UCLA · L 10-28
No pass attempts.
James Madison · L 13-26
No pass attempts.
Toledo · L 16-41
No pass attempts.
Texas State · W 31-29
No pass attempts.
Oregon State · L 14-66
No pass attempts.
Saunders has pass attempts in 4 of San Diego State’s 9 games: none in the other 5.
Dashed line: 300 yards.
10 stories in the last 30 days, from 3 outlets.
3 takeaways from San Diego State's wild loss as Stone Saunders shines in first start
Sports Illustrated +1 Oct 24
Stone Saunders
Arrived at San Diego State from Kentucky. One game to point at: 369 passing yards and 2 passing TD against Colorado State — Week 8, 2026.
552 passing yards · 2 passing TD · -8 rushing yards
from 3 outlets
3 takeaways from San Diego State's wild loss as Stone Saunders shines in first start
Sports Illustrated +1 Oct 24 · 2 outlets
Sports Illustrated +1Stone Saunders could get his first start for San Diego State against Colorado StateOct 23Sports Illustrated +13 takeaways from San Diego State's wild loss as Stone Saunders shines in first startOct 24
Yahoo SportsSan Diego State makes quarterback change as Stone Saunders starts against Colorado StateOct 24
San Diego Union-TribuneAztecs football report: QB Stone Saunders will start this week against Washington State - San Diego Union-TribuneOct 26Sports IllustratedSan Diego State makes quarterback call after Stone Saunders' impressive first startOct 26Sports Illustrated +1San Diego State QB Stone Saunders upgraded ahead of Fresno State rivalry gameOct 14San Diego Union-Tribune5 Things to Watch: Aztecs give Stone Saunders another start, eye defensive turnaround vs. Wazzu - San Diego Union-TribuneOct 30from 3 outlets
3 takeaways from San Diego State's wild loss as Stone Saunders shines in first start
Sports Illustrated +1 Oct 24 · 2 outlets
Sports Illustrated +1Stone Saunders could get his first start for San Diego State against Colorado StateOct 23Sports Illustrated +13 takeaways from San Diego State's wild loss as Stone Saunders shines in first startOct 24Yahoo SportsSan Diego State makes quarterback change as Stone Saunders starts against Colorado StateOct 24San Diego Union-TribuneAztecs football report: QB Stone Saunders will start this week against Washington State - San Diego Union-TribuneOct 26Sports IllustratedSan Diego State makes quarterback call after Stone Saunders' impressive first startOct 26Sports Illustrated +1San Diego State QB Stone Saunders upgraded ahead of Fresno State rivalry gameOct 14San Diego Union-Tribune5 Things to Watch: Aztecs give Stone Saunders another start, eye defensive turnaround vs. Wazzu - San Diego Union-TribuneOct 30San Diego Union-TribuneSports Illustrated +1Sports Illustrated +1Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
San Diego State10 stories2026 to nowMost about: starting job and depth chart, preview and matchup, profile and feature.
Sports Illustrated +1San Diego State QB Stone Saunders upgraded ahead of Fresno State rivalry gameOct 14Sports Illustrated +1Stone Saunders could get his first start for San Diego State against Colorado StateOct 23Sports Illustrated +13 takeaways from San Diego State's wild loss as Stone Saunders shines in first startOct 24San Diego Union-TribuneAztecs quarterback Stone Saunders prepared to meet the moment - San Diego Union-TribuneOct 22Yahoo SportsSan Diego State makes quarterback change as Stone Saunders starts against Colorado StateOct 24
Kentucky1 story2025San Diego State AztecsStone SaundersJan 6Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
San Diego Union-TribuneNov 1Sports IllustratedOct 25Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San Diego State | 43 | 69 | 62.3% | 552 | 8.0 | 2 | 3 | 130.4 | 44 |
| Career | 43 | 69 | 62.3% | 552 | 8.0 | 2 | 3 | 130.4 | 44 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San Diego State | 4 | −9 | −2.2 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 4 | −9 | −2.2 | 0 | 7 |
Last game (Wk 9): 102 passing yards, 1 interception.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 4 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | Grade | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | SK | RUSH | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 53-20vs Portland State | Came on in Q4 | 2/4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | — | — | -8 | |
| Wk 7 | W 26-23vs Fresno State | Came on in Q2 | 6/11 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 | 46.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 49-56@ Colorado State | Solid | 23/33 | 369 | 2 | 2 | 11.2 | 49.3 | 1 | -1 | Season-high 369 yds |
| Wk 9 | W 26-20vs Washington State | Shaky | 12/21 | 102 | 0 | 1 | 4.9 | 64.3 | 0 | — | |
| Total | 43/69 | 552 | 2 | 3 | 8.0 | — | 1 | -9 |
Oct. 31 · W 26-20 vs Washington State
12 of 21 for 102 yards and an interception.
23 of 33 for 369 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was 5 of 8 on third and fourth down.
46-yard completion to Jaylon Hawkins. First quarter, down 7-0.
9-yard completion to Jacob Bostick on 3rd and 7. First quarter, tied 14-14. Converted.
Intercepted. Second quarter, down 28-24. Picked off by Colorado State’s TreShawn Moore.
