San Diego State is no stranger to monumental firsts in their football program the last few years. Beating UCLA for the first time, multiple consecutive bowl appearances, an NCAA all-time leading rusher—the region has long waited for an invite to the PAC-12 Conference that eluded them for so many decades.
This Saturday the Aztecs get to celebrate their inaugural game as full conference members with a home game vs the Texas State Bobcats. The game is themed as a celebration of Hispanic heritage and the athletic department invited their 2016 conference championship football team to be in attendance to join in on the fiesta.
But Aztec Nation is not celebrating.
Reports of nearly 15 football players have been diagnosed with a contagious ‘mumps’ virus that has eliminated several starting position players. The cases have been confined to just football players only and has not spread to any supporting staff or the general student body as of now.
The mumps outbreak is reminiscent of the 2021 team who earned home field advantage in the conference championship game. The game was forever stained as then COVID-19 cases sidelined several players from participating and the Aztecs went on to lose their opportunity at championship.
In this weekend’s case the team hasn’t played up to those championship standards of 2021, however the weight of the Pac-12 opener makes it feel just as heavy.
In addition, the injury bug has also spread upon the team’s top performers. Injuries to RBs Lucky Sutton and Javion Kinnard have set the team’s offensive strength upon the legs of freshman RBs Jordan Thomas and Josiah Lucas.
It’s definitely an uphill climb. The Las Vegas oddsmakers have elevated the point spread to 8.5 in favor of Texas State, despite this being the first California trip for the Bobcats in over five years. The Bobcats are bringing firepower to validate this change. HC G.J. Kinne and his QB Brad Jackson are licking their chops in preparation of bringing the heat to their PAC-12 introduction.
Speaking of fire & heat. Meteorologist reports have Saturdays gameday temperatures climbing well into the high 90s, where in Mission Valley the heat sits down inside the dry riverbed terrain.
Those temperatures won’t do any favors towards getting rid of the 2022 memories when Snapdragon Stadium first opened up to the San Diego community. The hottest temperatures to hit San Diego’s Mission Valley area were recorded during the inaugural game between SDSU and the visiting Arizona Wildcats. It was a game that sent several attendees to first aid and some that required emergency services.
Good thing the game is set for a later 7:30pm kick time where the sun can no longer beat down on the visitors.
But to make matters worse (or better), the San Diego Padres will be playing in their MLB playoffs game on the road vs the Milwaukee Brewers. The Padres have taken the San Diego county and their imagination for what Fall baseball can achieve.
Pulling a fraction of those sports fans to Snapdragon or to even change the channel over to for this celebration of PAC-12 football may be very difficult to do—if not impossible.
All things combined just puts Aztecs Football in an enormous challenging position. It’s a ridiculously rare joining together of fate that is mystifyingly inexplainable. For a program that is the only football in town and has made the investments towards hosting big time performances, it begs to ask if there is some sort of hocus-pocus hanging over the program.
Some fans claim it’s the unceremonious way the SDSU President banished the Aztec Warrior from the University. Some recent claims have pointed their fingers at the introduction of the Jaguar (ocelotl) icon on the team’s helmet as the cursed figure of connection.
Either way, the Aztecs football team is at a sever disadvantage on the field and in the stands this weekend. For all the maneuvering Coach Sean Lewis and staff will have to do in preparation for this game, it all has to be taken into account.
If his version of the Aztecs are to somehow slow down the Texas State Bobcats high-octane offense enough to pull out an improbable victory, it just might be the most incredible victory San Diego County will have seen in quite some time.
Or in this case, the most incredible victory that no one in San Diego County will have seen.
The San Diego State Aztecs take on the Texas State Bobcats this Saturday, October 3 at 7:30pm. Get caught up on the matchup with our latest Sons of Montezuma episode as we interview Win Now or Get Bent Podcast host Keff Ciardello. To join us crazies at the tailgate, buy your tickets today and join us in the South Yellow Tailgate lot at Snapdragon Stadium.
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