Sean Lewis made hundreds of appearances in the months after he was hired as San Diego State football coach.
Applause was nearly unanimous for the hiring, with smiles and well wishes for the man who would lead a new era of SDSU football.
Then the season started.
While fans may have been realistic enough not to expect a complete turnaround from last year’s 4-8 finish, they at least wanted to be improvement.
They especially wanted to see a more exciting brand of football, and that was touted with what Lewis branded “AztecFAST.”
The reality is that SDSU comes into this week’s game at UNLV with a 3-6 record, needing to run the table to reach six victories and bowl eligibility. Its a tall task. UNLV (7-2, 3-1 MW) opened as a 20-point favorite in the game.
SDSU is averaging just 21.8 points a game, which ranks 110th among 134 FBS teams.
The Aztecs have left perhaps three wins out there.
A kick (there were two fourth-quarter missed field goals) would have made the difference in a 22-21 loss at Central Michigan.
A stop (two fourth-quarter touchdowns were allowed) would have made the difference in a 29-26 loss to Washington State.
A red-zone touchdown (there were three red-zone field goals) could have changed the outcome in a 21-16 loss to New Mexico.
Patience has worn thin for some among the Aztecs faithful. It has already been exhausted for others.
There is a thread on an Aztecs chat board titled “Sean Lewis Must Go. Now.” That same board includes a viewer poll: “Lewis Should He Stay or Should He Go?” Four options include everything from getting rid of Lewis immediately to giving him another season or two to get things turned around.
“I understand and I appreciate if they dont want to say hello to me when they see me in the streets anymore,” Lewis said during Monday’s weekly press conference. “I get that. Thats the burden of leadership that I signed up for, and thats fine. Thats what makes stepping into the arena that we get to step into, and being one of the public faces of this university.
“I welcome that. And Im very happy to be at a place where the expectations are so high, but I promise you no ones expectations and no ones standards are higher than my own and that we have for this program.”
Lewis said he appreciates the enthusiasm, passion and support of the fan base.
“And I hope that they know and understand its going to take the whole community to build this to a level that we know that were capable of building it to,” he said. “That it’s going to take their support in this era of college football to where were going to do our part and were going to continue to develop our kids, but we need the community support to show up and pack Snapdragon Stadium and to give us an unbelievable, unmatched home-field advantage.”
In-stadium support has fallen as the season has unfolded. The turnstile count for Saturday’s game against New Mexico was 12,745, the lowest in Snapdragon Stadiums 19-game history.
Whether the turnout is tied to the product on the field, ticket prices, late kickoff times or another factor is subject for debate. One thing that is unquestioned is that showing support now includes a financial ask that goes well beyond season-ticket purchases and alumni club membership.
SDSU, like other schools, is chasing NIL dollars to keep its top players and attract others. If Lewis had a hat with him Monday, it would have been in hand.
“If you can give one dollar, he said, if you can give $100, if you can give $100,000 to help us link the whole community of the 619 and give to Aztec Link (SDSUs football collective), so that we can retain our talent, we can develop our town and we can do all the things that Aztec fans have been longing for that we need to do.
“But we need to know and understand that the vehicle to make that happen in today’s era of college football is the support and the resources that are needed to do that.”
By the way, participants in the chat board poll overwhelmingly approved (with 46 of 76 votes as of Monday evening) Lewis getting “another season or two to see how he does.”
So he’s got that going for him.
“That’s good,” Lewis said. “I appreciate that.
Notable
• SDSU sophomore edge Trey White (Eastlake High School) did not have a sack against New Mexico, leaving White with 11 1/2 sacks for the season. White now ranks third in the nation in sacks. Marshalls Mike Green and Virginia Techs Antwaun Powell-Ryland share the lead with 13 apiece.
• Part of the frustration in Fridays loss to New Mexico was SDSU ran 29 more plays than the Lobos (88 to 59) and for the first time this season led time of possession (35:02 to 24:58). SDSUs 88 plays were its most since running 99 plays in 2013 against Eastern Illinois.
• SDSU ranks 10th in the Mountain West in scoring offense (21.8) and eighth in scoring defense (26.9). UNLV is second in both categories, with 39.8 ppg on offense and 23.8 ppg on defense.
• The Aztecs dropped to 2-3 this season in one-score games, all of them coming in the past six contests. Those games have been decided by a total of 15 points. Total score: Opponents 120, SDSU 117.