Aztecs Bowling, Early Projections for Holiday and Poinsettia Bowls

The primary signal of San Diego State's gridiron improvement in 2010 is that previous editions of the Aztecs would not have held up to Wyoming on Saturday. Instead, SDSU gutted out a 48-38 victory in Laramie and, in so doing, became bowl-eligible with a 6-2 record.

It was just a year ago that the Aztecs blew a 27-6 fourth quarter lead to the Cowboys at Qualcomm Stadium in a loss that knocked them out of contention for a bowl. This time, they took the Cowboys' best shots and kept firing themselves, with huge plays by QB Ryan Lindley, WRs DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown, P Brian Stahovich and a gutty defense led by DE Ernie Lawson and Aztec Andrew Preston.

Wyoming, if nothing else, is gritty and you have to tough it out to beat them. That the Aztecs did so was awesome and earning a bowl game for the first time in 12 years was a just reward. When Brady Hoke took over nearly three years ago (by the calendar), he told us that what needed changing most was the mindset. He was right more than we realized. We witnessed the result in Laramie.

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So where do the Aztecs go? It depends, to a certain extent, on them. They still have to play the two unbeaten conference titans, at TCU in two weeks and at home vs. Utah the following Saturday -- and those teams play each other next week in Salt Lake City. If SDSU then upsets the winner, then the Mountain West Conference will get shut out of the BCS. The league champion will go to the Las Vegas Bowl, the second choice the Poinsettia Bowl here in San Diego and SDSU probably goes to the New Mexico Bowl to play a WAC team, probably Nevada.

If either TCU or Utah run the table, that team will go to a BCS bowl game, the second place club to Vegas and the Aztecs will play in the Poinsettia.

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So how do the local bowls project as of now?

Poinsettia

Navy is contracted to come here if the Midshipmen are bowl-eligible. With five wins in the bag and upcoming games vs. Central Michigan and Arkansas State, the Middies can book their reservation without fear.

The only threat to SDSU in the MWC, other than circumstances listed above, is an Air Force team likely to finish 8-4, and bowl officials probably won't want a military academy rematch.

Holiday

They get the fifth pick in the Big 12, and the way things break down, two teams will go to the BCS -- the league champion and Missouri, which can mail in the rest of its schedule. Nebraska, if not the champ, will get taken by a bowl with a higher selection. If Baylor can get through its remaining slate with no more than one loss, the Bears will also be gone, but that might not happen. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State both play the Bears, with the loser of the round-robin probably coming here.

From the Pac-10, the Holiday picks third. Again, I think Oregon and maybe Stanford go to the BCS, and Arizona will be gone before the Holiday makes its selection. That leaves USC or Oregon State as the best bets right now.