This Saturday at 12:30 PM PT, San Diego State will travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to face off against Central Michigan. The game will be on CBS Sports Network as well as AM 760 on local San Diego radio.
San Diego State and Central Michigan have only faced off one time in its history, that being a 48-11 blood bath in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl. San Diego State against MAC members of the time of the game are 11-1-1. This will be the first game on the east coast for the Aztecs since its game @ Penn State in 2015. Sean Lewis are very much hoping for a far different outcome since the last time the football program made the travel to the east coast.
Sean Lewis is hoping to come out firing off of a much needed bye week and get the Aztecs back on the right track. Sean Lewis in his press conference earlier this week stated, “There was great energy in the building all during the bye week.” As an Aztec fan that is great news after back to back losses in which the team played undiscipline football. The Chippewas feature a very balanced offense where they can beat in both the air and on the ground. In their 37-34 over Ball State it was the rushing attack that deemed to be superior to the passing attack. They rushed for 335 yards, with running back B.J. Harris leading the team with 151 yards. They feature four running backs that get a similar amount of opportunities, all of which very talented runners who can beat you at any moment.
Central Michigan's defense are nothing this Aztec team should fear, compared to the last two defenses they faced the previous two weeks before the bye. They give up 31.5 PPG, pairing that along with averaging 71.25 penalty yards per game. They also do not turn opposing offenses over, their only turnover being a 46 yard house call against Central Connecticut. These are very good signs for Sean Lewis and Co as they look to finally get this AztecFast offense on track. A big part of the offensive struggles has been due to penalties and setting the offense way behind the chains, which in an offense that wants to establish the run, is not very good and must be cleaned up.
In order for the Aztecs to win this game, they must do these three things. Win the turnover battle, have less than five penalties for the entire game, as well as winning the battle in the trenches. As some of you have seen me tweet before, winning the turnover battle accumulates to a win just about 70% of the time, I personally love those odds. It is no secret if you are an Aztec fan or just someone who happens to watch Aztec football games this year, that they have had problems with penalties and either setting opposing offenses up with short fields, continuous drives, or setting their offense back in long down and distance positions. If the Aztecs can keep the penalties under five in this game, they will come out with a victory. Lastly, the trenches. The Offensive Line and Defensive Line are keys in both run games in this game in what I believe will be the deciding factor in who wins this game. The Offensive Line must create holes for star running Marquez Cooper, and the defensive line have to get interior pressure with stunts and good technique to stifle a really good Central Michigan rushing attack.
Score Prediction
San Diego State 27
vs
Central Michigan 20
San Diego State is going to go on the road in a hostile environment and get back to .500 and on the right track. The defense will force Chippewas QB Joe Labas into throwing an interception or two, and set the offense up in short fields to help Coach Sean Lewis and his AztecFast offense get some quick and easy points on the board.
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