Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 71. San Diego State
Don't Mess with the Aztecs
For many years, San Diego State was a sleeping giant. They had a taste of success under Don Coryell and Claude Gilbert, going 81-16-2 from 1969-77, but would suffer decades of losing until the 2010’s. Now on a much better trajectory, San Diego is one of the premier destinations for recruits in the Group of 5, and SDSU is getting looks from the Pac 12 for expansion. Blessed with a rich history of producing coaches, former players/coaches include John Madden, Joe Gibbs, Don Coryell, Sean Payton, Brian Billick, John Fox, Herm Edwards, and current NFL HC Kevin O’Connell.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+-----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+-----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 15 | San Diego State | 2021 | 25.458 | 12-2 |
| 28 | San Diego State | 2017 | 13.571 | 10-3 |
| 35 | San Diego State | 2015 | 9.938 | 11-3 |
| 41 | San Diego State | 2016 | 9.678 | 11-3 |
| 32 | San Diego State | 2019 | 7.665 | 10-3 |
| 34 | San Diego State | 2010 | 7.276 | 9-4 |
| 32 | San Diego State | 1996 | 7.264 | 8-3 |
| 47 | San Diego State | 2012 | 4.315 | 9-4 |
| 40 | San Diego State | 1995 | 2.936 | 8-4 |
| 35 | San Diego State | 1991 | 1.358 | 8-4-1 |
| 35 | San Diego State | 1986 | 1.05 | 8-4 |
| 57 | San Diego State | 2011 | -4.884 | 8-5 |
| 46 | San Diego State | 1992 | -5.195 | 5-5-1 |
| 48 | San Diego State | 1998 | -5.781 | 7-5 |
| 63 | San Diego State | 2013 | -5.877 | 8-5 |
| 63 | San Diego State | 2020 | -6.704 | 4-4 |
| 54 | San Diego State | 1990 | -7.249 | 6-5 |
| 71 | San Diego State | 2018 | -9.88 | 7-6 |
| 63 | San Diego State | 1999 | -11.532 | 5-6 |
| 75 | San Diego State | 2022 | -11.987 | 7-6 |
| 61 | San Diego State | 1989 | -12.157 | 6-5-1 |
| 76 | San Diego State | 2014 | -13.094 | 7-6 |
| 54 | San Diego State | 1985 | -15.202 | 5-6-1 |
| 60 | San Diego State | 1993 | -16.039 | 6-6 |
| 75 | San Diego State | 2003 | -19.044 | 6-6 |
| 72 | San Diego State | 1984 | -19.809 | 4-7-1 |
| 83 | San Diego State | 2005 | -21.789 | 5-7 |
| 74 | San Diego State | 1997 | -22.407 | 5-7 |
| 76 | San Diego State | 1987 | -23.603 | 5-7 |
| 78 | San Diego State | 1994 | -25.925 | 4-7 |
| 87 | San Diego State | 2004 | -28.81 | 4-7 |
| 95 | San Diego State | 2007 | -32.397 | 4-8 |
| 103 | San Diego State | 2009 | -33.304 | 4-8 |
| 91 | San Diego State | 2002 | -34.329 | 4-9 |
| 91 | San Diego State | 2000 | -35.016 | 3-8 |
| 86 | San Diego State | 1988 | -35.76 | 3-8 |
| 95 | San Diego State | 1983 | -41.304 | 2-9-1 |
| 97 | San Diego State | 2001 | -42.535 | 3-8 |
| 106 | San Diego State | 2006 | -42.636 | 3-9 |
| 113 | San Diego State | 2008 | -55.546 | 2-10 |
+------+-----------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 13386 (71st)246-232-6 record
4 conference titles
6-9 bowl record
5 consensus All-Americans
82 NFL players drafted
If there’s one position San Diego State knows how to produce, it’s RB. Notable alumni include NFL Hall of Fame and 2x consensus All-American Marshall Faulk, NCAA 3rd all time leading rusher Donnel Pumphrey, consensus All-American Rashaad Penny, and 1400+ yard single season backs Ronnie Hillman and Adam Muema. Other consensus AAs include OL Kyle Turley (1997), who was the 7th overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, and the “Punt God” Matt Araiza (2021). While a 6-9 bowl record isn’t great, it’s at least nice, and the Aztecs have made 12 bowls in the last 13 years. 82 players drafted is by far the most we’ve seen so far, with an average of 2 players per draft.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2008 (2-10 overall, 1-7 Mountain West)
These were dark times for San Diego State. They had yet to have a winning season in the 2000s and 2008 was rock bottom. Cal Poly drove to the 4 yard line and hit a 21 yard FG to beat SDSU 29-27 in the opening week. Strangely enough, SDSU would give Notre Dame a ton of trouble next week, up 13-7 at the end of the 3rd before losing 13-21. Wins the rest of the year included blowouts over 2-10 Idaho and 5-7 UNLV, but they still finished last in the Mountain West at 1-7. It’s hard to beat the loss to Cal Poly, but the actual worst result of the season was a 7-70 loss to 4-8 New Mexico, going down 0-49 at halftime. The team wasn’t devoid of talent: Freshman QB Ryan Lindley and sophomore WR Vincent Brown would eventually be drafted in the 6th and 3rd rounds of their NFL Drafts. Brady Hoke was hired as coach for the 2009 season, and would instill life into the program.
