San Diego State football coach Claude Gilbert was very nervous the week of the Aztecs’ 1975 road game against Oregon State.

Three SDSU players had been declared ineligible heading into the game. That diverted some of the coach’s attention while trying to prepare the Aztecs for a potentially coveted victory against a Pac-8 opponent.

“We’re highly concerned with our personnel,” Gilbert said. “We didn’t have much depth to start with. We could go from being a very good team to something less.”

SDSU’s desire to join the Pacific Conference dates back more than half a century. Those aspirations were finally realized this season, at least in name, when the Aztecs debuted in the reconstituted Pac-12. SDSU (2-3, 1-0) plays at Oregon State (3-2, 1-0) this weekend, bringing a team to Corvallis that has been challenged by both injury and illness this season.

The 1975 team also knew something of adversity. How bad were things going for the Aztecs that week 51 years ago at Oregon State?

One of the ineligible players, starting tackle Jim Chandler, would have been questionable even if eligible. Chandler had suffered a dislocated jaw — while yawning. The team’s other starting tackle, Dean Reese, was limping on a sprained ankle after falling down a flight of stairs on the way to class.

The Aztecs were coming off a 31-10 season-opening victory against UTEP when they went to visit the Beavers. The game wasn’t actually played on campus in Corvallis. The venue was changed to Portland’s Civic Stadium, where Oregon State and Oregon occasionally played games in an effort to attract larger crowds.

The Aztecs beat Oregon State 17-8 in the 1972 season opener at San Diego Stadium in the first meeting between the schools. They came into the 1975 contest as six-point underdogs. While it was an important game for SDSU, Oregon State coach Dee Andros was given to exaggeration when he said, “If San Diego State loses, it will set its program back 10 years.”

Huh?

It turns out that Gilbert had nothing to worry about. And if any program was set back, it was Oregon State, which was dominated in a 25-0 SDSU victory. It was the Beavers’ first shutout in six years after being limited to 152 yards in total offense while failing to reach the red zone. SDSU’s defense had seven sacks and three interceptions.

The Aztecs also recovered a fumble, though it was nullified because they inadvertently had two players on the field both wearing No. 75. One of them was Mike Gilbert, who had a game-high three sacks. This also was a defense led by aptly-named linebacker Travis Hitt, who had a team-high 153 tackles for the season.

SDSU kicker Steve La Plant tied a school record with four field goals against the Beavers. Aztecs quarterback Craig Penrose, who led the NCAA in passing yards (2,660) that season, threw for 164 yards and a second-quarter touchdown to Duke Fergerson.

The game may have been even more lopsided had SDSU not committed three turnovers of its own.

“It just shows what you can do when you really want it … It wasn’t a real easy win; we were just determined and so ready to play that it looked easy,” Gilbert said.

SDSU was ranked No. 20 in the nation by UPI the following week. It was the second of eight straight victories to start the season as the Aztecs rose to a program-best No. 13 in the country in the AP poll.

SDSU’s hopes for a dream season were dashed in a 31-24 home loss to No. 15 Arizona. The Aztecs fell from the top 20 (the poll wasn’t expanded to 25 teams until 1989), then fell from grace. They lost their last two games to San Jose State and Long Beach State to finish 3-2 in the PCAA and 8-3 overall.

A bright spot: SDSU averaged 42,040 in attendance at San Diego Stadium. That ranks second all-time in school history. Only the 1992 team led by running back Marshall Faulk drew more, averaging 46,766 fans a game.