Thanks (or no thanks) to the San Diego State Aztecs’ (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West) most recent loss to the New Mexico Lobos, their conference championship hopes were in the hands of four nationally recognized metrics: Connelly SP+, ESPN SOR, KPI and SportSource rankings.
Since the Mountain West’s regular season ended with four teams tied for first, metrics and computer rankings were relied upon to determine the championship matchup. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, the metrics decided that the Boise State Broncos and UNLV Rebels will compete for the Mountain West postseason title on Friday at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
Both UNLV’s and Boise State’s composite averages (45.50 and 47.75, respectively) narrowly edged SDSU’s average of 51.00 and New Mexico’s average of 54.75, thrusting the Rebels and Broncos into a tussle for the conference title.
While some pose the idea that computers and averages should not decide a team’s postseason fate, SDSU’s head coach Sean Lewis does not follow this train of thought.
“We should not have put ourselves in that spot,” Lewis said when asked about his opinion on the efficiency of the metrics and composite averages. “There is no right or wrong way to decide a four-way tie. You don’t want to put yourself in a four-way tie? Find a way to win; coach better.”
On a positive note, the Aztecs’ 9-3 record provides a multitude of positives for the program.
For example, coach Lewis and his squad will play in their first bowl game since the 2022 Hawaii Bowl. SDSU’s 2025 bowl berth is the first in Lewis’s short stint on the Mesa, providing his team the opportunity to “get up off the mat [and] get back to work.”
According to Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach of ESPN, the Aztecs are projected to travel to Boise and play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. However, nothing is official yet, as bowl game matchups will be announced this Sunday.
“There is an opportunity to go play,” Lewis shared regarding what the future bowl game means to the team. “There is an opportunity to go and do it on a big-time stage. I think there is going to be a marquee matchup that is going to excite our fan base and excite college football.”
In addition to the aforementioned “opportunity to go play,” the Scarlet and Black will also get the chance to tally 10 total wins for the first time since the 2021 season.
Eclipsing the double-digit win mark indicates success for any college football team. However, if SDSU can snag its 10th victory, it would more than triple its win total from last season (3-9 2024 record), cementing this year’s team as one of the better ones in the program’s history.
“In the history of this proud program, there are not very many teams that got to 10 [wins],” Lewis explained. “[If you get] six to seven wins, you are a good team. Eight to nine [wins], you are a great team. You get to double digits, that is an elite level that not many teams will get to year in and year out.”
The Aztecs’ exponential improvement has garnered a high volume of attention from the college football world, as they have received numerous votes for the Top 25 rankings on multiple occasions. Additionally, John David Wicker, SDSU’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, took to X to show his support for coach Lewis and the Aztecs’ successful season.
“I’m incredibly proud of the job [coach Lewis], his staff and the student-athletes have done this year,” Wicker wrote. “A six-win improvement, undefeated at home, back to the top of the conference and another bowl game. I’m excited to watch us continue the climb.”
An athletic director’s stamp of approval likely instills a sense of fulfillment in a head coach, especially considering the rapid hiring and firing of coaches in the current college football landscape. No job is 100% safe nowadays, but Lewis appreciates “the alignment from the top down.”
“Having [Wicker] in our corner, knowing that there is a commitment and a level of investment from the university, to football specifically, is critically important,” Lewis said. “As good as this season was, the cost of winning is not coming down.”
The “cost of winning” is not just financial; winning and competing at a high level requires time and effort.
A solid bowl game performance has implications for this season and next season. Coach Lewis is well aware that college football rosters turn over at a rapid pace and, as SDSU ventures into the Pac-12 Conference for the 2026 football season, the urgency to stack an already competitive roster is as high as ever.
