UNM football: Biggest game in years? Everything you need to know about New Mexico-San Diego State

Nov. 25—Everything you need to know about New Mexico's regular season finale against San Diego State:

Who: New Mexico (8-3, 5-2) vs. San Diego State (9-2, 6-1)

When and where: 1:30 p.m. Friday at University Stadium.

How to watch/listen: CBS Sports Network will carry UNM-AFA with Jack Gordon (play-by-play) and Randy Cross (analyst) on the call. Robert Portnoy (play-by-play), DonTrell Moore (analyst) and Ned James (sidelines) will also broadcast the game via radio on the Lobo Radio Network (770 AM/96.3 FM).

Who's favored: SDSU is a 1.5-point favorite over UNM, per Draft Kings. The over/under is set at 41.5 points.

Top storyline(s): Friday is not a win-and-in situation for UNM. Even if the Lobos knock off league-leading San Diego State, they'd still need losses from Boise State (at Utah State on Friday) and UNLV (at Nevada on Saturday) to feel secure about a potential Mountain West Championship appearance.

But if UNM has any (at least for now) realistic hopes of adding another game to its schedule, Friday is as close to a must-win as it gets.

"There's some things we can't control," head coach Jason Eck said in a news conference Tuesday. "The key thing for us is, we gotta win the game and get to 6-2 and be 9-3, which I think will be a great achievement, however the chips fall in the games we can't control.

"So, yeah — this is a huge, huge game."

That it's against one of the league's heavies only heightens the drama. After going 3-9 in head coach Sean Lewis' first season, San Diego State has taken the league by storm this year with the second-best scoring defense (11.6 points per game) in the country.

The Aztecs are also sixth in total defense (262.9 yards per game) and 16th in rushing defense (103.18 yards). Pair that with a ground-and-pound offense (SDSU has run on 65.43% of plays this season) and it's no wonder Eck likened them to a "1998 Big Ten team," one that's winning plenty in 2025.

"They're a really big, athletic team," Eck said. "(I) respect them because I don't think their schemes are always the glitziest and fanciest ... (It's) gonna be a great challenge, but (it's) exciting to have them at home. Hoping our fans can be a difference in this game."

Friday also represents a little bit of a reunion for Eck and San Diego State defensive coordinator Rob Aurich. The latter spent two seasons as the DC on Eck's staff at Idaho, notably recruiting linebacker Jaxton Eck to the Vandals. Former Eck staffers David Lose and Tyler Sutton are also on SDSU's staff.

"You want to compete against them and beat them, but (I'm) proud of those guys and they're doing a great job," Eck said.

Aztecs to watch: With 34 total tackles and four interceptions, cornerback Chris Johnson has a legitimate case to win Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-foot, 185-pound senior is the highest-rated player on the Aztecs' defense, per Pro Football Focus, and his absence was one of the things Eck pointed to when asked why SDSU lost 38-6 to Hawaii on Nov. 8.

"Hawaii had a lot of big passes against them," he chuckled. "So the two things you can try to learn from that game is, hope one of their best players is out and try to score when the defense isn't on the field."

Offensively, running back Lucky Sutton has been the bell cow for SDSU, rushing for 1,127 yards and nine touchdowns on a league-high 217 carries this season. Eck noted the 6-1, 225-pound junior isn't the fastest back in the league, but credited him for his ability to wear teams down throughout a game.

"He's physical," Eck said. "You watch (SDSU's 25-3 win against San Jose State on Saturday) and there's a third-and-2 that's not blocked great, but he still falls forward and gets the first down. He's tough. You gotta get multiple hats to him to make sure he's not falling forward."

Former Lobo Christian Washington has also carved out a nice role for himself in SDSU's offense, rushing for 409 yards and three touchdowns this year. The 5-10, 205-pound junior spent one season with the Lobos before transferring to Coastal Carolina, then SDSU.

Lobos to watch: Starting right guard Richard Pearce is questionable for Friday's game, per Eck. The 6-2, 311-pound redshirt senior missed a 20-3 win over Air Force due to a personal matter; Eck confirmed he is not with the team right now.

"(Pearce is) just dealing with some stuff," he added. "We hope to get him back soon, but not exactly sure when."

Eck was also "hopeful" to get defensive lineman Gabe Lopez and cornerback Abraham Williams back while safety Drew Speech and defensive lineman Xavier Slayton are both questionable.

What happened the last time these teams played: Running back Eli Sanders ran for 173 yards as UNM started fast and rallied late to beat SDSU 21-16 at Snapdragon Stadium on Nov. 8, 2024. That win snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Aztecs. The Lobos' last win against SDSU before that was a 70-7 shellacking at University Stadium in 2008.