2020 San Diego State
4–4 (4–2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Brady Hoke. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Utah State 38–7Oct 31
By 31 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to San José State 17–28Nov 6
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24 | vs UNLV | W 34–6 | 78% |
| Oct 31 | at Utah State | W 38–7 | 56% |
| Nov 6 | vs San José State | L 17–28 | 76% |
| Nov 14 | vs Hawai’i | W 34–10 | 63% |
| Nov 21 | at Nevada | L 21–26 | 50% |
| Nov 28 | at Colorado | L 10–20 | 54% |
| Dec 5 | vs Colorado State | W 29–17 | 74% |
| Dec 12 | at 14BYU | L 14–28 | 25% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to BYU 28–14; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Mountain West Conference.
In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).
- Record
- 4–4
- Conference
- 4–2 4th in Mountain West Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 197–142
- Coach
- Brady Hoke
- Elo
- 1557 −20 this season
- SP+ rating
- 5.3 No. 46 of 130; offense No. 114, defense No. 4
- SRS
- 2.8 No. 32 of 77 in FBS
- Returning
- 63% of last season’s EPA, No. 66 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 104 roster talent No. 83 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Jeff Hecklinski
- Defensive coordinator
- Kurt Mattix
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.02 | 38% | 1.22 | 102nd of 127 |
| Defense | -0.06 | 33% | 1.26 | 4th of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.04 off -0.01 def | 39% off 36% def | — | 108th off 5th def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 32 | 19% allowed |
| Defense | 3.0 | own 30 | 21% caused |
CORE rating 2.7, 59th of 127 (offense -9.1, defense -11.9).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Carson Baker QB | 617 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Carson Baker QB | 3 TD |
| Rushing yards | Greg Bell RB | 637 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Greg Bell RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | Jesse Matthews WR | 326 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Kobe Smith WR | 2 TD |
| Tackles | Tariq Thompson S | 41 tkl |
| Sacks | Jonah Tavai DL | 5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Darren Hall CB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Joey Wright OT | ★★★ | No. 703 |
| Ronald Gilliam WR | ★★★ | No. 995 |
| Kobah Fuamatu OLB | ★★★ | No. 1278 |
| Aidan Finney OT | ★★★ | No. 1379 |
| Vai Kaho ILB | ★★★ | No. 1434 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.800 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.837 |
| Receivers | 4 | 2.8 | 0.818 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.831 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.0 | 0.818 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.819 |
| Whole class | 19 | 2.9 | 0.825 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2021
The 2021 draft| Rd 4 | Darren Hall CB | Atlanta Falcons |
Roster 119
The 2020 roster119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 51 have a stat line. See the roster
2020 Mountain West Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| San José State | 6–0 | 7–1 | 24 |
 Boise State | 5–0 | 5–2 | |
| Nevada | 6–2 | 7–2 | |
 San Diego State | 4–2 | 4–4 | |
| Hawai’i | 4–4 | 5–4 | |
 Fresno State | 3–3 | 3–3 | |
 Air Force | 2–2 | 3–3 | |
 Wyoming | 2–4 | 2–4 | |
 New Mexico | 2–5 | 2–5 | |
| Colorado State | 1–3 | 1–3 | |
| Utah State | 1–5 | 1–5 | |
| UNLV | 0–6 | 0–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.