SDSU Aztecs are bowl elibigle for fifth consecutive year

12/04/2014

The NCAA Division I college bowl schedule is about to kick off. Announcements are expected Sunday after Saturday’s spate of conference championship games mete out cheers and tears for participating teams.

The San Diego State University is bowl eligible for a fifth consecutive year and, though the Aztecs tied Fresno State for first place in the Mountain West Conference West Division, the Bulldogs earned a berth in Saturday’s MW championship game against the 22nd-ranked Boise State Broncos on the basis of a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Fresno State defeated SDSU, 24-13, on Oct. 3.

Both the Bulldogs and Aztecs finished with 5-3 conference records, though Fresno State is 6-6 on the season and SDSU is 7-5.

Boise State is 10-2 overall after winning the MW-Mountain Division with a 7-1 conference record.

The Aztecs, who are buttressed this year on the offensive line by Mater Dei Catholic High School alumnus Nico Siragusa, have made two prior appearances in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Navy (6-5 with one game remaining against rival Army) has already accepted a bid to play in the Dec. 23 game at Qualcomm Stadium.

The Aztecs defeated the Midshipmen, 35-14, in one of the most exciting and well-attended Poinsettia Bowl games in 2010, and a rematch would likely produce the same results.

SDSU appeared in the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl, losing 23-6 to BYU.

Should Poinsettia Bowl officials elect to go with another MW team to provide the opposition against Navy, the Aztecs could still have several other bowl game invitations coming their way. The MW has tie-ins to seven bowl games this season.

They include the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (versus Pac-12 No. 5), San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (versus Navy), Gildan New Mexico Bowl (versus Conference USA), R&L Carrier New Orleans Bowl (versus Conference USA or Sun Belt), Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (versus Conference USA) and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (versus MAC No. 3).

The MW also serves as a back-up for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

The highest ranked team from AAC, Conference USA, MAC, MW and Sun Belt will play in a top-tier bowl.

Other MW bowl eligible teams include Colorado State (10-2), Utah State (9-4), Air Force (9-3) and Nevada (7-5).

Navy will be making its fourth appearance in 10 years in the history of the Poinsettia Bowl, more than any other team besides TCU (three appearances).

Red and Black
SDSU became bowl eligible for the fifth consecutive season after defeating Air Force, 30-14, Nov. 21 at Qualcomm Stadium. The Aztecs tacked on one more win last Saturday, Nov. 29, at the Q by defeating San Jose State 38-7.

First Team All-MW selection Donnel Pumphrey rushed for 267 yards and scored three touchdowns in the win over San Jose State (2-6 conference, 3-9 overall) and rushed for 131 yards and scored one touchdown in the win over the Falcons.

SDSU quarterback Quinn Kaehler passed for 326 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the win over SJSU while Ezell Ruffin had seven catches for 126 yards.

The Aztec defense forced four turnovers to defeat Air Force.

All-MW picks
The Aztecs also had four players — senior left tackle Terry Poole (Seaside), cornerbacks Damontae Kazee (San Bernardino) and J.J. Whittaker (Oceanside) and sophomore punt returner Lloyd Mills (Chandler, Ariz.) — selected to the second team.

Additionally, senior linebacker Josh Gavert (Lakewood), junior right guard Darrell Greene (Oakley), sophomore nose tackle Alex Barrett (Mesa, Ariz.), sophomore linebacker Calvin Munson (St. Charles, Mo.) and sophomore safety Malik Smith (Compton) each were honorable-mention picks.

The 10 overall all-conference selections were the most in the West Division of the MW and the fourth most overall. The 10 Aztec players recognized — one first team, four second team, five honorable mention — are two more than last year.

Pumphrey has amassed a sophomore school-record 1,761 rushing yards on the season, which ranks second in school single-season history and 142 more than the next rusher in the MW on 47 fewer carries.

Pumphrey leads the MW in rushing yards per carry (6.9) and ranks fourth in the country in rushing yards per game (146.8), tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns (19), ninth in rush average (6.9) and all-purpose yards per game (156.6), and 15th in points per game (9.5) (tied for 11th among non-kickers).

Additionally, Pumphrey’s nine 100-yard rushing games this season is tied for the most in school history (Ronnie Hillman in 2011 and George Jones in 1995) and tied for the most in the MW this year. A true sophomore, Pumphrey is the first SDSU running back to earn first-team honors since Ronnie Hillman did it in 2010 and 2011.

