Arizona Football: Matchup info and game insight vs SDSU

Arizona Football (0-1, 0-0) had a tough setback in week one, falling to BYU in Vegas, but it is time for the Wildcats to rebound against San Diego State (1-0, 0-0). 

Arizona Football kicked off the 2021 season this past weekend in Las Vegas against BYU, and while it was another unfortunate loss for the Wildcats, it was still a decent showing for head coach Jedd Fisch in his first game.

This week, Arizona returns to action against San Diego State in what will be the Wildcats’ first home game of 2021.

Playing the Aztecs for the first time in 20 years, Arizona enters this one as a slight favorite, however, now isn’t the time to get complacent.

Make no mistake, Arizona looked competitive against BYU, but this team still has a lot of room for improvement, and SDSU is no easy foe by any means, either.

Either way, the team believes in coach Fisch, and despite suffering their 13th straight loss, this is a group with a high level of confidence entering the SDSU game. With that said, here is our Preview of the Wildcats’ game against the Aztecs.

Getting to Know the details with Arizona Football’s matchup against the SDSU Aztecs

Team: San Diego State Aztecs

Conference: Mountain West

2020 Record: Finishing 4-4 (4-2) in the abbreviated Covid season, San Diego State ended their season losing three of their last four games including a 28-14 loss to BYU on the road.

Head Coach: Brady Hoke enters his 4th season with the Aztecs having compiled an 18-16 record at SDSU, which includes his first stint with the Aztecs in 2009-10. Overall, he is 83-76 as a head coach.

Key Returners/ Starters:

Offense

Largely led behind the rushing attack of Greg Bell, the senior running back had a great start to the season last weekend, rushing for 161 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in their win over New Mexico State.

Under center, it will be senior quarterback Jordon Brookshire. Having seen limited action the past two seasons, Jordon will likely get the call again against the Wildcats, and even in the teams’ win this past Saturday, Jordon struggled, completing just 7 of 20 passes for 115 yards and an interception.

At receiver, the Aztecs seem to use a solid rotation of players, with Kobe Smith, BJ Busbee, Jesse Matthews and running back Jordan Byrd seemingly being their top targets. Once again the Wildcats will be tested vertically since that is where they seem to struggle the most.

Defense

Defensively, SDSU was a solid group last season, holding opponents to just 17.8 points per game. For 2021, they return a large contingency of their talent from that defensive group including Cameron Thomas, Caden McDonald, and Jonah Tavai who all had over four sacks last season.

While the Aztecs did lose their top three tacklers from last season, this is a group that should be more than fine this season. This is a team that excels in controlling the line of scrimmage and generating pressure, holding NMSU to just 48 yards rushing while also getting five sacks last week.

Key Injuries: 

SDSU

• N/A

Arizona 

• WR – Jamarye Joiner (Foot) – Will be out he recovers from surgery.
• OL – Jordan Morgan – Missed week one against BYU, may be out this week as well.
• LB – Jabar Triplett (Knee) – Still recovering from offseason knee surgery.

Game Information: 

When: Saturday, September 11th, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM

Watch: Pac-12 Sports Network, FuboTV 

Spread: -1.0 Arizona (Don’t forget to use WynnBet to enhance your betting experience)

Where: Arizona Stadium – Tucson, AZ (57,400)

Overall Series Record: 10-5 Arizona. The Wildcats have had a clear advantage here having won the last four matchups, including six of the last eight.

Last Meeting vs. Arizona: The last time these two teams met was in San Diego back in 2001. John Mackovic was the head coach of the Wildcats, and Arizona came away with the 23-10 victory over the Aztecs.

My Prediction: Arizona 30 SDSU 21 – Arizona showed a lot of fight in their loss to BYU. This team believes they can win, and coming home to play SDSU is just what the team needs to get back on track to end the losing streak. Wildcats make just enough plays and Arizona gets the win here.