Intercepted. Fourth quarter, down 56-42. Picked off by Colorado State’s D'Mon Brinson.
Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
6 of 11 for 61 yards.
Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.
Week 8 · 2026
L 49-56
369 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · QBR 49.3
With J. Hawkins — 6 rec · 164 yds · 1 TD · J. Napier — 2 rec · 66 yds · 1 TD
The plays that mattered most
| Stat | His | Nation | Pac-12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 552 | 153rd of 370 | 10th of 21 |
| Yards an attempt | 8.0 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Touchdown passes | 2 | T-173rd of 370 | T-11th of 21 |
| Passer rating | 130.4 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Completion percentage | 62.3 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Rushing yards | -9 | T-333rd of 370 | 21st of 21 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 0 | — | — |
Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game. He has 69 attempts of the 90 needed after 9 games, so the rates are not ranked.
| Rk | Quarterback | Yards | TD | INT | Att | Y/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Jackson | 1,933 | 18 | 5 | 232 | 8.3 |
| 2 | Maddux Madsen | 1,681 | 15 | 1 | 222 | 7.6 |
| 3 | Jayden Mandal | 1,595 | 10 | 2 | 212 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Hauss Hejny | 1,138 | 14 | 2 | 134 | 8.5 |
| 5 | Grady Brosterhous | 1,120 | 7 | 6 | 178 | 6.3 |
| 6 | Caden Pinnick | 952 | 3 | 5 | 178 | 5.3 |
| 7 | Ksaan Farrar | 943 | 5 | 2 | 143 | 6.6 |
| 8 | Jayden Denegal | 896 | 7 | 5 | 150 | 6.0 |
| 9 | Owen Eshelman | 779 | 2 | 3 | 131 | 5.9 |
| 10 | Stone Saunders | 552 | 2 | 3 | 69 | 8.0 |
| 11 | McCae Hillstead | 398 | 3 | 4 | 59 | 6.7 |
| 12 | Max Cutforth | 131 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 10.1 |
| 13 | Gavin Parkhurst | 114 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 12.7 |
| 14 | Maalik Murphy | 81 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6.8 |
| 15 | Khristian Martin | 71 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 17.8 |
| 16 | Darius Curry | 70 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8.8 |
| 17 | Draiden Trudeau | 66 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 4.7 |
| 18 | Anthony Garcia | 50 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25.0 |
| 19 | Bert Emanuel Jr. | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4.5 |
| 20 | Brady Jones | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1.7 |
| 21 | Julian Dugger | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 |
Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.
Ratings of the games shown run from -14 to +3 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Hawkins and Emanuel saw 31 of the 69 charted throws.
| Receiver | Targets, caught | Targets | Catches | Yards | Throw depth | After catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylon Hawkins | 19 | 11 | 201 | 20.6 | 6.3 | |
| Bert Emanuel Jr. | 12 | 9 | 110 | 9.5 | 6.4 | |
| Nathan Acevedo | 7 | 6 | 65 | 9.0 | 2.0 | |
| Jordan Napier | 7 | 5 | 102 | 7.3 | 13.8 | |
| Javion Kinnard | 6 | 4 | 11 | -1.2 | 7.2 | |
| 8 others | 13 | 8 | 63 | 5.2 | 2.8 | |
| No receiver charted | 5 | All three interceptions are among these | ||||
Play by play: 69 passes, 43 caught, 552 yards. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Totals here are the box score's. Play-by-play lists 65 passing plays (41 completions) against the box score's 69 attempts (43 completions), and the depth buckets use play-by-play.
Adjusted ANY/A
6.4198 of 185 QBsSack rate
1.4%10 of 185 QBsRarely sacked (10 of 185), but Adjusted ANY/A hasn't followed (98 of 185).
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 62.3% completion on 69 attempts · 23% completion on 13 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 61.0 | 0.0 | 5.1 | 0.3 |
| Road1g | 369 | 2.0 | 11.2 | 2.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 40.5 | 0.0 | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 236 | 1.0 | 8.1 | 1.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sean Lewis
Pass share
40.5%
236 pass / 346 run
Plays / game
64.7
9 games
Scheme: Run-leaning.
| Stone Saunders | Threw in 4 of 9 games · 43 of 69, 552 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT · 8.0 yards an attempt on 69 attempts · ran for -9 yds, 0 TD |
| Jayden Denegal | Threw in 7 of 9 games · 82 of 150, 896 yds, 7 TD, 5 INT · 6.0 yards an attempt on 150 attempts · ran for 27 yds, 0 TD |
| Draiden Trudeau | Threw in 3 of 9 games · 8 of 14, 66 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · 4.7 yards an attempt on 14 attempts · ran for 2 yds, 0 TD |
| Bert Emanuel Jr. | Threw in 2 of 9 games · 2 of 2, 9 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · 4.5 yards an attempt on 2 attempts · ran for 40 yds, 0 TD |
Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.
Who threw in each quarter. Blue: Stone Saunders. Gray: Jayden Denegal, Bert Emanuel Jr., Draiden Trudeau. From the play by play.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Mark Stoops and Sean Lewis.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to San Diego State
