1968 San Diego State Aztecs football
UPI small college champion
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1 (UPI small college)
AP	No. 2 (AP small college)
Record	9–0–1
Head coach	Don Coryell (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Rod Dowhower (1st season)
Home stadium	San Diego Stadium
Seasons ← 1967 1969 →

1968 NCAA College Division independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 2 San Diego State		–		9	–	0	–	1
No. 3 Chattanooga		–		9	–	1	–	0
Indiana State		–		9	–	1	–	0
Indiana (PA)		–		9	–	1	–	0
Nevada Southern		–		8	–	1	–	0
UC Riverside		–		7	–	1	–	1
No. 7 Eastern Michigan		–		8	–	2	–	0
Lincoln (MO)		–		8	–	2	–	0
Tennessee State		–		6	–	2	–	1
Hawaii		–		7	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Tampa		–		7	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Akron		–		7	–	3	–	1
Northeastern		–		6	–	3	–	0
Southern Illinois		–		6	–	3	–	0
Cortland		–		5	–	3	–	0
Boston University		–		5	–	3	–	1
Northern Arizona		–		6	–	4	–	0
Pacific (CA)		–		6	–	4	–	0
Samford		–		6	–	4	–	0
Northern Michigan		–		5	–	4	–	0
Parsons		–		5	–	4	–	0
Wheaton (IL)		–		5	–	4	–	0
Drake		–		5	–	5	–	0
UC Santa Barbara		–		4	–	4	–	1
Santa Clara		–		4	–	5	–	0
Portland State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Wayne State (MI)		–		3	–	6	–	0
Wabash		–		3	–	6	–	0
Colorado College		–		2	–	6	–	0
Milwaukee		–		2	–	7	–	0
Lake Forest		–		2	–	8	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		2	–	8	–	0
Mississippi Valley State		–		1	–	7	–	0
UC San Diego		–		0	–	7	–	0
Rose Poly		–		0	–	8	–	0
Cal Poly Pomona		–		0	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State College^{[note 1]} during the 1968 NCAA College Division football season.

This was San Diego State's last year in the College Division of the NCAA. They had been a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for the previous 29 years, but competed as an Independent during the 1968 season. The team was led by head coach Don Coryell, in his eighth year, and played their home games at San Diego Stadium^{[note 2]} in San Diego, California.

They finished the season undefeated for the second time under Coach Coryell, with nine wins, zero losses, and one tie (9–0–1). At the end of the season, the Aztecs were voted the College Division national champion for the third consecutive year in the UPI Small College Football Poll and No. 2 in the AP Small College Football Poll.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	Texas–Arlington*		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 23–18	35,227	^[1]
September 20	Northern Illinois*		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 40–21	30,560	^[2]
September 28	at Montana State*	No. 1 AP / 1 UPI	Gatton Field Bozeman, MT	W 34–22	9,000	^[3]
October 12	Texas Southern*	No. 1 AP / 1 UPI	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 42–23	38,305	^[4]
October 19	Cal State Los Angeles*	No. 1 AP / 1 UPI	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 37–14	44,169	^[5]
October 26	San Jose State*	No. 1 AP / 1 UPI	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 48–6	34,641	^[6]
November 2	Fresno State*	No. 1 AP / 1 UPI	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA (rivalry)	W 42–12	24,387	^[7]
November 9	Southern Miss*	No. 1 AP / 1 UPI	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 68–7	43,766	^[8]
November 23	Tennessee State*	No. 1 AP / 1 UPI	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	T 13–13	37,713	^[9]
November 30	Utah State*	No. 2 AP / 1 UPI	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 30–19	37,425	^[10]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP/UPI Poll released prior to the game

^[11]

Roster

1968 San Diego State Aztecs football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`12`	Dennis Shaw

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`77`	Fred Dryer
S	`27`	Nate Wright

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Don Coryell

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Team players in the NFL/AFL

The following San Diego State players were selected in the 1969 NFL Draft.^[12]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
Fred Dryer	Defensive end	1	13	New York Giants
Lloyd Edwards	Tight end	3	75	Oakland Raiders
Tom Nettles	Flanker	7	179	Kansas City Chiefs
Doug Fisher	Linebacker	12	290	Pittsburgh Steelers

The following finished their college career in 1968, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.^[13]

Player	Position	First NFL Team
Clancy Oliver	Defensive back	1969 Pittsburgh Steelers
Nate Wright	Defensive back	1969 Atlanta Falcons

Team awards

Award	Player
Most Valuable Player (John Simcox Memorial Trophy)	Tom Nettles
Outstanding Offensive & Defensive Linemen (Byron H. Chase Memorial Trophy)	Larry Findley, Off Fred Dryer, Def
Team captains Dr. R. Hardy / C.E. Peterson Memorial Trophy	Dennis Shaw, Off Mike Meagher, Def
Most Inspirational Player	Mike Meagher

^[11]

Notes

References

^ "Aztecs Rally, Nip Arlington". Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. September 15, 1968. p. C-1. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Arvid Koontz (September 21, 1968). "San Diego State Wins 40–21, Northern's Offense Improved". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. DeKalb, Illinois. p. 6. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Aztec Defense Keys Triumph". Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. September 29, 1968. p. S-2. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Parks Leads CSLB To Upset Victory". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 13, 1968. p. D 15. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Aztecs Crush Diablos, 37-14, Before 44,169". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 20, 1968. p. D-2. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "San Jose Falls Victim To San Diego". Fresno Bee. October 27, 1968. p. 4-S. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Bruce Farris (November 3, 1968). "Aztecs Start Slow, Then Trample FSC". Fresno Bee. p. 1-S. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Aztecs Crush Mississippi Grids 68-7". Fresno Bee. November 10, 1968. p. 4-S. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tennessee State Ties Aztecs With Defense". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 24, 1968. p. D 18. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Aztecs Power Past Utah State 30-19". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. December 1, 1968. p. S2. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "San Diego State 2016 Football Media Guide". Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
^ "1969 NFL Draft". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
^ "San Diego St. Players/Alumni". Retrieved December 8, 2016.

v t e San Diego State Aztecs football
Venues	College Field / Aztec Field (1921, 1923–1925, 1927–1928, 1934–1935) Navy "Sports" Field (1922, 1926, 1929–1931, 1933–1934) Balboa Stadium (1921–1925, 1927–1929, 1932, 1934–1935, 1940–1941, 1945–1947, alternate in several other seasons) Aztec Bowl (1936–1942, 1947–1966) San Diego Stadium (1967–2019) Dignity Health Sports Park (2020–2021) Snapdragon Stadium (2022–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Fresno State NFL draftees
Seasons	1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Small college football national champions (1958–1974)
Selectors	AP (1960–1974) UPI (1958–1974)
1950s	1958: Mississippi Southern 1959: Bowling Green
1960s	1960: Ohio 1961: Pittsburg State 1962: Florida A&M (AP) / Southern Miss (UPI) 1963: Northern Illinois (AP) / Delaware (UPI) 1964: Wittenberg (AP) / Cal State Los Angeles (UPI) 1965: North Dakota State 1966: San Diego State 1967: San Diego State 1968: North Dakota State (AP) / San Diego State (UPI) 1969: North Dakota State
1970s	1970: Arkansas State (AP/UPI) 1971: Delaware (AP/UPI) 1972: Delaware (AP/UPI) 1973: Tennessee State (AP/UPI) 1974: Central Michigan / 1975: Louisiana Tech (UPI)