If San Diego State State wants to get “AztecFAST” off to a fast start, it appears to have scheduled the right opponent.
FanDuel lists SDSU as a 34 1/2-point favorite against Texas A&M-Commerce coming into Saturday’s 5 p.m. season opener at Snapdragon Stadium.
First-year SDSU coach Sean Lewis was very respectful of his opponent, saying at one point, “you have to know how challenging it is to win regardless of who the opponent is.”
“And these guys have enough players that are really well-coached,” Lewis said. “They are dangerous enough and will stress you in a lot of different ways so we have to handle what we can. Control the controllables and make sure we are doing our part to go earn this victory.”
The Lions are coming off a 1-9 season in which their offense averaged 15.9 points a game over the 10-game FCS schedule. That would have ranked 128th out of 130 FBS teams.
The defense fared little better statistically, allowing 32.3 points a game. That would have ranked 111th among FBS teams.
Texas A&M-Commerce was active in the transfer portal. Very active. Especially on the offensive side of the football.
About the Lions
Texas A&M-Commerce is in its third season as a Division I FCS program after joining the Southland Conference for the 2022 season.
The Lions highlighted a successful run at the lower level by winning the 2017 Division II national championship.
TAMC went 5-6 in 2022 in its Division I debut, then found itself looking for a new coach when it couldn’t come to terms with David Bailiff on a contract extension.
Stepping in was Lions alum Clint Dolezel, a three-sport star who quarterbacked the team in the early 1990s when the school was known as East Texas State.
Dolezel starred in the Arena Football League for 14 seasons before embarking on his coaching career. He spent a decade coaching indoors before returning to his alma mater.
The Lions’ 41-10 victory over McNeese State marked its only time in the win column.
Dolezel changed five coaches on his staff after the season. He has assumed offensive coordinator duties. Linebackers coach Jack Tyler has added defensive coordinator to his responsibilities.
The roster also had a makeover. Seven projected offensive starters are transfers.
TAMC was picked for eighth place in the Southland Conference in a preseason poll.
The offense
Given the team’s scoring struggles, it’s no wonder Dolezel went about assembling a starting lineup that includes an entirely new cast of skill players.
Well, junior quarterback Eric Rodriguez does return after missing the entire 2023 season (and the last part of 2022) with an injury.
Rodriguez was productive across seven games, completing nearly 63 percent of his passes while passing for 1,523 yards and 16 touchdowns with six interceptions.
“They went out and picked up some real weapons at the wide receiver position,” Lewis said. “They like to spread you out. They lean on the run game. They are not afraid to throw four verticals. Their quarterback is a dual-threat kid who two years ago was productive and dangerous.”
Junior starting running back BK Jackson did not have a carry last season at North Texas, so he is an unknown quantity coming into the game.
Junior Jared Wilson is the team’s most productive starting wide receiver, although his 55 catches for 628 yards and 10 TDs last season were at Snow College, a community college in Utah.
The defense
Nine of the 11 players expected to start contributed to some degree last season.
Lewis seemed most wary of the pressure the Lions could bring.
“Defensively, they’ll come off the bus and blitz you from anywhere and everywhere,” he said.
The leader up front is senior right end Clifford Funderburk, who led the Lions with five sacks last season.
“He’s a dynamic player,” Lewis said. “He’s very productive.”
On the back end is senior free safety Max Epps, who had a team-high four interceptions and is the Lions’ top returning tackler with 48.
“He’s long. He’s rangy,” said Lewis, adding, “I mean, shoot, they were very opportunistic in the back end defensively. … There are pieces that are there.”
Did you know?
Enrollment at Texas A&M-Commerce is 12,000, making it one of the smallest college towns in the state.
The school’s most notable football alums are defensive ends Dwight White, who won four Super Bowls with Pittsburgh, and Harvey Martin, who was co-MVP of Super Bowl XII with Dallas, and quarterback Wade Wilson, who spent most of his 19-year career with the Minnesota Vikings.
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