5. 2019 (10-3 overall, 5-3 Mountain West)
Before Matt Araiza was a punter, he was the team’s starting kicker, and hit 2 FGs in a 6-0 win over Weber State. Shaking off the rust, SDSU beat UCLA the following week 23-14, as a young Dorian Thompson-Robinson struggled to get anything going. San Diego flirted with the fringes of the top 25 for the rest of the year, getting up to #25 around midseason, before ultimately finishing unranked with a 10-3 record. A rather weak schedule did wrap up nicely with a 48-11 win over MAC runner up Central Michigan in the bowl, but for most of the season the offense was very uninspired. The defense put on an amazing carry job, ranking 2nd in the nation with 12.7 PPG allowed, as the max anyone scored on the Aztecs all year was just 23 points. 6 defenders made 1st/2nd team All-MWC including All-American CB Luq Barcoo, who went GOD MODE, leading the nation in both interceptions (9) and passes broken up (16).
4. 2016 (11-3 overall, 6-2 Mountain West)
After winning the conference title in 2015, SDSU was a New Years 6 contender for 2016. It wouldn’t take long for the hype to really get started, beating Cal and Northern Illinois teams coming off 8 win seasons. After a 3-0 start and #19 ranking though, SDSU’s NY6 hopes evaporated after a 24-42 upset loss to South Alabama. They still gave it a shot though—a 6 game win streak included 4 wins by 25+ points and MWC West contenders Hawaii and Nevada. In a late season duel with Josh Allen and Wyoming, San Diego State scored on the last play, a 23 yard hail mary to make it 33-34. SDSU went for the knockout blow, but the 2 point conversion fell short and Wyoming won. The two would meet in Laramie a few weeks later for the Mountain West championship, 9-3 San Diego State vs 8-4 Wyoming, and this time the Aztecs took it 27-24 thanks to 100+ rushing yard performances from Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny. In a 34-10 bowl win over Houston, Pumphrey set the official FBS record for career rushing yards with 6405 (in reality, he is 3rd behind Ron Dayne and Tony Dorsett). Pumphrey was a 1st Team All-American and Mountain West Offensive POTY, rushing for 2133 yards and 17 TD. Backup RB Rashaad Penny also ran for 1000+ on 7.5 YPC. CB Damontae Kazee won Mountain West Defensive POTY for the 2nd straight year with 7 INTs and 8 PBU.
