Zero Votes? The AP Poll Just Disrespected San Diego State

I didn’t expect San Diego State to crack the preseason AP Top 25.

That would have been a stretch.

The Aztecs are coming off a 9–4 season, but they still have plenty to prove entering 2026. The defense lost significant production, the offense was inconsistent for stretches last year and this program is still working its way back into the national conversation. So this isn’t about SDSU being left out of the Top 25. It’s about being left out completely.

The preseason AP Poll came out Today, and San Diego State did not receive a single vote. Meanwhile, Boise State received 43 votes, UNLV and New Mexico each received four, Cal received two and Liberty received one. Boise getting considerably more respect is understandable. That program has earned the benefit of the doubt nationally. UNLV has built itself into a legitimate western contender, and New Mexico is coming off a season that forced people around the country to pay attention. But once voters are reaching beyond those teams, it becomes harder to understand how San Diego State disappears entirely.

Cal received two votes despite losing 34–0 at Snapdragon Stadium last season. Liberty received a vote after a four-win season. Yet an SDSU team that won nine games, tied for first in the Mountain West standings and fielded one of the best defenses in the country couldn’t find its way onto a single ballot. That doesn’t mean last year’s results should determine this year’s preseason poll. Rosters change, production leaves and voters are trying to project what teams will look like in 2026. But SDSU isn’t exactly starting from scratch.

Jayden Denegal enters another season in Sean Lewis’ offense with a full year of starting experience behind him. Lucky Sutton is back after establishing himself as one of the Aztecs’ biggest offensive weapons, and while the defense has plenty of new faces, everything we’ve seen throughout camp — including Saturday’s scrimmage — suggests that side of the ball might once again be the backbone of this team. The bigger question is whether the offense can finally become consistent enough to complement it. That’s why expecting a Top 25 ranking right now would be premature. Expecting somebody to at least notice them isn’t.

San Diego State won six more games in 2025 than it did the year before. It went undefeated at home, shut out a Power Four opponent and enters 2026 with an established quarterback, an established running back and a defense that continues to look difficult to deal with. Yet when 69 AP voters submitted their ballots, not one included SDSU.

Maybe that proves completely justified once the season begins. Or maybe the Aztecs are entering 2026 in the perfect position: overlooked again, with a schedule that gives them plenty of opportunities to make voters look foolish. Nobody needed San Diego State at No. 24 or No. 25.

But zero votes?

That feels like the bigger statement.