2013-14 Football Previews – (MWC) – Aztecs
Rocky Long wasn’t necessarily a popular hire when San Diego State brought him, but his first two years with San Diego State have been tremendous. He has done a great job building on what Brady Hoke started. The Aztecs return six starters on the offensive side and nine on the defensive in 2013.
Mountain West 2013 College Football Previews: San Diego State Aztecs (Team Link)
Head Coach: Rocky Long
2012 Record: 9-4
San Diego State Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: +2,000 (Part of Field)
San Diego State Gambling Odds to win Mountain West Conference: +750
San Diego State didn’t have a winning season between 1999 and 2009, so their recent success in football is quite impressive. While the team does return 15 starters from a year ago, they lost a couple of their stars.
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s College Picks in 2013!
Leon McFadden was the best player on this defense, and he should be a good cornerback in the NFL. The offensive front also lost their top two starters from last year. The Aztecs have a tough schedule to navigate through in 2013. Can they put together another good season?
Team Strengths:
Rocky Long likes to run the football, and he has a great work horse running back in Adam Muema. Muema had six 100 yard rushing games in 2012, and he averaged 6.2 yards per carry during the year. Muema hits the hole quickly, and he frequently gashes through the middle of the opposing defense. Look for him to have a lot of success again this year.
San Diego State has the best group of linebackers in the conference. Jake Fely had 69 tackles in his last seven games last year, and he’ll be the leader of this group. Derek Largent should also be a good play maker here. Overall, seven of the team’s top eight linebackers are back for 2013 and this group should be special.
The Aztecs have often had to compete with an undersized front four on the defensive line. That will not be the case this season. San Diego State only allowed 3.6 yards per carry a year ago, and I think they should be even better this year. Junior Sam Meredith is a very good run stuffer. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Team Weaknesses:
Adam Dingwell needs to get better in the passing game for this team to be able to compete against the best teams in the Mountain West this year. Dingwell didn’t do a bad job here a year ago, but teams are going to key in on the running game and force him to air it out a bit more this year.
Can he be consistent enough through the air?
This team has been used to Leon McFadden shutting down one whole side of the field at the cornerback spot, and they won’t have that luxury this year. The running defense is still very good, but you can expect opponents to start throwing the ball more successfully against the Aztecs in 2013.
2013-2014 San Diego State Football Prediction: 7-6
It’s not so much that I expect San Diego State to be a lot worse than last year, but they do have a much more difficult schedule. The Aztecs play Ohio State and Oregon State in back-to-back non-conference games early in the season. San Diego State isn’t balanced enough on offense to be among the best in the Mountain West this year.
They should get to a bowl game, but don’t expect a great season from the Aztecs.
2013 Aztecs Schedule
8/31/13 8:00 PM ET EIU
9/7/13 3:30 PM ET @OSU
9/21/13 7:30 PM ET ORST
9/28/13 8:00 PM ET @NMSU
10/4/13 9:00 PM ET NEV
10/10/13 9:00 PM ET @AFA
10/26/13 TBD FRES
11/2/13 8:00 PM ET UNM
11/9/13 10:30 PM ET @SJSU
11/16/13 11:30 PM ET @HAW
11/23/13 10:30 PM ET BSU
11/30/13 TBD @UNLV
