SDSU Beat the Odds, Crushed Expectations—But the Mountain West Still Delivered the Title Game No One Wanted

By Ken Ables
Contributing writer

While the game last Friday didn’t work out the way all us Aztecs wanted, the 2025 SDSU Football season can be considered nothing but a success. While the Vegas wise guys predicted the over/under for wins at 4.5, and the Mountain West media slotted them at eight, the Aztecs finished the regular season 9-3 and tied for first place.

Despite beating the Broncos and not having the Rebels on their schedule this year, some sketchy computer tie-breaking app spit out data that placed the Aztecs third, and out of the MW Championship game. So here we all find ourselves with Boise State vs UNLV in the championship part-3.

Even the most die-hard of us Aztecs fans didn’t know what to expect before the season kicked off vs. Stony Brook in late August. A resounding 42-0 shutout gave us a glimpse of what to expect from the 2025 defense.

Before the season started, the Sons of Montezuma Editorial Board asked for predictions of the final record. My first prediction was 12-0 (I can never predict a loss!), but I hedged a bit and said a minimum of 8 wins. Anything less than six wins and a bowl would have been a huge disappointment.

I correctly predicted victories over Stony Brook, Northern Illinois, Nevada and Wyoming; missed on Hawaii and New Mexico. I also predicted two other wins TBA, really hoping they would be our fellow Cal State schools. I was right on those two.

I should have said Cal – I knew the home team was 9-0 (now 10-0!) going into the game here. Substitute the Rainbow Warriors and Lobos with Boise and Colorado State, and that’s 9-3. 

Of course, talk is cheap, but I have receipts to back it up:

The computers placed Boise State and UNLV at one and two in the tiebreaker, so they will play tonight. I really thought the computers would place New Mexico ahead of Boise to give all PAC-12-bound teams the finger as they headed out the door to bigger and better.

I guess their undying love for all things Boise could not be overcome.

Ever since the Broncos got their sweetheart TV deal years ago, I have rooted against them. I even wanted Fresno to beat them, if you can believe that.

But tonight, that’s all out the window. While I hoped it would be the Aztecs holding the trophy at the end, I really don’t want the MW to have any bragging rights as the five of us leave.

On Sunday we’ll find out our bowl destination and opponent. Let’s hope it’s in a location fairly easy for Aztec fans to attend. The team could use a big, loud crowd as they go for their sixth 10-win (or more) season in their last 10 full seasons.