The 2004 Liberty Bowl, in Bizzaro World.

As everyone in these parts knows, the term “moral victory” carries with it its own mythology. That two word phrase dredges up so many painful memories of monumental SDSU wins that nearly were, it’s kind of hard to hear it without curling into the fetal position and muttering incoherently about Blaine Gabbert.

Frankly, these atrocities deserve to be named. We had The Tie (BYU, 1991), The Miss (USC, 1992),  The Wind (North Carolina, 1998), The Third Down Punt (Michigan, 2004), The Fumble (Notre Dame, 2008), The Block in the Back (Missouri, 2010), even The Replay Booth (BYU, 2010).

Don’t worry, I’m not here to rehash painful history — I’m here to change it.

Seeing as we’ve officially reached silly season, I thought the time was right for a little exercise in historical fiction. The concept is simple: Pick a moral victory, any moral victory. Then write an alternate history for would have happened had the Aztecs … you know … won. For realsies. On the scoreboard and everything.

Now, if great works of fiction have taught me anything, it’s that going back in time to change the past is fraught with peril. For instance, you might find yourself being creepily seduced by your own mother or racing a steam locomotive at full speed toward a half-completed trestle.

But I knew when I became a blogger that I was signing up for a life of danger and intrigue. So I’m doing it.

Which game to choose, you ask? For me, one moral victory stands out above the rest — a game that played a formative role in making me the cynical, disgruntled doomsayer I am today.

Sept. 6, 2003 — No. 6 Ohio State 16, San Diego State 13

San Diego State’s last chance started at its 35 with 4:13 left. On third-and-14, Dlugolecki completed a 23-yard pass to Devin Pitts to the Ohio Sate 46. But the drive ended when four consecutive passes went incomplete.

Or did they?

John Fricke: Dlugolecki back to pass. Steps up in the pocket. Throws over the middle HE’S GOT WEBB. SLIPS A TACKLE AT THE 30!
John Kentera: GO!
Fricke: CUTS BACK TO THE 25! ONE MAN TO BEAT! FIFTEEN! TEN! FIVE!
Kentera: (Indecipherable)
Fricke: TOUCHDOWN AZTECS!
Kentera: HO HO HOOO! GOLLY JEE, JOHN! NEVER IN A HUNDURD YEARS DID I THINK THAT WOULD HAPPEN!
Fricke: THE AZTECS LEAD! THE HORSESHOE IS SILENT — IN STUNNED DISBELIEF!

The impact
The Aztecs won that day, 20-16, to go to 2-0 on the season. San Diego, land of the bandwagon jumper, took notice. Head coach Tom Craft was the toast of the town, briefly bringing porn mustaches back into style. Kirk Morrison and the Dark Side Defense took on an ’85 Bears-like mystique.

After easily dispatching UTEP in El Paso, the Aztecs returned home to a heroes’ welcome and an easy win over Samford. Even a close loss at UCLA couldn’t kill the buzz. When BYU came calling the following week, a crowd of 55,000 willed the Aztecs to a thrilling shootout win and a national ranking of 23. The students, overwhelming a dozen or so Elite Security goofs, stormed the field and tore down the goal post.

Ensuing stumbles against Utah and New Mexico (face it, even in fantasy Rocky Long would own Crafty’s soul) were washed away by victories over Wyoming and UNLV. The win over the Rebels was so convincing that freshman star running back Lynell Hamilton did not play in the second half so he could be fresh to face Colorado State the following week. The broken leg? What broken leg? With a healthy Hamilton and Adam Hall back in the saddle, the Aztecs topped the Rams and Air Force to finish 8-4 (5-2), good enough for second place in the Mountain West.

SDSU qualified for the San Francisco Bowl at SBC Park, where a Morrison forced fumble the closing minute sealed a 27-23 win over Boston College. SDSU finished 9-4, good enough for a No. 25 ranking.

Tom Craft was given a five year extension. The Aztecs had the community behind them and all the momentum in the world.

The aftermath
SDSU’s rousing 2003 season paid dividends the following year. Attendance, boosted by the first ever KGB SkyShow. averaged 50,000 per game (many of them even paid for their tickets!). Hamilton and Dlugolecki — the latter brimming with confidence from his heroics in Columbus — led the Aztecs to a two touchdown victory over Michigan at the Big House. In the postgame presser, Wolverines head coach Lloyd Carr promised it would be “the last time some no-name state school beats us in the Big House.”

SDSU suffered only three losses the rest of the way, falling at UCLA and BYU and losing at home to Urban Meyer’s BCS busting Utes. The Aztecs took Utah’s spot in the Liberty Bowl, where the Aztecs upset 10th ranked Louisville behind Hamilton’s 226 yards rushing. They finished 10-3 with a final ranking of 21. It turned out to be the high-water mark for the Tom Craft era.

High hopes placed on the 2005 season were mostly unfulfilled. Hamilton was stellar again, but the defense couldn’t overcome the losses of Kirk Morrison and Matt McCoy to the NFL. SDSU stumbled to 7-5. Even worse, the Aztecs were drop-kicked 55-27 by Navy in the inaugural Poinsettia Bowl.

Hamilton left for the pros after his junior season, and thanks to unusually high attrition in Craft’s recruiting classes, SDSU’s talent started to lag. Unable to match the physical style of rising programs like BYU, TCU, and Utah, the Aztecs fell to a disappointing 5-7 in 2006 and 2007.

A disastrous 4-8 campaign in 2008 — coupled with dismal APR scores, several mini scandals within the program, and declining attendance — led athletic director Rick Bay (amazing what you can survive when the football team wins a little) to make a change. What he wanted was a bona fide recruiter who could sign and retain four-star talent.

It just so happens that the perfect candidate was available.

Illinois assistant Mike Locksley was introduced as the Aztecs’ new head coach on December 28, 2008. For a full description of what happened next, go here.

Let’s just say wins weren’t plentiful. SDSU’s program reached its lowest point in 2010 with a 61-6 home loss to Brady Hoke’s upstart UNLV Rebels. The dark ages had arrived.

On December 7, 2011, the Big East Conference made an announcement.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The BIG EAST Conference formally announced the addition of five prestigious universities to its ranks today. The University of Central Florida, University of Houston and Southern Methodist University have accepted full membership into the BIG EAST while Boise State University and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas will compete as members in the sport of football.