San Diego State quietly finishes its business

Rocky Long is right when he says his San Diego State Aztecs are likely now a Top 25 team after dominating Cincinnati at the Hawaii Bowl on Thursday and finishing at 11-3.

“There wasn’t anybody here to see it, though,” said the veteran coach, minutes after the thorough 42-7 blowout of the Bearcats.

The announced attendance of 22,793 tickets distributed and 14,537 through the Aloha Stadium turnstiles was the lowest in the 14-year history of the bowl game. It’s a tough sell when the University of Hawaii isn’t in it, and the Rainbow Warriors haven’t qualified for any bowl since its last winning season in 2010.

The Aztecs are one of the hottest teams in the country, finishing with 10 wins in a row. Long said he was among those wondering if San Diego State would even win one more game after starting out 1-3. But this team got better with each passing week, and it came at the Bearcats from every angle possible: Its six touchdowns included a kickoff return, a pass by its star running back, and a pick six.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati had problems getting anything right. Its only score while the outcome was still in question was a 51-yard field goal by Andrew Gantz. The reason you don’t see it on the scoring summary is it was negated by a delay of game penalty.

San Diego State’s first road win in its streak was here at the same Aloha Stadium, 28-14 against the Rainbow Warriors who were headed in the opposite direction — it was the third loss of a nine-game skid in UH’s 3-10 season.

The Aztecs’ visit in October did nothing to bolster the attendance on Christmas Eve. There’s a good reason you try to avoid having teams play here twice in a year: Even their most fervent fans are unlikely to make two trips to Hawaii in one season.

And the promise of sunshine doesn’t really resonate for folks in San Diego, where it doesn’t snow and the mercury still often hits the 60s in the winter.

“We had a couple more fans than Cincinnati,” said Aztecs freshman linebacker Ronley Lakalaka, who got enough action to notch two tackles.

But a lot of those supporters were the Punahou graduate from Kalihi’s family members, including his brother, Steven, the UH running back. “Next year it’s going to be us,” Steven promised.

For this week, San Diego State was the surrogate home team.

“Our team has felt that vibe,” Ronley said.

Long was the head coach at his alma mater, New Mexico from 1998 to 2008, when the Lobos and Rainbows were both in the Western Athletic Conference.

“It always helps when you’re in familiar surroundings,” said Long, who was also the New Mexico starting quarterback from 1969 to 1971. “I even played here in Hawaii, but it was before this stadium was built.”

Fullback Dakota Gordon felt right at home, too … especially in the end zone, as the Aztecs MVP caught a touchdown pass and ran for another. Another San Diego State TD was briefly postponed, as Gordon was ruled out of bounds at the 2 on what at first appeared to be a 37-yard catch-and-rumble for six. On the next play, he returned to his customary role of crushing any defender in Donnel Pumphrey’s path to the goal line.

“We were more comfortable being here,” Gordon said. “I think that had an effect.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.