SDSU press release update:
Aztecs to play Navy in Poinsettia Bowl
The San Diego State football team has accepted an invitation to play Navy in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at 6:30 p.m. PST. The game will be played at Qualcomm Stadium, where the Aztecs (7-5) recently completed their sixth undefeated regular season (6-0) in their Division I history (since 1969), and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

SDSU, which tied for first in the West Division of the Mountain West at 5-3, will be playing in its school-record fifth consecutive bowl game after playing in just five over its previous 43 years.

“Very few teams are going to a fifth straight bowl game and our players have worked hard to get here,” head coach Rocky Long said. “It shows how successful our program has become. I’ve been lucky enough to have gone to several bowls and our fifth-year seniors have been to five straight bowls. The Poinsettia Bowl has been great to us and we know how well they treat us. Our players are excited about being home, so their family and friends can come watch them play.”

MW teams in bowl games
Poinsettia Bowl: SDSU vs. Navy, Dec. 23 (Qualcomm Stadium, 6:30 p.m.)
Potato Bowl: Air Force vs. Western Michigan, Dec. 20
New Mexico Bowl: Utah State vs. UTEP, Dec. 20
New Orleans Bowl: Nevada vs. Louisnana-Lafayette, Dec. 20
Las Vegas Bowl: Colorado State vs. No. 23 Utah, Dec. 20
Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State vs. Rice
Fiesta Bowl: No. 21 Boise State vs. No. 12 Arizona

Holiday Bowl match-up
Saturday, Dec. 27
No. 25 Nebraska vs. No. 24 USC, 5 p.m. (Qualcomm Stadium)

Mountain West Conference
Final Regular Season Standings
West Division
School League/Overall
San Diego State 5-3 7-5
Fresno State 5-3 6-6
Nevada 4-4 7-5
Hawaii 3-5 4-9
San Jose State 2-6 3-9
UNLV 1-7 2-11

Mountain Division
School League/Overall
Boise State 7-1 10-2
Colorado State 6-2 10-2
Utah State 6-2 9-4
Air Force 5-3 9-3
New Mexico 2-6 4-8
Wyoming 2-6 4-8

Southern California
Football Association
American Division
Final Regular Season Poll
Top 10 Teams
School Record/Points
Victory Valley 10-0 50
Southwestern 9-1 44
Santa Monica 7-3 39
Glendale 9-1 37
Santa Barbara City 7-3 30
San Bernardino Valley 6-4 24
West Los Angeles 5-5 19
Mt. San Jacinto 4-6 11
College of the Desert 4-6 6

Final Standings
American Division
Mountain Conference
School League/Overall
Victor Valley 7-0 10-0
Southwestern 6-1 10-1
San Bernardino Valley 4-3 6-4
College of the Desert 3-4 4-6
Mt. San Jacinto 3-4 4-6
San Diego Mesa 3-4 4-6
East Los Angeles 2-5 3-7
El Camino-Compton 0-7 0-10

American Division
Pacific Conference
School League/Overall
Santa Monica 7-0 7-4
Glendale 6-1 9-2
Santa Barbara 5-2 7-4
West Los Angeles 4-3 5-5
Antelope Valley 2-5 4-6
L.A. Pierce 2-5 3-7
L.A. Valley 1-6 3-7
L.A. Southwest 1-6 2-8

Bowl Game Results
Saturday, Nov. 22
American Division Championship Bowl
Southwestern 40, Santa Monica 23

Patriotic Bowl
Palomar 30, Glendale 22

North State Bowl
Siskiyous 35, Shasta 27

Bulldog Bowl
San Mateo 30, Laney 20

San Francisco CC Bowl
San Francisco 47, Chabot 20

East Bay Bowl
Sacramento 41, Diablo Valley 35 (OT)

Gridiron Classic Bowl
American River 20, Butte 17

State Center Bowl
Fresno 35, Santa Rosa 21

NCFC American Division Bowl
West Hills Coalinga 24, Yuba 14

Western State Bowl
Bakersfield 23, Chaffey 10

Beach Bowl
Long Beach 75, Golden West 41

Golden State Bowl
Cerritos 22, Santa Barbara 19