By Augustin Gonzales, Assistant Sports Editor
The Indiana Hoosiers. The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Seabiscuit. The San Diego State Aztecs?
All throughout history there have been touching stories about underdogs bucking the odds and coming out victorious. SDSU plays No. 3 TCU on Saturday, and mark my words: The Aztecs will not be one of those heartwarming tales. Actually, SDSU will be exposed for what it really is: a second-rate Mountain West Conference team that is lucky to be 7-2.
Don’t get me wrong; I would love nothing more than to see the Aztecs pull off an upset, it just won’t happen. Kinda like me ever dating Megan Fox.
Sexy and sultry, Megan Fox is TCU: way out of our league. The 2010 version of the Horned Frogs is arguably the best team SDSU has ever played in school history. In fact, with the boom that TCU’s nation-leading defense will bring, head coach Brady Hoke should cut his losses and think about resting Ryan Lindley and Ronnie Hillman, who are both not playing at 100 percent.
Not that Hoke, who embodies the gritty warrior spirit of Aztec lore, will even consider sitting his top two offensive weapons. But with this SDSU team having no chance of winning, he should.
“How dare you say our beloved 7-2 Aztecs, who are two blown calls against Mizzou and BYU away from being undefeated, are frauds! We would never roll over and concede defeat,” outraged fans will exclaim.
Well, disgruntled fans, let me very respectfully rain on your collective parades.
Since upsetting Air Force on Oct. 16, the Aztecs have looked awful. The combined record of SDSU’s last three opponents is 6-23. Not exactly powerhouse teams. But the bowl-bound Aztecs had to scrap out hard-fought victories against such renowned programs as New Mexico (one of the worst teams in the country), Wyoming (which actually lost to New Mexico) and Colorado State (where I saw SDSU turn in the worst offensive half I have ever seen from this team, concerning the circumstances).
I’m speaking, of course, about the first half in which CSU held the ball for almost 22 of the 30 minutes, SDSU turned it over twice, the offense only generated 85 total yards and Lindley went 3-for-8 with a horribly thrown interception in the red zone. Oh, and by the way, the Rams’ dynamic offense is ranked 107th and their rock-solid defense is 98th.
I know there’s an old adage that says “a win is a win,” but in the BCS and AP rankings, all wins are not created equal. Great programs win big. If that isn’t true, then why does the media say Boise State has to beat their opponents by a thousand points every damn week to stay in the top 5? BSU, like us, has god-awful teams in its conference. To keep its place in the national rankings it has to crush the hopes and dreams of every single opponent it goes up against, which is funny, because that’s what the cold, hard reality of life inevitably does to each and every one of us.
The Aztecs have a bad habit of playing down to lesser opponents, and that was evident in most of the games this season (the wins against Nicholls State and Utah State notwithstanding). They have looked lackadaisical and sloppy as of late, and against a disgustingly good team such as TCU you have to be absolutely perfect to even stand a chance.
In fact, if Oregon or Auburn loses and the Horned Frogs win out, TCU will most likely be playing for a national championship.
For SDSU, against a super-team like that, coming home from Fort Worth with no significant injuries would be the real victory.
AT A GLANCE:
When: 1 p.m.,
Saturday
Where: Fort Worth, Texas
Why: SDSU takes on the No. 3 team in the country on the road.