San Diego State fails to crack Top 25 despite 7-1 record, 6-game winning streak
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San Diego State’s football team still isn’t getting the kind of respect coach Sean Lewis thinks it should be, despite being 7-1 overall, on a six-game winning streak and sitting alone atop the Mountain West standings.
SDSU is the only MW team receiving votes in The Associated Press and Coaches Poll, but just not enough to crack the Top 25.
The Aztecs picked up 30 points in the AP poll on Sunday, up from 14 points the week before. That’s essentially No. 29 in the country, which is up two spots from last week.
SDSU appeared on just 13 of 66 ballots in the AP poll, with the highest being No. 15 by Stephen Means of Cleveland.com.
The Aztecs also had 30 points in the Coaches Poll, the same as last week.
Aztecs had four points, up from one point the week before, essentially jumping five spots to No. 29.
Lewis continued to lobby for a Top 25 spot after the Aztecs (4-0 MW) beat Wyoming 24-7 on Saturday to surge into the conference lead.
“How many 7-1 teams are there in the country?” Lewis said. “At this point in the season, we’re not talking about preseason polls and what people think they are. There are only four weeks left in the regular season before hitting championship weekend. We're focused on the present. … The resume speaks for itself. I think we’re one of the best in the country.”
Why this matters
The Aztecs continued their resurgence in Lewis’ second season as head coach with the Homecoming win against Wyoming, which was keyed by four takeaways and a career-high 158 yards rushing by Lucky Sutton.
A few hours earlier, defending MW champion Boise State (6-3, 4-1) suffered its first MW loss when it was blown out at home by Fresno State, 30-7.
That left the Aztecs alone at the top with a perfect conference record.
Boise State has disappeared from the “receiving votes” portion of both polls. It was the AP preseason No. 25 before losing its opener 34-7 at USF. UNLV had also been receiving votes earlier in the season but has lost two straight, to BSU and New Mexico, which became bowl eligible under first-year coach Jason Eck.
What’s next
The Aztecs are entering a critical stretch in their turnaround season, starting with a game Saturday night at Hawaii (6-3, 3-2). The Rainbow Warriors lost a shootout at San Jose State on Saturday night, 45-38.
The Aztecs then return home to face Boise State on Nov. 15. The Broncos get a bye next Saturday.
After that, the Aztecs host San Jose State and finish on the road at New Mexico.
Poll history
The Aztecs were last ranked in the AP Top 25 in 2021, when they were in the AP Top 25 for a total of seven weeks. Their highest ranking was No. 19 and they were No. 25 in the final poll. They finished that season with a school-best 12-2 record.
Before 2021, the Aztecs were ranked for stretches during the 2016, 2017 and 2019 seasons.
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-bd678ba4dbad4f453246f539ee56a3b4.jpg "Bernie Wilson")
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.