For the first time since Week 10 of the 2019-2020 football season when they were ranked 24th, the San Diego State Aztecs have entered the college football Associated Press Top 25.
This season, the Aztecs have been off to a great start. For the second time in 40 years, the Aztecs have started the season off 4-0. Although the season has had itsJayden ups and downs, the Aztecs have managed to maintain a spotless record.
Out of the 25 teams on the list, the Aztecs are one of the 15 teams that are undefeated. SDSU had been receiving votes in polls for the past few weeks and, during their bye week, beat out other teams such as Clemson, Texas A&M, and Oregon State to become the 25th ranked team.
In only his second season with the Aztecs, head coach Brady Hoke has managed to get his team into the top 25. Hoke has displayed excellent coaching all year, especially through adverse times.
“I think for coaches it has a different meaning than it does for the players,” Hoke told Goaztecs when asked about SDSU entering the top 25. “I think as a coach you’re always looking to that next competition. Is it good for the program, no doubt about it, but you have to keep going forward and keep working hard.”
Although the national ranking is nice, the Aztecs still have work to do. In this week’s home game against the New Mexico Lobos, the Aztecs need to work on cleaning up mental errors.
“We have to take care of ourselves, and the way we play,” Hoke said. “When you look at things we have to do better, we haven’t started fast at all, we have to end the half better, or you look at the Utah game we have to do a better job of putting teams away.”
The Aztecs’ potential for this season is through the roof. After entering the top 25 after only four games, the Aztecs can make it higher if they are able to keep up their success.
They managed to become 25th in the nation before playing their first conference game of the year. The Oct. 9 match against the Lobos will be the commencement of SDSU’s journey to winning the Mountain West Conference.
Like the Scarlet and Black, there are other teams in the Mountain West that received votes to enter the top 25 such as Fresno State. The conference is going to be especially competitive this year. The Aztecs have a chance to redeem their 4-2 record in the conference from last year and become the MWC champions this year.
