Analyst: ‘You can argue’ San Diego State an upgrade over Colorado

San Diego State would be an upgrade over Colorado football for the Pac-12 with the Buffaloes now Big 12-bound — at least according to The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, who believes “you can argue” that’s the case.

“The Pac-12 isn’t dead,” Vannini prefaced before saying, “Not yet. You could even argue that replacing Colorado with San Diego State would be an upgrade. The survival of the conference was always going to come down to the Arizona schools, not the Buffs. But can it hold?”

SDSU has been far more formidable in the Mountain West than CU has been in the Pac-12 over the past two decades, with the Aztecs having won six bowl games since the Buffaloes won their last bowl game following the 2004 season. San Diego State basketball also made the 2023 March Madness championship game, so Vannini is correct in understanding that an argument could easily be made. With the difference in program resources and how the legacy the Buffaloes have in college football history compares to the Aztecs’, it’s not clear if that argument is the winning one.

San Diego State could join Colorado football in the Big 12: Analyst

NBC San Diego’s Derek Togerson believes that if San Diego State isn’t impressed with what the Pac-12, a potentially dying conference, has to offer, SDSU could join Colorado football in the Big 12; with the caveat that “a lot of dominoes” need to fall for that to take place.

“Would the Aztecs want to go to a conference taking on this much water? A decade ago they were on their way to the Big East as a football member, only to see that conference do away with football altogether,” Togerson prefaced before saying, “Ditching the Mountain West for another conference that goes belly-up would be an infinitely bad look. There is always the possibility that, if the Big 12 cannot lure another Pac 12 team away, they’d invite SDSU to join their ranks starting in 2024, although a lot of dominoes have to fall for that to happen.”

CU is not going to the Big 12 alone, so the addition of at least one more school is imminent. Whether it’s a Group of Five team getting the promotion to Power Five status like a San Deigo State — a school that would expand the Big 12’s footprint into California, by the way — or more Pac-12 schools, the Buffaloes won’t be roaming back to their original conference home alone.