As it turned out, 2022 was a magic number for the San Diego State and Middle Tennessee football teams.

It did not appear that way when both teams had sub-.500 records and were facing challenges at quarterback. But after making personnel changes — on staff and in the starting lineup — SDSU won five of seven to earn a berth in today’s EasyPost Hawaii Bowl.

Middle Tennessee will be on the opposite Ching Complex sideline after winning its final three regular-season games to match the Aztecs’ 7-5 record.

“We’re so excited to be here,” defensive end Jordan Ferguson said of his final game with the Blue Raiders. “We worked so hard to get to this point.”

The Raiders were 4-5 and without quarterback Chase Cunningham, who was suffering from what he termed “just a little head injury.” But Nicholas Vattiato threw for 203 yards and Ferguson recovered a blocked punt in the end zone as the Raiders defeated Charlotte 24-14. Then, in the next two games, Cunningham completed 71.9% of his passes for 727 yards and five touchdowns as the Raiders earned 100-plus tickets to paradise.

Cunningham said the home-stretch surge came down to improved health, coaching and cohesive play. “We did a good job with that in finding ways to win,” Cunningham said.

The Aztecs were in need of a more dramatic boost after losing three of their first five games and enduring a quarterback crisis.

Will Haskell left the team, Kyle Crum had a broken collarbone, and starter Braxton Burmeister was iffy after being in concussion protocol.

“We made some changes that were tough changes,” said SDSU coach Brady Hoke, alluding to offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski’s ouster, associate head coach Jeff Horton taking over Hecklinski’s duties, and Ryan Lindley being named quarterbacks coach.

Lindley’s first assignment was to welcome back Jalen Mayden, who transferred from Mississippi State as a quarterback but moved to safety during spring training. Mayden had not thrown a pass in a game since Sept. 1, 2018.

“When I asked (Mayden) if he would come back to the offense, he said the same thing when he went to defense — ‘Anything I can do to help the football team,’” Hoke recalled. “That’s what Jalen’s done.”

Horton added more two-back sets, arranged for the offense to huddle instead of receiving calls from the sideline, and took advantage of Mayden’s quick release.

“For the most part,” Mayden said, “I didn’t feel I missed a beat. I prepared and threw.”

In his debut against Hawaii, Mayden was 24-for-36 for 322 yards and a touchdown. The Aztecs won that game, and four of the next six, to qualify for the postseason.

“It’s been fun,” Horton said. “We have a great group of players who were really dead in the water after five games. The way they responded … it’s been fun to come back and give us a chance to get into a great bowl game. And here we are in Hawaii.”