Three thoughts after San Diego State’s season-ending 31-20 loss to Air Force on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.

1. That’s a wrap

At midseason, with the Aztecs sitting at 3-3, SDSU coach Sean Lewis was asked how he would assess the performance of his offense.

After scoring 45 points in the season opener against FCS opponent Texas A&M-Commerce, the Aztecs were shut out the following week against Oregon State. The high point of the first half was back-to-back wins against Hawaii and Wyoming, both by scores of 27-24.

As it turned out, that was the most points the offense produced all season against FBS competition.

“I used to have a mentor that would say that anything above 50 points scored was an A, anything above 40 points was a B, anything above 30 points was a C and anything below that was not a passing grade,” Lewis said.

The most points in the second half were produced in a 29-26 loss to Washington State. The Aztecs scored just 20 points in each of their last three games.

In other words, the offense did not receive a passing grade for the year.

The same could be said for the season, which concluded with six straight losses. The 3-9 record is a game worse than the 4-8 managed by the 2023 team. In fact, it is SDSU’s worst record since going 2-10 in 2008.

“I’m disappointed we couldn’t send the seniors out the right way,” Lewis said after the game. “Proud of their efforts and everything that they’ve given to the program over this year that I’ve been with them. … (I) wish that they had a joyous locker room with them to celebrate all their efforts. But we came up short, didn’t do enough in all three phases, and that starts with me as a leader.

“We’ll get that right, we’ll get that rectified, and we’ll consistently be bringing championships here back home. There’s no doubt my mind about that.”

2. A step back?

There were eight coaching changes in the Mountain West coming into this season. The results were mixed.

Boise State didn’t miss a beat. In fact, the Broncos (11-1) are poised to be part of the 12-team playoff.

Fresno State and San Jose State managed to be bowl-eligible again. Wyoming went from nine wins to three.

SDSU’s last two opponents, Utah State (with interim coach Nate Dreiling, who will not be retained) and Air Force (with longtime coach Troy Calhoun’s steady hand), struggled much of the season but improved down the stretch.

In fact, the Falcons put a seven-game losing streak behind them by winning their final four games.

The Aztecs showed no such improvement in the last six weeks of the season.

Lewis said what was absent was “having the continuity and consistency in all three phases of our lineups. Those are the two biggest issues, I think.”

Was what he implemented offensively here too difficult or complex compared to other schools with new staffs?

“I think every system has its strengths and weaknesses,” Lewis said. “There’s quite a bit of nuance into what we do. Like I’ve said before, historically it takes quite a bit of time to get that ironed out.”

After Saturday’s game, Lewis was at times philosophical.

“You know looking at them from all the lessons that they’ve learned … they’re going to take those lessons and apply them to who they’re becoming,” he said. “The growth and the journey that they’re going to be on, I know those guys are going to have a whole ton of success in all areas of their life.

“I can’t wait to see who they become 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now.”

At other times, Lewis was more mindful of the immediate future.

“There better be fuel and there better be fire that we use to motivate us and drive us,” Lewis said of those returning for the 2025 season.

Lewis said he wants to see the self-discipline in winter conditioning and spring practice that produce “a greater sense of urgency to come together, to have great attention to detail with all that we do.

“So that when these moments come in the fall,” Lewis said, “when everyone starts paying attention to us that we’re doing a much better job of execution on these days that truly, truly count.”

3. Building a foundation

John David Wicker, SDSU’s director of athletics, admitted more than once during a halftime conversation that “we wanted to see different results on the field.”

But Wicker remained staunchly behind Lewis and believes the man he hired a year ago is building a foundation for success.

“From a coaching-staff standpoint, from the young men in the program, it was successful,” Wicker said. “Talking to the academic people, they’re doing great in the classroom.

“We’re building the culture how he wants to build the culture. Now we’ve got to go out and recruit and get the right guys in to allow him to really effectively run the game like he wants to run the game. …

“The culture that we have established in our building, the culture of community, taking care of one another, you’re not just here to play football. You’re here to grow as a young man. You’re here to take the academic piece seriously. You’re here to take the football piece seriously. (Lewis) has been amazing at that.”

Wicker attributed the on-field struggles to “a lot of new kids, and it’s a brand new system.”

“You only get so many hours a day to practice,” Wicker said. “And it’s a little different (in the NIL and transfer portal era). It’s hard to build on a program when you have so much turnover.

“He’s trying to do it more like a Brian Dutcher (in SDSU men’s basketball), where we have a good foundation and you cherry-pick the pieces that you need to put in to be successful.”

Talent acquisition (and retention) begins immediately. National signing day is Wednesday, and the NCAA transfer portal opens Dec. 9.

“The biggest thing is trying to build the program and find that continuity so that he can implement his system,” Wicker said. “He’s got to go out and get the players that fit his system. That may not have been the case as much as we wanted it to be this year.

“We had some really untimely injuries. When you lose your best offensive lineman (left tackle Joe Borjon) in the first half of the first game of the year, that’s a big loss. We’ve got to go find some players, we’ve got to go find some depth, that gives him the opportunity to really implement his offense the way he wants to.”