If the San Diego State football team is destined to play for the Mountain West championship, it is now out of the Aztecs’ hands.
SDSU has controlled its own destiny throughout the season,but that changed Friday against New Mexico on a crisp afternoon in albuquerque,N.M., where the Lobos defeated SDSU 23-17 in double overtime before a boisterous announced crowd of 30,575 at University Stadium.
The game was tied 17-17 at the end of regulation. And then it got crazy.
SDSU got the ball first in OT, but Aztecs quarterback jayden Denegal’s pass on the first play was intercepted by New Mexico’s austin Brawley. That put the Lobos 25 yards away from victory. They advanced the ball 24 yards, then fumbled. SDSU’s Owen Chambliss recovered three feet from the goal line.
SDSU had new life, but the Lobos had the ball first in the second OT. On their first play, New Mexico tight end Cade Keith made a one-handed catch on a pass from quarterback Jack Layne and navigated his way to the end zone. The two-point conversion required after the first overtime failed,and it was SDSU’s turn with the ball.
After two fruitless plays, Denegal ran 15 yards up the middle on third-and-10 from the 25 for a first down. But three straight false starts moved the ball back 15 yards. After a 6-yard run by Christian Washington, the Aztecs started going backward again. They lost five yards when Denegal nearly fumbled the ball away, then lost 12 yards on back-to-back sacks.
Faced with fourth-and-30 from the 30,Denegal launched a pass that went out the back of the end zone.
Game over.
The loss prevented SDSU from clinching the Mountain West regular season title and guaranteeing the Aztecs host the conference championship game. New Mexico, which hasn’t played for a conference championship for decades and hasn’t won one in 61 years, thrust itself into the center of the championship picture with the win.
Boise state beat Utah State 25-24 on Friday to remain in the mix as well.
Here are the Mountain West championship game scenarios:
• If UNLV (9-2, 5-2) loses Saturday at Nevada (kickoff 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network), then SDSU (9-3, 6-2), New Mexico (9-3, 6-2) and Boise State (8-4, 6-2) will finish the regular season all tied for first place. The championship game participants and host site will then be determined by computer metrics because the teams are all 1-1 against each other.
• If the Rebels win,then SDSU,New Mexico,Boise state and UNLV all are 6-2,and the participants and host site are determined by computer metrics (because not everyone played each other).
The updated computer metrics will be announced Sunday morning by the Mountain West. If the matchup is Boise State-SDSU, then the Aztecs will host by virtue of their 17-7 victory over the Broncos this season. Then there would be the matter of where to host, Snapdragon Stadium or Petco Park. Both venues are in play because of San Diego FC in the MLS playoffs.
If SDSU is not a participant in the championship game, then the Aztecs would look ahead to a bowl appearance. bowl announcements will be made Dec. 7.
“I feel for the kids,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said during a postgame interview with flagship radio station San Diego Sports 760. “We need to do a better job of coaching up the areas of planning there so we can be in a better position to be prosperous. …
“We’ve got to respond. That’s what this team has done
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