SDSU set to hire Colorado's Sean Lewis as head football coach

• NBC7, the Associated Press and Union-Tribune sources confirmed SDSU's plans to introduce Lewis Wednesday morning.

Context: Lewis, 37, spent five seasons as head coach at Kent State, where he led the Golden Flashes to a 24-31 record and two bowl games, including the team's first-ever bowl win in 2019.

• Lewis left Kent State last December and signed a three-year, $2.7-million contract with Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders.
• The move was intended to get "a faster ticket up the coaching ladder and it appears that plan worked out after just one year, even in a year in which he was controversially demoted from play-caller at midseason," The Athletic reported.

Catch up quick: SDSU announced earlier this month that Aztec head coach Brady Hoke would retire at the end of the season, which will not include a bowl game for the first time since 2009.

• While his departure was framed as a retirement, the Union-Tribune reported Hoke was forced out.

State of play: ​​One year after opening the $310 million Snapdragon Stadium, the university's football program sits in last place in a conference it tried to exit this summer.

• The Aztecs have struggled to fill the stadium, even offering complimentary tickets for games.

Between the lines: Lewis' play calls helped the Colorado Buffaloes enjoy a hot start offensively, putting up big numbers early in the season.

• So, targeting Lewis makes sense considering "fixing the offense was always going to be the No. 1 priority" for SDSU and he could bring the "exciting offense" the Aztecs need to fill the new stadium, per The Athletic's senior college football writer Chris Vannini.