Oregon State Football Opponent Preview: San Diego State

With the start of the 2024 season just around the corner, BeaversEdge kicks off the first in an opponent preview series diving into all 12 of Oregon State's opponents in 2024...

Up next is the Beavers' first road game against San Diego State...

THE GAME

Date: Saturday, September 7th

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Snapdragon Stadium - San Diego, CA

TV: CBSSN

Oregon State 2023 record: 8-5 (5-4 Pac-12)

San Diego State 2023 record: 4-8 (2-6 MW)

SDSU Head Coach: Sean Lewis (24-31 overall, 0-0 SDSU)

San Diego State 2023 Recap

It was a tough 2023 campaign for San Diego State as they suffered through a 4-8 campaign, going just 2-6 in Mountain West play and having their first losing season since 2009.

While never a big-game bowl-buster Mountain West school, SDSU had quietly built one of the more consistent programs on the West Coast from 2010 to roughly 2022. The Aztecs won nine or more games seven times in that stretch, including two years with 11 and one with 12 wins.

The season started out optimistically for SDSU, going 2-0 with wins over Ohio and Idaho State, before dropping four straight to UCLA, Oregon State, Boise State, and Air Force. While they were losses, the Aztecs fell to BSU by just three and OSU by 17.

They rebounded with a win over Hawaii on Oahu, before suffering four more straight defeats at the hands of Nevada, Utah State, Colorado State, and San Jose State.

Compared to the early losing streak, Nevada and CSU weren't good in 2023 and should have been won, while USU and SJSU were beatable opponents despite finishing with a better overall mark.

They wrapped up the year with a win over Fresno State, but the damage was done and the Aztecs were staring down at their worst year in over a decade.

Following the dismal campaign, longtime coach Brady Hoke (two different stints) announced his retirement and the Aztecs went out and hired Colorado offensive coordinator Sean Lewis.

Best Win: vs Fresno State (33-18)

Worst Loss: vs Nevada (6-0)

2023 Schedule

San Diego State 2024 Outlook

After serving as Deion Sanders' offensive coordinator and running the Buff offense, the brass at SDSU felt he was the right guy to lead them into the post-Hoke era and named him the head coach shortly after the season's conclusion.

San Diego State figures to be in a pretty sizable rebuild in the first year, as they'll be looking to flip the script and erase some of the pains of the 4-8 campaign a season ago.

The Aztecs will be looking for a starting quarterback in the new up-tempo offense of Lewis and the contenders will be Florida State transfer AJ Duffy and true freshman Danny O'Neil.

Duffy likely has the inside track after seeing action in four total games as a true freshman at Florida State, but he didn't get a ton of burn either, so that'll be a relatively green QB under center.

Running back Kenan Christon is back and will play a vital role in the backfield after having nearly 400 rushing yards and 200 receiving yards a season ago. SDSU also added Ball State transfer Marquez Cooper, who is coming off a 1,000-yard season with the Cardinals. WR Mekhi Shaw will be the leader out wide after tallying 375 yards and two touchdowns a season ago.

Defensively, it projects to be a sizable rebuild for Lewis and Co., as his coaching prowess is on the offensive side of the ball. However, Lewis hired former Washington LB coach Eric Schmidt to be the DC, and he comes to San Diego after a couple of impressive seasons with the Huskies.

That being said, it'll be difficult for that side of the ball to be routinely effective with the pieces that departed in the transfer portal in the offseason. Four defensive starters hit the transfer portal in the offseason to bigger programs, and it'll be curious to see how well/quickly they're able to replace that talent.

There's still some talent, such as linebacker Cody Moon, but I guess that SDSU's strength this season will be an improved offense because the defense looks like it'll struggle.

Season Projection: 6-6

Key Returnees: RB Kenan Christon, QB AJ Duffy, QB Danny O’Neil, WR Mekhi Shaw, LB Cody Moon

Early Prediction

While this game figures to be a solid challenge in the sense that it is a clear step up from Idaho State, and a true road game, I compare this matchup to the Beavers' season-opener at San Jose State a season ago.

While SJSU had a much better season in 2023 than the Aztecs did, I see it being about the same level of challenge for the Beavers.

As long as Oregon State doesn't beat themselves with silly mistakes or turnovers, this should be another game where the Beavers are solidly favored and are expected to win by a decent margin.

This is not the San Diego State that we've seen in seasons past, and why their brand would likely allow a quicker re-ascension in the Mountain West, Lewis won't have this squad hands and feet better in year one.

Lewis' coaching chops as a head coach are also something to consider, as he went 24-31 in five seasons as the HC at Kent State before joining Colorado with a pair of bowl appearances.

The MW is tougher than the MAC, so I'm curious to see how Lewis adjusts to rebuilding a mid-tier program like SDSU that has proven capable of being a winning program.

Getting SDSU early in the season is also a benefit to the Beavers... the Aztecs may start to figure out some things under Lewis as the season progresses, so there's that benefit with playing a rebuilding team in week two.

The Beavers took down SDSU 26-9 at Reser Stadium a season ago, in what was a bit of a sleepy game and I expect the result to be along the same lines. Look for the Beavers to win this road game by three scores and enter the matchup against Oregon in week three with a 2-0 record.

PREDICTION - Oregon State 28, San Diego State 10

Previously

Idaho State

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