While this is a week to give thanks, it also will be a week to say goodbye.

Saturday’s season finale against Air Force at Snapdragon Stadium will mark the final time for this collection of San Diego State players to be together.

“I want to make sure that there’s a very joyous occasion in that locker room at Snapdragon for the last time that we circle up together,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “We’re going to work diligently each and every single day to make sure that that happens.”

SDSU (3-8, 2-4 Mountain West) enters the game against Air Force (4-7, 2-4) in the midst of a five-game losing streak. The Aztecs need a victory to match last year’s 4-8 finish and avoid their worst season since a 2-10 finish in 2008.

Lewis said the Aztecs will observe a regular work week, practicing each morning Tuesday through Thursday. There will be a special Thanksgiving Day meal after Thursday morning’s practice.

“We’re going to get a little turkey lunch after we get done off the field and after we get done with our lift,” Lewis said. “The morning will be a normal work day, then we’ll have a little family dinner and enjoy the holidays together and be thankful for the time that we get to share.”

The Aztecs will recognize 24 seniors before Saturday’s game.

There also will be some acknowledgments the night before at the team hotel.

Lewis said they will do some things “that are very personal and pretty exclusive to the group to allow those guys to have a moment and to honor and recognize them for all that they’ve done for the program and their journeys throughout their collegiate experience to really soak up this last week, this last time.”

One tradition the Aztecs will not observe this year is a postseason banquet.

“It’s just been a personal choice of mine that we haven’t done it,” said Lewis, who didn’t have postseason banquets when he was head coach at Kent State from 2018-22.

Banquets made more sense during SDSU’s 13-year run of bowl eligibility. The team was still intact, preparing for a bowl, when the banquet took place.

For the second straight year, SDSU’s season will be completed with just the 12-game regular season.

Thoughts will turn to 2025 soon after Saturday’s game, and many players will head elsewhere.

It made for an awkward scene in some ways at last year’s banquet. Linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu was not in attendance to receive his Team MVP award because he was entering the transfer portal and headed to Arizona State.

“There was a lot of guys who chose to go other places, so they didn’t attend,” Lewis said. “So you were trying to have something after the season has ended when a team has already disbanded, so we’re not going to do it. … We want to honor and recognize the guys day in and day out. We’re appreciative of all the work they have done. We’ll honor them on the field and honor them by being there and supporting them in their lives.”

One SDSU tradition apparently remains intact: The Aztecs’ seniors will be carried off the field by their teammates following the last practice of the season.

“Life gets rolling and life gets going, so you better cherish the time,” Lewis said. “I’ve got to do a better job next year of the importance and value of time. It’s a commodity that is so finite. We have no idea when it’s going to run out.

“We know for this team, this week, hey, it’s Saturday when we get done.”

Playing to win

While there is nothing in particular on the line for the Aztecs against Air Force, that doesn’t mean Lewis is going to empty his bench for the game.

“We’re going to do what needs to be done so we can win this football game,” Lewis said. “We’re going to put the best guys in the best positions that can help us win this football game and make sure those seniors are going out the right way.”

Lewis was asked Monday if there was any consideration for playing reserves, with the suggestion that it would give those without game film something to show schools in which they could potentially transfer.

“My No. 1 job and what I get compensated to do is to bring wins to the Mesa,” Lewis said, “and I’ve got to do that at a better level. So top of mind for me is being loyal to winning.”

Looking ahead

Next week will be busy off the field for the Aztecs.

Exit interviews will be conducted with players from this year’s team, giving the coaching staff an idea who is staying or going.

On top of that, the NCAA’s early signing period has been moved up on the calendar. The Aztecs are expected to sign 22-23 players during the 72-hour signing period that begins Dec. 4.

The NCAA transfer portal opens on Dec. 9, and players can add their names to the portal through Dec. 28. At that point schools know which players are leaving. There is no deadline to sign with another school, though it typically occurs before the spring semester begins.

Complicating matters is that two years ago the NCAA added a spring transfer window, which will be open April 16-25, 2025, in which players get a second opportunity to switch schools. It has added to the chaos of building a roster.

SDSU had more than half its roster turn over last season, with 22 players transferring out, 24 players transferring and 23 high school players joining the program.

More than half the roster will turn over again with graduations, transfers and a new recruiting class. The transfer churn could be less, though, since a coaching change is not part of the mix this year.

Originally Published: November 25, 2024 at 4:46 PM PST