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Why San Diego State’s upset of Utah State hurts the Mountain West

By Doug Carey

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Does anyone want to win the Mountain West? One week after Utah State appeared to record a statement win over Boise State, the Aggies were routed by San Diego State. 

Parity might be all the rage in the NFL, but it doesn’t work in the Mountain West. What league commissioner Craig Thompson might call competitive balance, the rest of the nation views as mediocrity. And it’s hard to disagree after another underwhelming weekend in the Mountain West.

For years the conference has been able to point to Boise State as its power team, and that’s helped get the Mountain West on the national radar. The rest of the league hasn’t always done its part, but the Broncos have covered up their shortcomings with their strong bowl record. Last week, it appeared that Boise State had passed the proverbial torch to Utah State – at least for one season – as the Aggies rolled to an impressive 52-26 win in Logan.

The win had many experts hailing Utah State’s Matt Wells as a coach of the year candidate, and it seemed like the Aggies were well positioned to claim their first Mountain West title. Then came Friday’s debacle at San Diego State. The Aggies came out flat and were dominated in a 48-14 loss to the Aztecs, who improved to 4-0 in the awful West Division but don’t figure to receive any votes in the national polls anytime soon.

This is the same San Diego State team, remember, that sandwiched losses to California and Penn State with a 34-27 overtime loss to South Alabama. Give the Aztecs credit for bouncing back with four straight wins, but their division might be among the worst in the nation. As much as we love running back Donnel Pumphrey, it’s just hard to get too excited about the Aztecs.

Unlike San Diego State, Utah State seemed to be a team to believe in. The Aggies’ rush defense entered Friday’s contest ranked sixth in the nation, and Wells’ squad was 16-3 all-time in league play. We were certain Utah State would run the table and take Boise State’s rightful spot on the national stage. Instead, the best the Aggies can hope for is a rematch with SDSU in the league championship game. Yippee.

So how does all this hurt the Mountain West? Did you happen to catch ESPN’s halftime show Saturday during Stanford-Washington? Not a word about the Aztecs’ big victory. Nada. Not even a 3-second highlight. Same goes for most of the national shows/websites.

Simply put, Utah State’s continued strong play was the league’s best hope to remain on the national radar. The Mountain West needs a strong representative each year, since it’s hard to get your average college football fan to care about teams like New Mexico or San Jose State. This year, Utah State was supposed to be that team. San Diego State — and any team that loses to South Alabama, for that matter — just doesn’t work.

Even if San Diego State wins its final four games against Colorado State, Wyoming, UNLV and Nevada, the Aztecs might not be ranked. Critics will point to the ugly three-game losing streak and discount the Aztecs’ strength of schedule in league play. Utah State at least had the big win over Boise State and a 10-point loss to Utah.

Now all the Mountain West has is a bunch of average teams fighting among themselves.

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