The San Diego State Aztecs are coming off a tough loss last weekend to undefeated Mountain West Conference leader Nevada. They have a chance for some measure of revenge on Friday when they face another team ahead of them in the standings, the Fresno State Bulldogs. Last year, San Diego State beat Fresno State 17-7. This year, San Diego State is favored by 3.5 points. Can they play spoiler and beat the Bulldogs in this Black Friday showdown?
Aztecs let one slip away
The San Diego State Aztecs have lost two of their last three games to fall to 3-2 on the season. But those two losses were to the best teams in the Mountain West west division, San Jose State and Nevada. Three weeks ago, the Aztecs fell to the now 4-0 San Jose State by the score of 28-17. Last week they fell to 5-0 Nevada by the score of 26-21. The Aztecs held a 21-16 lead at halftime, but Nevada pitched a shutout in the second half and held on for the 26-21 win.San Diego State quarterback Lucas Johnson was 14 for 24 for 184 yards and a touchdown, but he suffered an injury late in the game and is questionable for this week's game. The Aztecs didn't generate a lot of offense as no receiver or running back had over 100 yards. Jesse Matthews led the way with 5 catches for 80 yards. The Aztecs only had 293 yards of total offense. San Diego State's strength has been their defense as they are 8th in the nation with 15 points per game allowed and 6th in total yards against.
Fresno State hit with COVID
After an opening game loss to Hawaii, the Fresno State Bulldogs rattled off three straight wins to improve to 3-1. They find themselves just one game behind MWC West division leaders Nevada and San Jose State, and a game in the loss column ahead of San Diego State. But if you look sat their three wins, they are against lower division teams in the Mountain West. They beat 1-2 Colorado State, 0-4 Utah State, and 0-4 UNLV. So, if you're counting along at home, that's a combined record of 1-10.Last week, the Bulldogs were set to face their toughest test of the season against San Jose State, but the game was cancelled as a member of the Fresno State team tested positive for COVID-19. The team was quarantined so its not clear how many players on the Bulldogs team caught the virus. It is also unclear if the team will even be able to play this week due to quarantining protocals. Stay tuned.
Stats & Trends
- Aztecs are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss.
- Aztecs are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.
- HOT:
- Bulldogs are 1-4-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
- Bulldogs are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games.
The Pick
Take the Aztecs here giving up the points. I absolutely love the Aztecs here. First, a caveat - this game might not even be played as Fresno State had a player catch the virus and had to quarantine. There's a decent chance this game won't happen, so keep an eye out. But if they do play, I love San Diego State. Fresno State will have had no or limited practice due to the quarantining. Plus, they have played the worst teams in the league, teams with a combined record of 1-10. Meanwhile, San Diego State has lost to teams with a combined record of 9-0 -- and played competitively against both. If you look at common opponents, Fresno State lost handily to Hawaii while San Diego beat Hawaii handily. The Aztecs have a great defense and I don't see a hampered Fresno State team mounting much of an attack against them.