San Diego State will learn its bowl destination on Sunday after missing out on Mountain West title picture

After weeks of being projected to play in the Los Angeles Bowl as the Mountain West champion, San Diego State and its fans will be heading elsewhere in the West or Southwest after the Aztecs were knocked out of the Mountain West championship picture.

After sitting in the driver’s seat for a few weeks to host the MW championship game, the Aztecs were knocked completely out of the running to even play in the game. SDSU lost in double overtime to New Mexico last Friday, and then on Sunday morning, the MW announced that Boise State will host UNLV in the title tilt after computer metrics were used to break a four-way tie at the top of the standings.

The Aztecs will find out their bowl destination on Sunday, and the projections range from Boise to Fort Worth to Dallas to Phoenix.

Why all this matters

Despite the disappointment of the New Mexico loss, the Aztecs still had quite the turnaround in Sean Lewis’ second season as head coach. They went from 3-9 overall and 2-5 in the MW last year to 9-3 and 6-2 this season and are bowl eligible for the first time since 2022.

SDSU played in 10 straight bowl games from 2010-2019. It made consecutive appearances in 2021-2022 before missing the postseason in Brady Hoke’s final season as head coach in 2023 and Lewis’ first season last fall.

Bowl projections for San Diego State:

CBS Sports

Los Angeles Bowl, Dec. 13: San Diego State vs. Arizona

CBS Sports’ projections haven’t been updated since Saturday, the day before the MW announced UNLV and Boise State will play for the title.

USA Today

Armed Forces Bowl, Jan. 2: San Diego State vs. TCU

The Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, pairs a team from the Mountain West or American Conference against a Big 12 team. SDSU played in this bowl in 2017, losing 42-35 to Army.

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Dec. 22: San Diego State vs. Toledo

The Aztecs played in this bowl, on the blue turf at league rival Boise State, in 2013, when it beat Buffalo 49-24.

Mark Schlabach, ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Dec. 22: San Diego State vs. Ohio

Both ESPN prognosticators have the Aztecs playing in Boise, but predict different opponents from the Mid-American Conference. SDSU played Ohio in the 2018 Frisco Bowl, losing 27-0.

Athlon Sports

First Responder Bowl, Dec. 26: San Diego State vs. UTSA

The First Responder Bowl is played at SMU. UTSA is in the American Athletic Conference. SDSU beat UTSA 38-24 in the 2021 Frisco Bowl.

Mountain West Connection

The experts at Mountain West Connection have SDSU as a consensus pick to play in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Dec. 26.