After reclaiming the Bronze Boot in dominating fashion, the Cowboys are being rewarded with a matchup against one of the best teams in the Mountain West conference: San Diego State.
With one of the best defenses in the entire nation, head coach Jay Sawvel knows his team will have their hands full and will have to play the best they have all year in order to steal a win on the road and enter their final bye week of the season with a positive overall and league record.
Get to Know San Diego State
The Aztecs have so far gone undefeated in three tries through conference play, and have recorded only a single loss through the entire course of the season. Their impressive 6-1 record is large in part due to their stingy defense, which ranks amongst some of the best in the nation.
The Aztecs rank ninth in the nation in total defense, with national title contenders such as Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana and Oklahoma being amongst the teams edging them out. The Aztec defense allows just 255 yards a game, with their best outing being when they held FCS Stony Brook to a menial 95 yards in a 42-0 win in their season opener, setting the tone for their so far dominant season defensively.
The Aztec defense amazingly ranks even better nationally in scoring defense, placing second in the nation behind Ohio State, allowing just around 10 points an outing.
“They stay in certain lanes and they play great in those lanes, and they do it at all three levels,” Sawvel said.
The Aztec offense–while not the star of the show in San Diego–has also been effective this season.
Jayden Denegal leads the way under center and has so far thrown for 1,221 yards alongside seven touchdowns passes and three interceptions. His favorite target has by far and away been sophomore wideout Jordan Napier, who has caught 41 balls for 467 yards and two touchdowns this season.
Lucky Sutton has led the way on the ground for the Aztecs, as the junior running back has carried the ball 126 times for 662 yards and seven touchdowns. Sutton has more than double the carries than the next running back on the team.
A BIG 46-yard run from Lucky Sutton 😤@AztecFB pic.twitter.com/bdYilDLc2p
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 25, 2025
“They run the ball well, they’re not turning it over. They’re very big on their offensive line,” Sawvel said. “They stay in that phase where they’re a heavy run team and do that, and then they play very well on special teams.”
Overall, the Aztec offense ranks amongst the middle of the pack in the league, but has a number of different playmakers the Cowboy defense will have to contend with.
Cowboys Set For Big Defensive Clash
The Cowboys and the Aztecs have so far combined for five shutouts this season. The Aztecs sit in first place in scoring defense in the league, with the Cowboys not far behind in second. Both teams are currently allowing less than 20 points an outing.
“I really like where we are defensively, I think our guys are playing hard, I think they believe in each week’s game plan and have a strong belief in what we’re going to work to get done,” Sawvel said.
Lockdown Defense 🔒🤠 pic.twitter.com/jZQQ9mro9P
— Wyoming Cowboy Football (@wyo_football) October 27, 2025
Offense and scoring the football will be hard to come by this upcoming weekend, to say the least.
Takeaways on defense feels like it may turn out to be the biggest difference in this one, though, as three interceptions and a pair of turnovers on downs against Colorado State was a huge component in the shutout victory in the Border War for the Cowboys, and often left the offense in very advantageous positions.
The same can be said of the Aztecs in their shutout of Fresno State on the road last week as well, as the Aztec defense came down with two interceptions and three turnovers on downs in a 23-0 drubbing in a hostile road environment.
A difference maker for the Cowboy defense has been the leadership and communication by a number of different players, evident by the final drive Colorado State had in last weekend’s game, where a multitude of reserves preserved a shutout victory.
“All the defensive players were down at the far end of the coach’s box, too, when the ball’s at the 10 yard line, coaching all the guys that were still in,” Sawvel said. “That was a must have for them, to get that shutout. I appreciated that part of it.”
The Cowboys will undoubtedly be leaning on that leadership amongst their defense in a big road game against the Aztecs.
Offense Has Big Chance to Prove Themselves
You could go on and on about how good both of these defenses have been so far this season–and rightfully so. However, this contest feels like the perfect one for the Cowboy offense to prove themselves–and more so for offensive coordinator Jovon Bouknight, especially with this going to be only his second game calling the plays for the offense.
In his debut as the play caller, Bouknight led the best offensive outing of the season from a points perspective. The Cowboys cashed in on every trip to the red zone and the offense scored all 28 points in the win, all while striking a perfect balance between 34 run plays and 25 passing plays.
“Our players did a good job of, when we’re down there [in the red zone], like, we needed sevens,” Sawvel said. “That’s what we talked about, and we were a little bit disappointed, I think the last 24 minutes of the game we didn’t score, and we really wanted another seven or 14 in that.”
The Cowboys did score 35 points in a win over San Jose State earlier in the season, but the offense only accounted for 21 of those as the defense ran in a pick six and freshman wide receiver Deion DeBlanc scored on a punt return.
Bouknight’s offense in the Border War showed something the Cowboys have been missing on the offensive side of the ball all season long–consistency.
Getting into a rhythm against a stout Aztec defense is something that is much easier said than done, however. Just ask Fresno State, whose offensive rankings was seventh in the conference in total offense heading into their contest against the Aztecs, then dropped to 10th after being blanked on their home field. Fresno State’s ranking of sixth in scoring offense the week prior also dropped to eighth this week after their rough showing against the Aztecs.
“We’re going to have to find ways offensively to be productive and to keep the ball away,” Sawvel said. “The struggle with San Diego State is keeping yourself on the field, and that’s the big thing there.”
This undoubtedly is the biggest test of the season for a Cowboy offense that is still desperately looking to prove themselves under Bouknight.
