Gregory Bull / The Associated Press)
SAN DIEGO — Rocky Long doesn't see any pressure involved.
The San Diego State coach's way of thinking comes from two facts: His Aztecs (9-2 overall, 6-1 Mountain West) will play for the conference championship no matter the outcome against Colorado State (6-5, 4-3), which just became bowl eligible the week prior. Because of that, Long explained, both should be relaxed, happy, excited and having fun at kickoff (7 p.m.; CBSSN).
"When you get at this level in athletics, that very seldom happens, because of outside influences, there's always stress and expectations and all kinds of things that weight on these young people, and very seldom do they get to play just for the fun of playing a game," he said.