Can San Diego State Football Finally End The Pac 12 Road Curse?

SDSU RB Rashan Penny, Heisman cancidate

Like most San Diego State University alumni and football fans, I hate the Pac 12. Yes, I did just use the "h" word. You wanna talk hate? I still lose sleep and grind my teeth over the 31-31 tie with USC in 1992, thanks to the Aztecs' inability to capitalize on two field-goal tries in the final minute of the game. 

Against UCLA, the Aztecs have zero wins, one tie, and 21 losses. Ouch. The last time we played the Bruins, during the short-lived Brady Hoke era, SDSU lost 33-14.

It isn't pretty folks. And it extends far beyond the futility against those two arrogant Los Angeles schools. 

Granted, times are changing on Montezuma Mesa. The Aztecs beat Cal last year in a 45-40 shootout. It was a thriller that provided a ton of offense and pretty much zero defense. 

But that game was at home. Beating a Pac 12 team on the road is a horse of a different color. San Diego State has only won one game against a Pac 12 team on the road. One. Ever. It's an embarrassing stat. But it's true. 

That one away win came against Oregon State back on September 13, 1975. Yep, 42 freaking years ago. When the Pac 12 was still the Pac 8 and I was a kid. And for you diehard and hungry SDSU fans who gobble up every positive morsel, the Aztecs won that one 25-0. 

Before the Cal victory last year, the last time SDSU beat a Pac 12 win even at home was the 2011 win against Washington State. Bottom line? San Diego State desperately needs to beat a Pac 12 team on the road. It's that simple. 

A win this weekend at Arizona State would be a statement, a turning point, a sign that this team, this program, is finally ready for the big time.

I think SDSU actually showed it's ready for its closeup in the Las Vegas Bowl last December when SDSU crushed a good Houston squad, 34-10, and Donnel Pumphrey became college football's all-time NCAA rushing leader.

And lest we forget, the Aztecs have posted back-to-back 11-win seasons and back-to-back Mountain West Conference championships.

SDSU was 17th in the nation in scoring defense last season (20.2 points per game), 11th in total defense (315.4 yards per game), and sixth in the nation against the run (105.7 yards per game).

But none of those gaudy facts and numbers guarantees a win in the desert on Saturday. Arizona State is a very good team when playing under the lights in Tempe.

The Sun Devils were not real impressive in a 37-31 win over New Mexico State last week. And they do seem vulnerable on the offensive line. But they've won 17 straight regular season, non-conference home games, including wins against three nationally ranked teams. 

Good For the Soul

Beating a Pac 12 team on the road would be good for the soul, especially for SDSU fans like me who also happen to have been passionate San Diego Charger fans until their scummy owner bolted for L.A. 

Want more meaningless stats? I'm here to help. This would also be the first time SDSU has won consecutive meetings against a Pac 12 school since SDSU beat Cal in 1994 and 1995.

And this should boil every true-red Aztec fan’s blood: We last played Arizona state in Tempe during the “other Long” era (Chuck Long) in 2007, and lost 34-13. 

The week before that, we were smoked by Washington State, 45-17. 

But is this the new dawn for SDSU? Will this school finally get over the Pac 12 road hump?  

I hope so. Because after the ASU game Saturday and the even bigger game against Stanford here in San Diego the following week, it’s gonna be a virtual smorgasbord of Pac 12 teams over the next 12 seasons for San Diego State. 

At home and on the road. From now until 2027, the Aztecs have non-conference games scheduled with seven different Pac-12 schools:

2018 — at Stanford (Sept. 1), Arizona State (Sept. 15)

2019 — at UCLA (Sept. 7)

2020 — UCLA (Sept. 19)

2021 — at Arizona (Sept. 11), Utah (Sept. 18)

2022 — Arizona (Sept. 3), at Utah (Sept. 17)

2023 — at Oregon State (Sept. 16), UCLA (Sept. 23)

2024 — Washington State (Sept. 7)

2025 — at Washington State (Sept. 6)

2026 — at UCLA (Sept. 12), Oregon State (Sept. 19)

2027 — at Arizona State (Sept. 18).

Many of my fellow SDSU fans are probably looking at that schedule above and thinking, "Uh oh. Looks like a whole bunch of losses, especially those road games."

We Aztec fans are Pavlovian. We're conditioned to sigh, twitch, freak out and start foaming at the mouth when we travel to a Pac 12 school to play football. 

Some of us truly believe San Diego State is cursed against this uppity, pain-in-the-arse conference. And I defy anyone to make a strong case against that sentiment. We're talking 42 years!

The good news? None of the kids on San Diego State Coach Rocky Long’s current team know diddly about any of this doom and gloom. They're a tough, confident, talented, well-coached bunch who absolutely believe that they will win.

Will the Pac 12 road curse end this Saturday? I'm not holding my breath. But I'm damn hopeful. Sigh. Twitch.