Aztecs, snakebit during inaugural Pac-12 season, try to overcome poor play and a contagion to draw fans back to Snapdragon

Before the season started, probably no one figured that San Diego State’s football team would have to deal with a dismal record, horrible attendance and a viral outbreak all before the year reached its halfway point.

But that’s exactly where we are halfway through the Aztecs’ first season in the Pac-12. With homecoming coming up against archrival Fresno State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, things could hardly be going worse for San Diego State.

Over the first six weeks of the season, not only have the Aztecs (2-4, 1-1 Pac-12) lost twice as many games as they’ve won, their home venue has only been half full – at best – for each game while the team has had to deal with a mumps outbreak in the locker room.

It’s not exactly a recipe for success. And if perpetually upbeat head coach Sean Lewis doesn’t find a way to turn things around – or at a minimum, show signs that things are trending in the right direction – then this season, his third in charge, could also be his last with the Scarlet & Black.

Wins and losses

Let’s start with the Aztecs’ record. The team’s two victories so far are against clubs with losing records: 2-3 Texas State and 2-4 Portland State. Of great concern – of the Aztecs’ four losses, all were by double digits. Two were extreme blowouts: 66-14 at Oregon State on Oct. 10 and 41-16 at Toledo on Sept. 26.

Their opponent this weekend, Fresno State, which also jumped from the Mountain West Conference to the Pac-12, has a 4-2 record and was on a four-game winning streak until losing to No. 23 Boise State 38-31 last week. That doesn’t bode well for homecoming.

After the Bulldogs, the Aztecs may catch a break. Three of SDSU’s final four regular season opponents are unranked with losing records.

Those opponents – Pac-12 schools Colorado State, Washington State and Utah State – are a combined 5-13 this season. So, if the Aztecs can manage to win Saturday’s homecoming and then defeat the Pac-12’s other cellar dwellers, they would have a winning record of 6-4, making San Diego State bowl-eligible heading into its final scheduled matchup of the season, on Nov. 21.

But then they hit a potential brick wall – No. 23 Boise State.

Mumps outbreak

SDSU has struggled on both sides of the ball over the past month, and for good reason. On Sept. 30, the school confirmed in a statement that a mumps outbreak had infected at least 14 players on the team.

Among the players who missed at least one game were running backs Lucky Sutton and Javion Kinnard; tight ends Jack Ellis and Parker Guiltinan; linebacker Tano Letuli, and backup quarterback Stone Saunders.

Mumps, which is highly contagious and spreads easily in dense environments filled with unvaccinated people, can cause fever, headache, malaise, facial pain and loss of appetite. About a third of people who contract it never show any symptoms, but can still infect others, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Interestingly, the mumps vaccine is required for all SDSU students. As part of their enrollment, players on the team are required to provide either proof of immunization or “laboratory evidence of immunity,” according to the university’s Student Health Services department.

So it’s very curious as to how more than a dozen football players were able to contract, and potentially spread, the mumps virus.

Attendance woes

During the offseason, SDSU lowered ticket prices 4-35% for football games depending on the seating areas, right as the Aztecs were gearing up for their inaugural Pac-12 season.

And during its three home games so far, the team drew announced attendances of 28,474 against Texas State on Oct. 3; 26,487 versus James Madison on Sept. 19, and 26,913 on Sept. 5 against Portland St. Snapdragon Stadium seats about 35,000 people.

But as anyone who’s been to a home game this season or has watched one on television can attest, it’s been more than apparent that the Aztecs are more than a few thousand spectators short of a full house.

The stadium looked half-full – at best – for each of the three games. A likely reason why is because announced attendance may differ greatly from turnstile attendance, which is the number of people who physically pass through a gate or scanner at the stadium.

A turnstile average hasn’t been generated for the games so far, but during the 2023-25 seasons, the overall averages were 17,066, 16,759 and 17,406 people respectively, according to sports data site Aztec Mesa and local media.

And since half the seating capacity for football at Snapdragon is 17,500, if those averages are a predictor of attendance for the first three games of this season, SDSU has pulled in less than half the number of fans the stadium can hold.

‘Records don’t matter’

Saturday’s turnout might be boosted by homecoming festivities and the presence of Fresno State, a longtime rival. But winning may be a tall order, since the Bulldogs (1-1 Pac-12) are also hungry to get back in the win column.

“Throw the records out just like this past weekend with (No. 1) Texas (losing to unranked) Oklahoma, records don’t matter,” Lewis told the media earlier this week while hyping up the game and looking to draw in fans.

“You’ll never hear me say that this is just another week. This is not just another week,” he continued. “Rivalry games are special. We need our whole community to rally around us and be behind us there on Saturday night.”

And if the community doesn’t heed his words, then it’ll be yet another disappointment in a season that so far has been chock full of them.