4thand4cast 🏈

Search the site.

Try , , or .

Powered by Pagefind

San Diego State

Aztecs · Pac-12

Head coach Sean Lewis Year 3 with San Diego State

Year-3 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.10 W vs. preseason expectation

Season Projection · 2026 W2

10,000 sims
7.2
Expected wins
7-4
Proj record
4 to 10
Win range (90%)
#45 (23–72)
Final rank (90%)
1%
Make playoff
45%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

1%

Baseline projection.

  • at Toledo
    Away · Sep 26
  • vs James Madison
    Home · Sep 20
  • at Toledo
    Away · Sep 26
  • vs James Madison
    Home · Sep 20
  • at Boise State
    Away · Nov 22

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2026

76 score
  • Quarterback 100% (5/5 )
  • Offensive line 87% (13/15 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 91% (22/28 )
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 37% (19/29 )
  • Secondary 46% (15/20 )
  • Special teams 5% (6/8 )

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

-0.7 rating

23 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

  • Jalen Thomeson S ← Ohio 146 impact
  • Aldrich Doe WR ← Bryant 43 impact
  • Javion Kinnard RB ← Colorado State 40 impact
  • Kai Wallin DL ← Oregon State 38 impact
  • Jason Oliver CB ← Sacramento State 32 impact
  • Caleb Ricks CB ← Idaho 19 impact

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

If QB1 is out (Jayden Denegal)

GIE projects a -2.1 rating drop and a -8.5pp shift in playoff probability if San Diego State loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=1 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 30.8% 17th — bottom tier
  • Red-zone TD rate 13.4% 35th — below avg
  • 4th-down aggression 31.9% 28th — below avg
  • Late & close 3.7 yds/play 20th — bottom tier

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Latest Stories

  • Recap

    San Diego State: 2025 Week 16 recap

    San Diego State sits at No. 43 overall with a 9–4 record and a GIE rating of 6.7. The Aztecs took a loss to New Mexico last week, falling 23–17 on the road in Week 14—a result that underscores the tightness of the Pac-12 middle tier. That…

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.