San Diego State gets preseason Coaches Poll nod ahead of Pac-12 debut
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The preseason football polls are out, and San Diego State shows up as a blip at the bottom of the Coaches Poll with two points.
That’s better than the alternative, of course. The Aztecs didn’t receive any votes in the Associated Press preseason Top 25.
It should be encouraging that the Aztecs received mention in the Coaches Poll. While the Aztecs finished 9-4 last fall, a big turnaround in coach Sean Lewis’ second season. They lost their final two games, including a wild 49-47 defeat to North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl.
Most pundits have the Aztecs picked to finish second behind Boise State in the first year of the revitalized Pac-12 Conference.
The Aztecs received votes at certain points last season, although not enough to crack the Top 25.
Other new Pac-12 teams getting votes
Also not surprisingly is that Boise State is the only other Pac-12 team to show up in the polls. The Broncos are just outside the Top 25 in the AP poll, checking it at No. 28. However, the Broncos’ 43 points are well behind No. 25 Missouri, which has 117 points.
The Broncos are 36th in the Coaches Poll with 24 points.
The Aztecs beat the Broncos late last season at Snapdragon Stadium. However, SDSU lost a double-overtime thriller at New Mexico in the regular-season finale that cost it the chance to host the MW title game. Boise State swooped in and earned the right to host, and then beat UNLV.
San Diego State and BSU peeled off to join the Pac-12, along with Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State. They’ve joined up with fellow newcomer Texas State and holdovers Washington State and Oregon State.
SDSU plays at Boise State on Nov. 21. The regular season ends the next weekend when each Pac-12 team plays a “flex” game, with the opponent and location to be determined.
Other teams to watch
James Madison, which visits Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 19 in the third of four non-conference games, also received votes and has six points in the Coaches Poll and three points in the AP poll.
Former MW foes UNLV and New Mexico also received votes in both polls.
Plenty of former Pac-12 teams show up in the poll, from Oregon, which is No. 2 behind Ohio State in both polls, all the way down to California, which squeaked into both polls on the “others receiving votes” list. SDSU beat Cal 34-0 at home last September.
San Diego State’s poll history
The last time the Aztecs were ranked was in 2021, when they finished a school-best 12-2. They spent a total of seven weeks in the AP Top 25, achieving a high of No. 19 and settling at No. 25 in the final poll.
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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.