SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State football team is ranked 25th in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, which was released Tuesday morning following Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship game. It is the third time in program history that the Aztecs (12-2) made the final AP Top 25 poll, joining the 1977 squad (16th) and the 2016 team (25th).
SDSU extended its program record by being ranked eight times in the AP Top 25 poll in 2021 and has been ranked 18 times since 2016.
Playing in its 99th season of football, San Diego State finished with a school-record 12 victories, becoming one of just 10 programs nationally with at least 12 victories this year. Only four teams had more wins than the Aztecs, including national champion Georgia, and CFP teams Alabama and Cincinnati.
SDSU played five teams who reached double-digit victories on the season, securing wins over Pac-12 Champion/Rose Bowl participant Utah (10-4), UTSA (12-2) and Air Force (10-3). San Diego State, which was ranked in every CFP poll in 2021, played all 14 of its games away from its own market, including eight "home games" two hours from campus at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
The Aztecs garnered 137 points in the final poll, up from 63 in the Week 15 poll released in early December. SDSU finished 26 points behind No. 24 Utah State (163), while No. 21 Arkansas (371), No. 22 Oregon (364) and No. 23 Iowa (171) also were just ahead of San Diego State. Utah, who the Aztecs defeated, 33-31, on Sept. 18, finished 12th with 851 points.
SDSU kicks off its 100th season of football on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Arizona, hosting its first game at Bashor Field at Snapdragon Stadium.