San Diego State's dramatic win over Fresno State earns two Aztecs Pac-12 honors

The San Diego State Aztecs’ thrilling 26-23 win in their big rivalry game against Fresno State resulted in two players earning Pac-12 awards on Monday.

Senior EDGE Kai Wallin was named the defensive player of the week, while senior placekicker Cooper DiLeva was named special teams player of the week.

It’s the first weekly award for both players and gives the Aztecs (3-4, 2-1) a total of six weekly honors this season. The awards are voted on by media that cover the league.

Cooper DiLeva delivers game-winning 53-yard field goal

DiLeva tied a school record with four field goals, including a career-long 53-yarder with 57 seconds left to give the Aztecs the badly needed win.

The four field goals doubled his season output to eight. He also connected from 32, 30 and 40 yards to help the Aztecs retain the Old Oil Can trophy.

It was the 11th time in SDSU history that a kicker made four field goals in a game.

The 53-yarder was the longest in school history in the fourth quarter of a one-score game, tied for seventh-longest in SDSU history, was the longest in the Pac-12 this season and the 24th-longest in the FBS.

a new career-long 53-YARD field goal from Cooper DiLeva for the AZTEC LEAD 🏹

26-23 San Diego State with :30 to go on CBSSN. pic.twitter.com/PGZO4Saht3
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 18, 2026

DiLeva accounted for a career-high 14 points and had seven kickoffs for a 63.9 average and five touchbacks.

For the season, he has made eight of nine field goal attempts (88.9%) and all 16 PATs for a team-high 40 points.

Kai Wallin records three sacks in rivalry victory

Wallin also had a huge night to help the Aztecs bounce back from an ugly 66-14 loss at Oregon State the week before. The transfer from OSU had his first three sacks of the season for 15 yards. They were the most in the Pac-12 and tied for the fifth most in FBS.

It was the first three-sack game by an Aztec player since Trey White had three against Hawaii on Oct. 5, 2024.

Kai Wallin Bringing the BOOM 💥

📺: @CBSSportsNet #AztecFAST🍢 x #BeTheA1pha🐺 x #TheClimb📈 pic.twitter.com/Zp2RKgDAJr
— San Diego State Football (@AztecFB) October 18, 2026

His first sack helped lead to a punt and subsequent SDSU scoring drive that made it 10-0. His second sack also helped lead to a punt in a one-point game. His third sack came with FSU having no timeouts and it helped run down the clock during a four-and-out, and SDSU took a knee to end it.

Wallin has 18 tackles, including three for loss, an interception and four quarterback hurries.

What's next for San Diego State football?

The Aztecs play at Colorado State at 3:30 p.m. PT Saturday.

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