Those associated with the San Diego State football program have become accustomed to success during a 13-season streak of winning records.
It is the longest sustained success in the program’s 55-year Division I history.
It is surpassed only by the 17-year streak of winning seasons from 1961-77 that included eight years in Division II.
SDSU (3-6, 1-4 Mountain West) enters Saturday’s game at Colorado State (3-6, 1-4) having lost twice as many games as it has won this season.
It is an unusual, uncomfortable position, to be sure.
The situation has some people scratching their heads, some people grumbling to friends and co-workers and some people speaking out on social media.
SDSU coach Brady Hoke was asked Tuesday during his weekly news conference how he blocks out the “noise” when win-loss records aren’t meeting expectations and fans begin calling for change.
“No. 1, I don’t do anything on the Internet,” Hoke said. “Never have. So I have no idea (what fans are saying). I can’t remember when iPhones came out, but I didn’t need an iPhone for all the other stuff. I just need to call people.
“I’ll be honest with you, my focus is on trying to help this program, this university and this group of football players, and this group of seniors, and do everything we can do as a coaching staff to help them have success.
“In doing that, also, learning life lessons from the greatest team sport there is, because it takes 11 guys to do it right. And if you’re not synchronized and if you’re not disciplined, that will never (happen), and that’s a life lesson.”
Coacheshotseat.com ranks FBS head coaches from the hottest seat (currently Indiana’s Tom Allen is No. 1) to coolest seat (Georgia’s Kirby Smart is No. 133) in the country.
Hoke has been in the cool green zone (46-133) throughout the season. He was No. 80 at midseason, No. 72 after losing to Nevada three weeks and now No. 61 after losing to Utah State last week.
The website says six Mountain West coaches are on hotter seats than Hoke’s.
The red-hot zone (1-30) includes New Mexico coach Danny Gonzales at No. 7, Nevada coach Ken Wilson at No. 12 and Hawaii coach Timmy Chang at No. 16.
The warm yellow zone (31-45) includes Colorado State coach Jay Norvell at No. 33 and Utah State coach Blake Anderson at No. 44.
Ahead of Hoke in the green zone is San Jose State coach Brent Brennan at No. 54.
The fire, it seems, is burning brighter in dozens of other cities, though more and more disgruntled local fans are speaking out.
“If they’re disgruntled and those types of things, come out and support the guys,” Hoke said.
What Hoke was suggesting is not taking issues with him out on the Aztecs’ players.
SDSU tight end Mark Redman and linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu both spoke in support of their head coach while addressing what’s on social media.
“It’s definitely easy to hide behind a screen,” said Redman, who leads the Aztecs with 27 receptions for 286 yards and three touchdowns. “It’s just people sitting on the couch. They don’t know who Coach Hoke is. They don’t know the relationship that all of us on this team have with him.
“They don’t know hard (of work) that he puts in, and what he really loves to do, and that’s be around us, and try to give us the best opportunity to win each game. I sincerely believe that he does that, so that’s why I’m standing behind him 100 percent.”
Said Fiaseu: “I guess some fans can be toxic and all that, but we’re all human beings.”
“We all want to win,” added Fiaseu, who leads the Aztecs with 54 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks. “Coach Hoke wants to win. We want to win. With the fans saying all that, like (Redman) says, they’re just sitting on the couch.
“No one sees what’s going on in practice. No one sees what’s going on in the film room. No one sees everything behind the scenes. They just see what’s on the field. …
“Personally, I kind of look at it and laugh. You’ve got to find some positivity in everything. You can use that to put some fire under you and just keep going.”
Redman transferred to SDSU from Washington, where his 2021 Huskies team went 4-8.
“I’ve been on a team where it hasn’t been that great, had a losing record, and that’s not something that you see from the guys on this team,” Redman said. “They’re still eager to go out there and eager to fight, so that’s the thing that I’m most proud of with our team.”
Hoke hasn’t experienced a losing season since 2009, when SDSU went 4-8 during the first year of his first stint with the Aztecs.
So how does the message change, or how is it shaped, when you’re going through struggles?
“I would say this,” Hoke said, “The message always is about the seniors. It’s always about those guys playing their last football.
“When you start with that, and then, obviously, we want to win championships as part of it, there’s no doubt. For those (seniors), we’re going to coach our tails off.”
The expectation is for underclassmen to remain engaged down the stretch because one day they, too, will be seniors.
“They’re going to practice and play their butts off,” Hoke assured.
