SAN DIEGO – The loud boom of San Diego State’s canon sounded seven times here Saturday night, once for every time the Aztecs scored. When the smoke cleared for the final time in the fourth quarter, the scoreboard read San Diego State 40, Eastern Illinois 7.

But it didn’t take a glance at the scoreboard to tell who won the game. A look at the uniforms on the players’ backs alone told the outcome of the game. The Aztecs strutted off the field as their shiny all-black uniforms with red trim glistened under the lights of Qualcomm Stadium.

The wounded Panthers, limped and hobbled to the sideline, their all-silver uniforms smeared with different shades of green and brown. While the score and Eastern’s uniforms may have been ugly, their effort against the Division I-A opponent was beautiful.

Neither the score nor the dirt on their uniforms could come close to reflecting the effort Eastern gave on the field.

“You have to give credit to Eastern Illinois. They played their butts off against us,” said Aztec senior running back Larry Ned who ran all over the Panthers for 285 yards, a new Moutain West Conference record. “They left their hearts on the field.”

Ned couldn’t have said it any better. These Panthers were not the same group that showed up last week in a 44-33 home win over Tennessee Tech – they were better.

No one would think that after looking at Saturday’s box score. The Panthers rushed for just 27 yards on 23 carries compared to the Aztecs 356 rushing yards in 50 attempts.

Eastern quarterback Tony Romo out-threw Aztec signal caller Lon Sheriff. Romo finished the game with 199 passing yards, completing 15 of his 26 throws. But he was also sacked five times and threw a pair of interceptions. Romo’s uniform was just as tattered as his teammates’.

While the Panthers may not have been better in the box score this week, they were on the field. They didn’t disrespect the game. They didn’t rack up stupid penalties and personal fouls. They played with class.

The Panthers’ effort Saturday night was more admirable than any I’ve seen them make in my four years here. They played clean, hard-nosed, classy football. They truly did leave their hearts on the field. And they lost.

But what no one on campus will see in the box score is the sheer grit and desire each player on that team showed on the field.

They won’t see defensive tackle Brad Metzger, covered in grass-stained war paint, drag himself off the ground time and again to do everything he possibly can on the next play to stop the giants in black.

They won’t see junior center Scott Sholl pull his weary body off the bench with just minutes remaining in the game to give practice snaps to junior backup quarterback Kyle Kissack.

They won’t see the intensity in Antoine Livingston’s eyes on 3rd down and 3 even when his team was down 33.

They won’t hear the screaming battle cries of Gonzalo Segovia as he hurled himself into the trenches, fiercly trying to block the Aztecs’ final extra point, point No. 40.

And most of all, they won’t see the smile of pride from head coach Bob Spoo, as the veteran head coach sat at the locker room’s exit, greeting each of his players with a pat on the back and an invitation to team dinner.

They won’t know any of these things because pride doesn’t show up on the scoreboard, and class isn’t a category in the box score.

If there’s one thing the Panthers’ should learn the most from Saturday’s loss it’s this: Talent wins games, but heart, pride and class win championships.

The Panthers have had talent all season, but for the first time Saturday, they were a championship team. In two months, they’ll have the plaque and rings to show for it.