Group of 5 power rankings, Week 12: Top five holds steady
San Diego State Aztecs
Last week: BYE
Last rank: 5
The Aztecs enjoyed a bye week ahead of a two-game homestand to close out the season, but still didn’t get the results they needed to climb back into the Mountain West race.
Through five weeks of the season, the Aztecs looked to be the favorite to claim a New Year’s Six spot with a perfect 5-0 mark, including wins over Arizona State and Stanford. Rocky Long’s team would suddenly fall apart in mid-October, suffering back-to-back ugly home losses against Boise State and Fresno State.
San Diego State has managed to recover since with blowout victories over Hawaii and San Jose State, giving it an 8-2 overall record with a great chance to break the 10-win plateau for the third straight season. There’s no doubt the Aztecs have the talent and resume to occupy a top-five spot in the power rankings, but they still trail Fresno State by a full two games in the West due to head-to-head tiebreakers and will need some help to make the title game.
Running back Rashaad Penny has returned to form over the past two weeks, and is an All-American candidate with 1,602 yards and 17 total touchdowns. Improving health on a young offensive line has been a major factor since the brief losing streak, and the Aztecs still rank top 20 nationally with an average of 18.8 points per game allowed.
As Fresno State faces a difficult schedule over the final two weeks, the Aztecs at least have a shot if they can take care of business against what should be overmatched opponents. San Diego State returns to the field on Saturday night when it hosts Nevada.