Four previous San Diego State head coaches were a combined 5-0 in games that followed the announcement they would not be returning the following season.
That streak ended late Saturday night with a loss at San Jose State, where SDSU watched its record fall to 3-8 on the season and 1-6 in the Mountain West.
New Mexico’s upset win over Fresno State means SDSU is in last place all by itself, a position the Aztecs have not occupied in their previous 24 seasons in the Mountain West.
Here are three thoughts after Saturday night’s 24-13 loss to San Jose State at CEFCU Stadium.
1. Coulda, woulda, shoulda
The difference between a good season and a bad season is that good teams find a way to win.
The Aztecs haven’t done that this season, though they were in almost every Mountain West game.
“We’ve been in games in the fourth quarter,” SDSU coach Brady Hoke said. “We haven’t finished for one reason or another.”
A 49-10 blowout loss to Air Force represents the only game in which the Aztecs weren’t competitive.
Their loss to San Jose State is the only one that wasn’t a one-score game. And even that one against the Spartans was in doubt until the hosts score a touchdown with 5:13 remaining.
SDSU lost by three points, 34-31, to Boise State, an outcome that may have been different had quarterback Jalen Mayden hung onto the football for one more foot at the goal line.
The Aztecs lost 6-0 to Nevada, where a potential game-winning drive also ended with a fumble.
They lost 32-24 to Utah State in double overtime, but were a pass away from winning in regulation.
Another play or two at Colorado State could have turned the score around in that 22-19 loss.
Shoulda, woulda, coulda.
SDSU found a way to win in 2021, and the Aztecs went 12-2.
That seems so long ago — and it was in a place far, far away — now in the midst of a last-place season.
“It’s a team game, and we’ve got to do a better job finishing as a team,” Hoke said.
The Aztecs are guaranteed to finish Saturday night against Fresno State.
One way or another.
The past two seasons, the Aztecs have pointed to a running backs room crowded with talented players.
The problem was that not one of them stepped forward to make the starting role his own and get the 20-25 carries a game that come with it.
Jaylen Armstead, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior from Los Angeles, was viewed as someone who could be that heavy-duty back.
But injuries and a bit of fumble-itis had combined to limit Armstead’s carries.
It got to the point in midseason that Armstead was even working with the scout team.
“My mindset is I was just here for the team,” Armstead said after Saturday’s game. “If they took me down to scout (team), it was for a reason.
“They’re not trying to put me in a bad position. They’re trying to put me in a good position. So when they put me on scout team, I thought it was for the defense, help them tackle better and help them catch better. I just look at it as a positive thing.”
Maintaining a positive attitude paid of at San Jose State, where Armstead rushed 21 times for 134 yards — both career highs — and a touchdown.
It was the first 100-yard game by an Aztecs running back this season. Armstead had rushed for 135 yards in the previous eight games combined.
He has a nose for the end zone. Armstead’s seven rushing TDs this season are as many as the rest of the team combined.
“He showed up,” Hoke said after the game. “Him and I had a conversation about finishing downhill. That’s what I saw him do more today. I thought he also may some good cuts, took care of the ball, did the things that he normally does. It was great to see him run and punish people.”
3. Next leg up
SDSU has enjoyed a string of standout kickers over the past decade, including Donny Hageman (2014-15, 37-for-47, .787), John Baron II (2016-18, 50-60, .833), Matt Araiza (2019-21, 50-68, 735) and Jack Browning (2022-23, 31-43, .721).
They occupy four of the top six spots in field goal accuracy in school history.
They account for seven of the top nine single-season field goal totals, led by Araiza’s school-record 22 field goals in 2019.
They have kicked 12 of the 20 longest field goals in school history, led by Browning’s school-record 61-yarder earlier this season at Air Force.
All of the kickers have served as the understudy, waiting patiently until the kicker ahead of them graduates.
That changed two weeks ago when a knee injury suffered by Browning made junior transfer Gabriel Plascencia the next leg up.
All indications are that Plascencia is prepared to extend the string of standout kickers.
He is 4-for-4 now after kicking 46- and 21-yard field goals at San Jose State. Plascencia debut at Colorado State with 38- and 22-yard field goals.
While these represent the first Division I field goals by Plascencia, the Oakland native is plenty experienced.
He was 26-for-39 (.667) during two seasons at College of San Mateo, showing some range with a long of 51 yards.
The circumstances that gave him an opportunity with the Aztecs aren’t ideal, but Plascencia’s presence suggests they will be on solid footing again next season.
