San Diego State, Boise State meet with title at stake

BOISE – San Diego State football coach Rocky Long is taking a realistic approach to the fact his team heads into Boise State with a chance to take a big step toward the school’s first conference title in 14 years.

Long is also being careful to play down the expectations building for today’s showdown with the No. 19 Broncos.

The second-year coach bluntly dismissed any speculation this week on where an upset of the heavily favored Broncos would rank among victories in school history, or what a win would mean to the future of a program facing a competitive upgrade next year as a member of the Big East.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Long said. “If we don’t play our best this week, it could be embarrassing.”

He could be right.

Boise State (7-1, 4-0 Mountain West) is on a roll.

The Broncos have won seven straight since losing in the opener at Michigan State and own a one-game lead atop the conference ahead of the Aztecs (6-3, 4-1), Fresno State and Air Force. The Broncos, behind the development of quarterback Joe Southwick and a top-ranked defense, have also nudged their way back into the BCS bowl conversation.

Despite a weak strength of schedule, if the Broncos win their final four games they could get into the final top 16, be ranked higher than a champion from an automatic qualifying conference and in position to play in a BCS bowl. Boise State is No. 19 in the BCS standings, trailing Texas Tech, Southern California and Texas A&M.