AZTECS ALL IN

The word of the week is "relevant," as in can the Aztecs football team remain relevant when it comes to focusing on the Pac-12 football championship picture. Aztecs and the Utah State Aggies are both 4-5 overall, 3-2 in the Pac-12, still mathematically alive behind undefeated Boise State. Coach Sean Lewis opens with a nod to other Mesa sports, then covers Senior Day, the team's final regular season game at Snapdragon and starting QB Stone Saunders. Bert Emanuel Jr.’s talks about his QB rating while Mike Lindsay discusses containing Utah State’s quarterback. Plus a quick look at the men’s basketball win over Colorado in the Bill Walton Classic and Wednesday’s home game against Bethune-Cookman.

The Aztecs regular basketball season starts off at home in earnest with a convincing win over Cal State Fullerton. Latrell Davis and Tae Simmons talk about the voices in their heads that powered them through their defensive efforts in limiting the 3-point loving Titans from beyond the arc. Coach Brian Dutcher shares what playing in the upcoming Bill Walton Classic means to the program, and what an iconic figure Walton represents to the San Diego Community. The football team has a rare weekend off, but that doesn’t mean coach Sean Lewis, his coaches and players are taking the entire week off. \

Keeping their bowl hopes alive, the Aztecs held off Washington State in the rain at Snapdragon on a "four-quarter" night that featured a strong ground game, timely defensive stops, and a fourth-and-goal trick play that became the insurance touchdown. Coach Lewis, Lucky Sutton, and Tano Letuli break down the win that keeps bowl eligibility hopes alive heading into the bye.

The Aztecs dropped a shootout at Colorado State. Coach Sean Lewis says injury to Jayden Denegal means Stone Saunders gets the start. Coach on the untimely INTs and the game's fundamentals. He and defensive back Josh Hunter address the “low-hanging fruit” criticism of the defensive coordinator. The numbers though put the Aztecs near the bottom nationally in defensive scoring and total defense. The nine starters who left last year’s top-10 unit include Owen Chambliss and Dwayne McDougle. We do a quick stat check on the pair who joined departing DC Rob Aurich at Nebraska. Also, a quick look ahead to Saturday’s Halloween home game against Washington State, a call for Snapdragon fans and why you need to leave the trebuchets at home if coming to the game.

In Fort Collins, no late-game heroics this week for the Aztecs against Colorado State. The Rams hold on win 56-49 after San Diego State makes it a one-score game. Stone Saunders is mostly productive in his first start at QB (minus the INTs) and helps keeps the offense in a shootout, but the defense is unable to follow up last week’s effort. Thus, the road skid continues.Coach Sean Lewis walks through the three phases, the tackling issues, and what it has been like to play eight straight weeks with one more game still ahead before the bye.We also catch up on Friday’s exhibition at Viejas, where the men’s basketball team fell to No. 21 USC.Full post-game notes and key sound courtesy of San DIego Sports AM 760 on this edition of Aztecs All In, hosted by Steve Perez.