Lewis has slept overnight in his office three times during his career, including twice this season.<\/p>\n

The first time was after the Aztecs returned from their 36-13 loss at Washington State.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we came back from Wazzu, we got delayed traveling back and I was just upset,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to go home and be a bad father and husband, so I just stayed in the office to clear my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Aztecs returned from last week\u2019s 6-3 win at Northern Illinois, they were behind as soon as they landed because they faced a short week with a Friday game against Colorado State.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re doing the mashup day of Sunday and Monday all on Sunday and we made some high-speed decisions to be prepared for our evening jog-thru on Sunday,\u201d said Lewis, mindful of an offense that managed just two field goals. \u201cAs we\u2019re on the field, you\u2019re solving the problems with the kids and you\u2019re presenting the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some things that probably because of time on task we hadn\u2019t thought through early enough. We all kind of looked around at each other as an offensive staff and there were some things we needed to iron out before we went and practiced Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a simple fact that Monday is our big, physical work day. The things that we call, the things that we rep, better be things we\u2019re going to use. The only way to make sure that we\u2019re right in that regard is to spend more time together with the plan and with the tape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aztecs got off the practice field Sunday night after 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m putting on a pot of coffee, like, let\u2019s work through this,\u201d Lewis said, \u201cand we were in our war room until 1:15 in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Player meetings were scheduled to begin six hours later. Then practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome guys went home and took a four-hour nap,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cFor me, the cost-benefit analysis of a 25-minute drive up and a 25-minute drive back is going to cut into an hour of sleep that I could just get here. Posted up in the office and that was that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several others on the staff came to the same conclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a really good focus, vibe, with the staff,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cWe were really motivated to get it right for the kids. Also, there wasn\u2019t really a choice. It\u2019s like, \u2018We\u2019re presenting this at 7:15 (Monday) morning. We have to do this now.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where the sicko mode of us kicks in. It turns competitive. We\u2019re doing this. I know they\u2019re (the opposing staff) doing this. We\u2019re going to win the prep. That became a big theme of the week. We\u2019re all pushing, burning the midnight oil.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes what it takes. If we want to go earn the right to win again, this is what we need to do and really challenge the guys to win the prep. Have the competitive stamina here over 13 days for these two games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the staff and everyone in the program did a tremendous job with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It helps when all that preparation, lack of sleep and lost time with family pays off with a 21-point victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, I\u2019ve got a rock star of a wife who knows and understands,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cI do what needs to be done, and she holds it down. It helps with some of the husband guilt and dad guilt of not being present all the time. You get that win and it leads to job security and being able to continue to provide for your family. Winning helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego State quarterback Jayden Denegal looks to throw a pass in the second quarter against Colorado State. (Hayne Palmour IV \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\n2. Denegal steps forward<\/p>\n

SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal\u2019s decision-making, among other things, was questioned in SDSU\u2019s loss to the Cougars. He has responded with improved performances, none better than Friday\u2019s against Colorado State.<\/p>\n

Denegal (13-for-16, 256 yards, 2 TDs) for first-half touchdowns of 45 and 42 yards and hit another receiver for 61 yards, setting up another TD. They were three beautiful throws, the likes of which have not been seen from an SDSU quarterback in more than a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played pitch and catch tonight, which is really cool,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cBecause of that it\u2019s like, \u2018Whoa.\u2019 We obsess on the process, the approach and, yeah, he\u2019s a really, really talented kid. He\u2019s got the ability to touch the whole field. He showed that tonight. \u2026 We put a ton on JD\u2019s plate to manage and control, and he did great.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, it\u2019s a culmination of all the hard work they\u2019ve put in. There was a lot of that that we saw (in Denegal) through spring ball and through training camp that gave us the confidence that would come to life in real time, in game reps.\u201d<\/p>\n

How much does Denegal\u2019s performance act as a springboard going forward?<\/p>\n

\u201cTime will tell,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cLike any of us, when you put so much into something and you have a really good showing, a really good performance, it recharges you, it gives you confidence, it allows you to lean back into the work even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denegal\u2019s pass efficiency rating was 256.90, the third-best mark in SDSU\u2019s Division I history (since 1969) and best since Kevin McKechnie\u2019s school-record mark of 291.81 against Navy in 1997.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego State players celebrate the team\u2019s win over Colorado State. (Hayne Palmour IV \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\n3. What goes with crow?<\/p>\n

Several SDSU graduates were among those gathered in Ocean Beach for the wedding of a close friend the day after the Aztecs\u2019 loss at Washington State.<\/p>\n

After toasting the happy couple and wishing them well, the discussion touched on a most disappointing loss to the Cougars.<\/p>\n

Mel Koren, never too shy to share an opinion, offered this: \u201cI don\u2019t see them winning more than two games this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aztecs improved to 4-1 against the Rams.<\/p>\n

With the Aztecs leading 31-10 early in the second half, Koren texted: \u201cOk, I\u2019m officially eating crow.\u201d<\/p>\n

ChatGPT suggests pairing it with a full-bodied red wine.<\/p>\n

What led to Koren to his initial observation and what convinced him he was wrong?<\/p>\n

\u201cI was basing a lot of my opinion on how the team did last year from start to finish,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think they progressed at all. If anything, I thought they regressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, when they came out in the first game or two this year and I saw the same stuff, especially in the Washington State game, like bad penalties, some questionable strategic moves and not a lot of offense, I thought, \u2018Here we go again.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t get to see the Cal game (a 34-0 SDSU win), unfortunately. I was at my high school reunion. But there\u2019s a diehard Aztecs fan who went to my high school. We\u2019ve been commiserating. The whole time at the reunion, he\u2019s coming up to me with score updates. I\u2019m like, \u2018No way.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Koren also missed last week\u2019s 6-3 win at Northern Illinois. He had a legitimate excuse: he underwent heart surgery earlier in the week.<\/p>\n

After Friday night\u2019s victory, he texted: \u201cThis is helping my recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I saw against Colorado State was not the same team I\u2019ve seen the past couple of years,\u201d Mel said. \u201cEven though I don\u2019t think they were at their best defensively, I haven\u2019t seen offense like that from us, where we\u2019re balanced, running, passing, offensive line play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how much of that is us and how much Colorado State is just bad, but if they keep playing like that, the fans are going to start coming back. I think the fans are going to come back after this game. I was thoroughly impressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an entertaining brand of football and it was a good brand of football. If Lewis keeps doing that, I\u2019ll be the first to say I had the wrong, wrong opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does this mean Koren is prepared to join in with the \u201cI believe\u201d chant? He\u2019s clearing his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe. \u2026 I\u2019m excited. A couple more wins and you\u2019re not going to have to pay people to go to the games. I\u2019m going to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Koren\u2019s crow-eating story was shared with Lewis.<\/p>\n

\u201cOk. All good,\u201d he laughed. \u201cBuy a ticket. Let\u2019s see you when we play Wyoming (next home game, Nov. 1). We\u2019ll welcome you. Hop on the bandwagon. There\u2019s plenty of room for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three thoughts after San Diego State\u2019s 45-24 Mountain West win over Colorado State on Friday night at Snapdragon…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":278258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,1369,1370,3549,7264,18257,62,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-278257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-college-sports","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-sdsu-aztecs","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-top-stories-sdut","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}