3. 2015 (11-3 overall, 8-0 Mountain West)
Having not won an outright conference title in 30 years, it didn’t appear 2015 was going to be any different after a 1-3 start that included a 7-35 loss to Cal and 27-34 loss to South Alabama. However by the end of things, this turned out to be one of their best ever teams. During an 8-0 conference run, the smallest margin of victory was 14 points with the average score being 36-11. Against Air Force in the title game, SDSU outgained the Falcons by nearly 100 yards and kicker Donny Hageman hit a 46 yard FG for a 27-24 win. They proceeded to embarrass Cincinnati in the bowl 42-7 thanks to a kickoff return TD and pick six, despite just 129 passing yards. San Diego State didn’t need a QB, they had Maxwell Smith who just didn’t turn it over, throwing for 1529 yards 13 TD 2 INT on the year. The offense was instead carried by a run game of Donnel Pumphrey (1653 yards), Chase Price (1008), and Rashaad Penny (368). Pumphrey won Mountain West Offensive POTY while CB Damonte Kazee won the Defensive POTY with 8 INTs. Rashaad Penny won Special Teams POTY with 3 kick return TDs, and would go on to win the award twice more in 2016 and 2017.
2. 2017 (10-3 overall, 6-2 Mountain West)
As good as the title-winning 2015 and 2016 teams were, the 2017 team ranks more highly. SDSU put the nation on notice with an early 30-20 win over Arizona State and a 20-17 win over #19 Stanford, in which SDSU looked like the bigger, faster team in both instances. SDSU also tossed aside Air Force and a bowl-bound Northern Illinois team en route to a 6-0 start and #19 ranking. With Rashaad Penny running for nearly 1000 yards in his first 6 games, SDSU’s run game seemed virtually unstoppable, but Boise State and Frenso State shut it down to drop the Aztecs to 6-2. That only made Penny stronger, and he ran for 200+ yards in each of his last 5 games. A 4 game win streak to end the regular season were all by 19+ points, and despite a 35-42 loss to Army in the bowl, SDSU still had a very good year. Penny finished 5th in Heisman voting, rushing for a nation-leading 2248 yards and 23 TD on 7.8 YPC. He won Mountain West Special Teams POTY for the 3rd straight year with 2 kick return TDs and 1 punt return TD, the guy could do it all. Despite Pumphrey getting the bulk of carries during their time together, Penny was the better back in my opinion, rushing for a career 3656 yards and 38 TD on 7.5 YPC, and had 8 return TDs.
1. 2021 (12-2 overall, 7-1 Mountain West)
Brady Hoke reloaded his team after a down covid year, and had these guys playing with the best of them. After trouncing New Mexico State in the opener, SDSU played their usual Pac 12 non-conference slate, this time against Arizona and Utah. Arizona was fish food, beaten 38-14, and SDSU held off Cam Rising and Utah for a 33-31 3OT victory. Utah would go on to win the Pac 12, and nearly beat Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. San Diego State got all the way to 7-0 before losing to Fresno State, beating eventual 10-3 Air Force along the way. With the loss to Fresno, they no longer controlled their destiny if Fresno won out, but the Bulldogs were blown out by Boise State the following week, and the door remained open for SDSU. They took the chance, barely, winning the last 4 games by an average margin of just 7 points, beating solid Boise and Nevada teams. #19 San Diego State hosted Utah State expecting to win their 3rd title in 7 years, but Utah State not only pulled off the upset, they did it convincingly, beating the Aztecs 46-13 to end any New Years 6 bowl hopes. San Diego State was still matched up with a quality opponent in the Frisco Bowl with 12-1 Conference USA champion UTSA, and senior QB Lucas Johnson finally broke out with the best game of his career, throwing for 333 yards and 3 TD in a 38-24 win.
The win was a nice end to the season for SDSU, who finished in the top 25 for just the second time in 45 years at #25 and won a school record 12 games. DE Cameron Thomas had a monster year, winning Mountain West Defensive POTY and earning 2nd Team All-American with 10.5 sacks and 10 TFL. But the team MVP by far, and one of the best players in college football, was the “Punt God” Matt Araiza, who set NCAA FBS records in punt average (51.2), 60 yard punts (18), and 50 yard punts (39), earning All-American status from every possible publication you can think of. He also won the Ray Guy Award, cementing his place in history.
5th Quarter
Think San Diego State’s ranking is fair? Do you agree with the order of their top 5 seasons, was 2017 really that good? Who was the best college RB between Marshall Faulk, Donnel Pumphrey, and Rashaad Penny? Would you add SDSU if you were the Pac 12 commissioner? What plays/players/games do you think of when you think of the Aztecs? Still talking about the football team here, so sacrifices don’t count.
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub