San Diego State quarterback Jordon Brookshire celebrates a touchdown against Boise State in Carson, Calif., on Nov. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The San Diego State Aztecs refused to sit back and watch their Mountain West season fall short of the conference championship game.
“The leadership we got from that group of seniors you really love as a coach,” said head coach Brady Hoke, whose Aztecs are the No. 1 team in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West football rankings and will face Utah State in the conference title game Saturday in Carson, Calif.
San Diego State (11-1, 7-1) found itself trailing the Boise State Broncos 16-3 in the second quarter on Saturday. An Aztecs loss to the Broncos would have meant that No. 2 Fresno State would win the West Division and head to the Mountain West title game.
“In the first quarter we really weren’t playing Aztec football,” San Diego State defensive lineman Jonah Tavai said.
Hoke then switched quarterbacks, from Lucas Johnson to Jordon Brookshire, and the Aztecs went on a 24-0 run to win 27-16.
“They were the best team today,” said Boise State head coach Andy Avalos, whose No. 6 Broncos finished the regular season a disappointing 7-5, 5-3. “We played an unbelievable team.”
Brookshire was 11-of-15 for 192 yards and a touchdown and also for 46 yards and a touchdown. He completed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Matthews for just his third touchdown of the year.
“It’s just like riding a bike,” Brookshire said. “You just go back out there and get into it.”
“We trust our quarterbacks,” said Matthews, who caught nine passes for 133 yards. “But there’s no quit in us. That’s the great thing about this program, the mental toughness.”
The Aztecs, as usual, used a dominating defense to stifle Boise State over the last two-plus quarters. San Diego State finished with four sacks, three by Tavai and held Boise State to 319 yards. Patrick McManus also picked off two Boise State passes by quarterback Hank Bachmeier (21-of-40, 222 yards).
“When our defensive line gets great pressure like that all we have to do, at most, is cover our guys for about three seconds,” McManus said.
No. 3 Utah State whipped No. 12 New Mexico, 35-10 to get to the title game. Utah State and Air Force (both 9-3, 6-2) tied for the Mountain Division title but Utah State is going to the title game because of its 49-45 win over Air Force on Sept. 18.
Utah State barely beat No. 10 UNLV (28-24) and No. 11 Colorado State (26-24) this year and also did not play the top three teams (San Diego State, Fresno State and Nevada) in the West Division.
The Aggies were picked by the Mountain West media before the season started to finish fourth in the Mountain Division. The media, though, didn’t get much right this season in their preseason rankings. Nevada and Boise State were picked by the media to win their divisions. San Diego State was picked to finish third.
Utah State, though, was just 1-5 in 2020 under head coaches Gary Andersen and Frank Maile. Blake Anderson, who was 4-7 in his seventh year as Arkansas State’s head coach in 2020, was named the Aggies coach this past December.
“I told the guys in the locker room, ‘Don’t be satisfied with just being there,’” said Anderson of the conference title game. “Let’s go find a way to win it.”
No. 2 Fresno State (9-3, 6-2) trampled San Jose State 40-9 to keep division title hopes alive. Bulldogs’ quarterback Jake Haener passed for 343 yards and four touchdowns to four receivers.
“We came out and played a complete football game,” said Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer, whose Bulldogs beat both San Diego State and Nevada this year but ended up losing the division because of losses at Hawaii (27-24 on Oct. 2) and Boise State (40-14 on Nov. 6). “This team is all about character and they showed that. They don’t take anything for granted.”
No. 9 San Jose State (5-7, 3-5), which won the Mountain West championship last year, didn’t even become bowl eligible this year.
“This is crushing for me,” San Jose State coach Brent Brennan said. “It was just a hard day, a hard year. It’s incredibly disappointing for everyone who believes in San Jose State football and what we’re doing here.”
No. 4 Air Force destroyed No. 10 UNLV (2-10, 2-6), 48-14 by controlling the ball for 40:49 and rushing for 511 yards. Air Force held UNLV to just 12 first downs and 214 total yards.
The Falcons, which beat Nevada last week in three overtimes at Nevada, might have been the best team in the Mountain Division by the end of the season but will not go to the title game because of an early-season loss to Utah State.
“The teams in that game earned it,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said of Utah State and San Diego State. “They deserve it.”
“It hurts a little but those are the mistakes we did earlier in the year and we can’t look back on it,” said Air Force defensive lineman Jordan Jackson.
“It’s definitely tough knowing we’re not going (to the title game),” defensive back Tre Bugg said. “But we did that to ourselves, kind of. We just got to take it on the chin.”
The No. 5 Nevada Wolf Pack (8-4, 5-3) unloaded on the No. 11 Colorado State Rams (3-9, 2-6), 52-10 to snap a two-game losing streak. Quarterback Carson Strong passed for 288 yards and four touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter. Strong’s touchdown passes were to Tory Horton (27, 54 yards) and Romeo Doubs (11, 66).
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” said Nevada coach Jay Norvell of consecutive two-point losses to San Diego State and Air Force. “We had high goals and we are very disappointed. But I told our team, “This is a special football team and we wanted to go out and play special football and show what type of football team we are.”
The Wolf Pack dominated the entire game, leading 31-0 at halftime for its biggest halftime advantage since it was up 38-0, also against Colorado State at home on Nov. 10, 2018 in an eventual 49-10 win.
“We basically controlled the game from start to finish,” Norvell said.
The Nevada Appeal’s Mountain West football rankings for the week of Nov. 29:
1. SAN DIEGO STATE (11-1, 7-1). Last week: San Diego State 27, Boise State 16. This week: Mountain West championship: Utah State at San Diego State, Carson, Calif., Saturday.
2. FRESNO STATE (9-3, 6-2). Last week: Fresno State 40, San Jose State 9. This week: No game.
3. UTAH STATE (9-3, 6-2). Last week: Utah State 35, New Mexico 10. This week: Mountain West championship: Utah State at San Diego State, Carson, Calif., Saturday.
4. AIR FORCE (9-3, 6-2). Last week: Air Force 48, UNLV 14. This week: No game.
5. NEVADA (8-4, 5-3). Last week: Nevada 52, Colorado State 10. This week: No game.
6. BOISE STATE (7-5, 5-3). Last week: San Diego State 27, Boise State 16. This week: No game.
7. HAWAII (6-7, 3-5). Last week: Hawaii 38, Wyoming 14. This week: No game.
8. WYOMING (6-6, 2-6). Last week: Hawaii 38, Wyoming 14. This week: No game.
9. SAN JOSE STATE (5-7, 3-5). Last week: Fresno State 40, San Jose State 9. This week: Season ended.
10. UNLV (2-10, 2-6): Last week: Air Force 48, UNLV 14. This week: Season ended.
11. COLORADO STATE (3-9, 2-6). Last week: Nevada 52, Colorado State 10. This week: Season ended.
12. NEW MEXICO (3-9, 1-7). Last week: Utah State 35, New Mexico 10. This week: Season ended.
