San Diego State's 38-7 loss to Utah Saturday could have been 55-0 or worse if Utes coach Kyle Whittingham didn't let up on the gas. The same could have been said about the 55-12 setback to TCU two weeks ago, if Frogs coach Gary Patterson didn't ease up on the humbled hosts.
SDSU was completely out-classed and uncompetitive in both games and, looking back on it, some of those nice things people seemed to think the Aztecs did against the Frogs weren't worth much.
So it's interesting that Whittingham and Patterson didn't run up the score on SDSU counterpart Brady Hoke. It's nothing that bothered them, or other opposing coaches, the past few years when Chuck Long patrolled the sideline. The question is why the change?
The answer, I think, hope and pray, is a good one. This game is all about recruiting when you're at SDSU's level and trying to build your program back up. You have to get players who can handle the rigors of Division 1 football. Hoke clearly doesn't have them now. They rolled to a big lead over Wyoming last week, lost their edge, and haven't recovered. They just don't have the ability to overcome such a loss of momentum.
Hoke and his minions have been recruiting like crazy while this season has unfolded, and they've received commitments from a number of good players. Unlike Long, they're getting players who have stars next to their names as awarded by the online recruiting services and, unlike predecessor Tom Craft, those quality athletes might actually have a chance to academically qualify.
Whittingham sees what's happening and Patterson did before him. They can see the Aztecs program building and they're not about to anger the capricious gridiron gods. For those who are doubting the team's improvement, I understand. Four wins isn't a whole lot based on the cupcake-filled non-conference schedule and the fact that the bottom has fallen out of the top-heavy Mountain West Conference. No doubt that holding off Wyoming would have left SDSU only a win at weak UNLV from a long-awaited bowl berth -- instead of eliminated as they are now. It's just going to take time, a couple of years.
Hoke is bringing players here, both quality high school recruits and junior college transfers. There's also rumors of some Division 1 transfers coming here. Whittingham and Patterson are, I think, good indicators of what is taking place within the SDSU program.
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With Saturday's football over, here's my view of the possible entries for the two local post-season games.
Holiday Bowl
Pac-10: Oregon and Oregon State play Thursday, Dec. 3 and they're atop the Pac-10. Winner plays in Pasadena and loser comes to San Diego. BTW, Arizona fans now know how SDSU fans feel, but worse. I've never seen so many people count their chickens so early.
Big 12: I still think it's Oklahoma State, currently 9-2 before heading to Oklahoma next week. The conference championship pits Texas against Nebraska, and as well as the Huskers are playing, I'd be stunned if they beat the Longhorns. I'd also be shocked if the Cotton Bowl ignored Nebraska's traveling fans who must be excited at turning the corner back into respectability.
Poinsettia Bowl
Mountain West: With TCU a near-certainty for the BCS, the winner of Utah-BYU will go to the Las Vegas Bowl. The Poinsettia Bowl gets the next pick and will take the loser. My bet is BYU comes here.
Pac-10: Seriously muddled. The Poinsettia gets the sixth pick, so go down to a jumble of teams with three conference losses. I'm thinking Cal and Stanford go to higher bowls and either USC, UCLA or Arizona come here. Amazing that just a week or two ago it seemed like the Trojans were going to make the Holiday Bowl people happy. And amazing that Arizona was in the driver's seat for the Rose Bowl about 20 minutes before I wrote this. And that the Bruins are even bowl eligible.
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