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Echo Flam

What we learned Week 3: Aztecs have huge upside despite heartbreaking loss

by echo flam

If Saturday’s heartbreaking 27-24 loss showed anything about the San Diego State football team, it’s that Brady Hoke has the Aztecs going in the right direction.

It took a 68-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left in the game for Missouri to beat SDSU in Columbia, Mo.

Sure, the Aztecs, their coaches and their faithful would have loved to see the win, but we have to remember that San Diego State is a team that hasn’t gone to a bowl game since 1998.

This is a team that is still rebuilding.

Fans should take solace in seeing Ronnie Hillman—for the second straight week—run all over an opposing defense—and a Big 12 defense at that. The freshman rushed for 228 yards and had touchdown runs of 75 and 92 yards.

Fans should take solace in seeing San Diego State get a lead on the road against a BCS opponent and being just seconds away from upsetting said team.

Fans should take solace that the team wasn’t patting itself on their backs after the loss. That’s the media and fan’s job. Not theirs.

“We gotta win these games,” Hillman told the Union-Tribune. “We can’t lose this. It hurts. We have to earn our respect.”

The Aztecs should have won some respect Saturday night. Now it’s time for them to starting winning those close games against BCS opponents that will get people to start looking at them.

Utah’s has a great backup plan
Most wouldn’t call Terrence Cain a normal backup to Utah’s starting quarterback Jordan Wynn.

And I wouldn’t after the last two week’s of college football.

With Wynn—the Oceanside High alum—out with a thumb injury, Cain has assumed the starting role with much success.

In Cain’s two starts, the senior has gone 33-for-43 on pass attempts, thrown for 455 yards and has five touchdown passes.

Though these games were against Mountain West cellar dwellers UNLV and New Mexico, Cain still showed that he is more than capable than running the Utes offense.

The question is, when Wynn comes back, who does coach Kyle Whittingham employ?

Pac-10 teams skyrocket up My Top 25 rankings
Maybe I was naïve. I thought that without Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon would just be top 25 football team.

Looks like I was wrong. I have them at No. 5 this week because the Ducks could be the most dangerous offensive team in the nation.

Through three games, Oregon has scored a NCAA leading 189 points. The Ducks are on pace to score 756 points this year in 12 games, which would put Oregon ahead of Oklahoma’s 2008 scoring record. The Sooners put up 716 points on the scoreboard that year, but in 14 games.

Arizona flies to close to my top 10 because, well, they’re pretty good.

California and Houston fall out of my Top 25. New this week are Missouri and Nevada.

1) Alabama
2) Boise State
3) TCU
4) Ohio State
5) Oregon
6) Texas
7) Stanford
8) Florida
9) Nebraska
10) Utah
11) Arizona
12) Wisconsin
|13) Oklahoma
14) LSU
15) Arkansas
16) South Carolina
17) Oregon State
18) West Virginia
19) Auburn
20) Iowa
21) Miami (FL)
22) Penn State
23) Fresno State
24) Missouri
25) Nevada

For more info: Visit our College Football Examiner, Kevin McGuire. for more college football news. Check out the echoflam.com Top 25 poll. Follow me on Twitter.

Related

  • What we learned Week 5: BYU troubles may mean Aztecs win next week
  • What we learned Week 1: Mountain West powers legit, Aztecs looked balanced
  • What we learned Week 2: Aztecs freshman Ronnie Hillman the real deal, ACC powers not so much
  • What we learned Week 6: Aztecs flat against BYU, race for No. 1 wide open
  • What we learned Week 7: Aztecs get first win over ranked team since 1996
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