Could San Diego State play in revived Poinsettia Bowl at Snapdragon Stadium?
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There’s a chance the San Diego State Aztecs could play a bowl game in their own stadium.
According to a report on On3.com, the revived Poinsettia Bowl is working on a deal to match the champion of the rebuilt Pac-12 — if it doesn't qualify for the College Football Playoff — against a Pac-12 legacy team.
Officials with Sports San Diego have been tight-lipped about the return of the Poinsettia Bowl, which was played at Qualcomm Stadium from 2005 to 2016. Qualcomm Stadium was razed in 2020-21 and replaced by 35,000-seat Snapdragon Stadium, which opened in 2022.
If the reports are correct, it could be an interesting matchup for whichever team wins the new Pac-12 this fall. The Pac-12 legacy teams are the ones that bailed from the conference two summers ago, including USC, UCLA, Cal, Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Those teams are now scattered across the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.
The new Pac-12 includes holdovers Washington State and Oregon State; former Mountain West teams SDSU, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State; and Texas State.
What needs to happen for SDSU
Of course, to win the Pac-12 title, the Aztecs will have to get past projected champion Boise State.
SDSU beat Boise State 17-7 at home last season and was in control of its own destiny for hosting the MW title game before losing a double-overtime thriller 23-17 at New Mexico in the regular-season finale. Computer metrics were used to pick the teams advancing to the conference title game, and Boise State beat UNLV 38-21 to advance to the LA Bowl, where it lost to Washington, 38-10.
SDSU and Boise State meet Nov. 21 at Bronco Stadium.
SDSU bowl history
The Aztecs played in the Poinsettia Bowl three times, with just one victory. They beat Navy 35-14 in 2010, were defeated 23-6 by former league rival BYU in 2012 and lost 17-16 to Navy in 2014.
SDSU played a hometown bowl once before that, when it lost 39-38 to Iowa in the 1986 Holiday Bowl.
The Aztecs thought they had clinched a spot in the 1991 Holiday Bowl after a wild 52-52 tie with BYU, but the Western Athletic Conference’s automatic bid went to the Cougars instead.
The Aztecs ended a three-year bowl drought last year when it was invited to the New Mexico Bowl, where they lost a 49-47 thriller to North Texas.
The Holiday Bowl had a brief run at Petco Park, the downtown home of the San Diego Padres, before moving to Snapdragon in 2024.
What’s next
The Aztecs will open the season at home against Portland State of the Big Sky Conference on Sept. 5. Their Pac-12 opener is against Texas State on Oct. 3 at Snapdragon Stadium.
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Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.