Red & Black Fast Forward: Which Mountain West teams will SDSU see on future Pac-12 non-conference schedules?

By Ken Ables
Contributing Writer

San Jose State comes to Snapdragon Stadium Saturday for the final regular season Mountain West game played in San Diego. As we all know, the Aztecs are moving to the PAC-12 next season, leaving behind the conference it helped found back in 1999. The Spartans, however, will remain in the MW.

Will this be the last Aztec-Spartan game? Saturday will be the 48^th meeting in a series that dates back to 1935. The Aztecs lead 24-21-2. Of course, they can meet in non-conference games in the future, but none are scheduled as of now. There is precedence: 17 of the 47 games have been non-conference. 

This got me thinking: how many of the current teams staying in the MW would I like to see on future schedules? I’ve broken them down into three categories: teams I’d like to schedule home-and-home, those to play in San Diego only and one I’d like to never see again…

Home-and-Home

Hawaii: A home-and-home is already scheduled with the Rainbow Warriors in 2028 and 2029. Although it’s a long road trip, I like it continuing. 

San Jose State and UNLV: I’d like to see home-and-homes with both teams on future schedules. San Jose gives Bay Area Aztecs a game in their back yard, and Vegas is a fun, easy road trip from Southern California.

San Diego Games Only

We will continue to play altitude games at Colorado State and Utah State in the PAC-12 (I hope we only have one each season). No need to schedule any more. No games at New Mexico, Nevada or Wyoming, please.

The Cowboys can keep all their 7220 nonsense and use it on UC Davis and Northern Illinois. Before Nevada joined the MW in 2012, the Aztecs hadn’t played in Reno since 1945. No history.

I will miss New Mexico, however. Outside of Fresno State and San Jose State, the Aztecs have played the Lobos more than any other team. It’s hard to believe, but with MW and WAC games, plus non-conference games in the 1950s and early ‘70s, the two teams have played 45 times, with #46 coming next week.

Never Again

Air Force: no more Falcon linemen diving at Aztec knees. They’re not a big draw in San Diego and Falcon Stadium is almost as high as Wyoming (they just don’t make a big deal out of it).

Regardless of who gets on future schedules, I’ll be at Snapdragon. 2026 will be my 65^th season, and my family’s 81^st. Hope to see you there!

Go Aztecs!