Sports

Ranking the toughest games on San Diego State's 2026 football schedule

By Bernie Wilson Sports Illustrated

Updated May 26, 2026 7:37 AM

The San Diego State Aztecs can expect a step up in prestige and, presumably, rights fees, when they begin play in the new-look Pac-12 this fall.

But things will be close to the status quo when it comes to the opponents. The Aztecs will face four fellow former Mountain West rivals who made the jump to the Pac-12 - Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State and Colorado State.

And then there are holdovers, Washington State and Oregon State, which both have beaten the Aztecs during recent seasons. The lone wild card is Texas State, which has never faced SDSU.

So, as the Aztecs look to follow up on last year's big 9-4 season under coach Sean Lewis, including their first bowl game in three seasons, here's a look at the five toughest games on their schedule.

At Boise State, Saturday, Nov. 21

It's fitting that the Aztecs will face the Broncos in the penultimate regular-season game, before they play the mystery flex opponent. The Broncos are the consensus favorite of the new Pac-12 in its inaugural season, and why not? The Broncos dominated the Mountain West all those years and will be the team to beat for anyone hoping to win the regular-season title. With quarterback Maddux Madsen back, they could end up in contention for the College Football Playoff.

The Aztecs beat the Broncos 17-7 on Nov. 15, snapping a three-game losing streak and improving to 5-6 in the series. The Aztecs were in the driver's seat at the time to host the MW title game, but lost a double-OT thriller at New Mexico in the regular-season finale and watched as BSU went on to beat UNLV 38-21 in Boise in the title game.

SDSU has won on "The Blue" before and will almost certainly need to do so again to win the regular-season title.

At UCLA, Saturday, Sept. 12

For years, the Aztecs and their fans wanted to join the Pac-12, which included UCLA and fellow SoCal member USC. But alas, those teams' jump to the Big Ten is what helped trigger the implosion of the original Pac-12 in 2024. This will be the first time SDSU has played a Big Ten team since losing 37-21 at Penn State on Sept. 26, 2015.

The Bruins routed the Aztecs 35-10 in the most recent meeting, at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 9, 2023. Four years earlier, the Aztecs broke through decades of misery against the Bruins when they won 23-14 for their first win in 23 all-time meetings dating to 1922.

The Bruins lost their first four games last year, had a stirring three-game winning streak, and then lost the rest of their games to finish 3-9.

Washington State, Saturday, Oct. 31

SDSU hosts the Cougars on Halloween, the third straight year the teams have met after playing just twice in the first 101 years of Aztecs football. The Cougars beat SDSU 36-13 in Pullman last year en route to finishing 7-6. They beat Utah State 34-21 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. In 2024, SDSU blew a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter at home and lost 29-26.

The Cougars are on their third different coach in three seasons, Kirby Moore. Moore is the younger brother of former BSU star Kellen Moore and also played for the Broncos.

At Oregon State, Saturday, Oct. 10

This will be the third time the Beavers and Aztecs collide in four seasons, and OSU will be rocking a five-game winning streak that dates to 2000. That includes a 21-0 win in San Diego in 2024 and a 26-9 win in Corvallis in 2023. SDSU won the first two meetings, in 1972 and 1975.

JaMarcus Shephard takes over as coach after a 2-10 season. It might be a bit of a stretch to list the Beavers here, but the transfer portal can quickly transform losers into winners.

Fresno State, Saturday, Oct. 17

They're always tough matchups against the Bulldogs in the Battle for the Old Oil Can, which SDSU won 23-0 last year in Fresno. It was the first time the Bulldogs had been shut out at home since Oct. 25, 1980. The Bulldogs went 4-1 after that and finished 9-4, including an 18-3 win against Miami of Ohio in the Arizona Bowl. This rivalry has continued during a handful of conference changes and the Aztecs lead 32-27-4.

What's next

The Aztecs open the season at home against Portland State of the Big Sky Conference on Sept. 5. Their first Pac-12 game will be at home against Texas State on Oct. 3.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/san-diego-state as Ranking the toughest games on San Diego State's 2026 football schedule.

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 7:30 AM.