San Diego State football's 3 keys to victory against Nevada

The Aztecs will look to start Mountain West play 2-0 with a win over Nevada on Saturday

Oct 3, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego State Aztecs running back Lucky Sutton. | David Frerker-Imagn Images

Sean Lewis and San Diego State are set for their first road game in conference play when they face Nevada in Reno on Saturday night.

The Aztecs and Wolfpack will kick things off at 7:30 PM PT on Oct. 11, and the game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.

San Diego State is 4-1 on the year and boasts a three-game win streak, including a 45-24 thrashing of Colorado State last weekend that has SDSU 1-0 so far in Mountain West play.

They will look to start 2-0 with a win at Nevada, which is just 1-4 on the year after losing at Fresno State last week, 20-17. The Wolfpack is among the lowest scoring teams in the entire FBS, with just 77 total points on the year.

San Diego State opens as 6.5-point favorites, per ESPN, and will look to keep riding their elite defense and running game to another victory and a 2-0 start in league play.

1. Dominate on defense

Nevada has scored just 15.4 points per game this year, the fifth-lowest mark in FBS — only ahead of Kent State, Coastal Carolina, Northern Illinois, and UMass. They are average on the ground but anemic in the air, with just 143.4 passing yards per game.

Chubba Purdy — the brother of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy — has really struggled this year, to put it mildly. The sixth-year quarterback has thrown one touchdown and eight interceptions through five games, including going 0-4 with a pair of picks last week against Fresno State.

Aug 30, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Nevada Wolf Pack quarterback Chubba Purdy. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Meanwhile, the Aztecs are giving up just 158 passing yards per game — the best mark in the Mountain West — and as long as they keep doing what they have been doing against the pass, this SDSU club shouldn't have an issue slowing down an already anemic Nevada offense.

2. Run early, run often

San Diego State ran all over Colorado State in Week 6, racking up 281 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Both Byron Cardwell (129 yards) and Lucky Sutton (113) posted 100-yard games, and it led to the Aztecs handily winning the time of possession battle and coasting to an easy victory.

Oct 3, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego State Aztecs running back Byron Cardwell Jr. | David Frerker-Imagn Images

Nevada's defense has been better against the run than it has against the pass, although the Wolfpack is still surrendering 136.6 yards per game on the ground. The Aztecs will want to establish the run game early in this road tilt, keeping their defense fresh while forcing Nevada's defense into long, tiring stretches. With Cardwell and Sutton both playing great, this is a battle that SDSU should win on Saturday.

3. Avoid beating yourself

San Diego State has already played a pair of games on the road, so another trip shouldn't have too big an impact on the Aztecs. However, this team has had a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, namely with penalties, which have become an issue for coach Lewis' team.

Oct 3, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego State Aztecs quarterback Jayden Denegal (4) hands the ball off to running back Christian Washington (23). | David Frerker-Imagn Images

SDSU is averaging nearly seven penalties per game, and its 63.4 penalty yards per contest ranks 98th in the country out of 134 FBS teams. The Aztecs are the better team, but mental mistakes that slow down or prematurely end drives are killer and could swing the momentum in favor of Nevada — especially on the road in a conference matchup against a team desperate to turn their season around.