April 21, 1999
The San Diego State University Aztec football team made its firstpost-season appearance since the 1991 Freedom Bowl when it was selected forthe Las Vegas Bowl after recording a 7-4 overall record and becomingco-champions of the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division. Along theway, the Aztecs produced 10 all-conference selections plus the league'sPacific Division Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year.Despite the20-13 Bowl loss to North Carolina and a final 7-5 record, the team took amajor step forward.
In leading SDSU to a bowl berth, Coach Ted Tollner built a base for thefuture by utilizing his first class of fifth-year seniors since he took thereins of the program in 1994. However, his 1998 squad did not achievesuccess via the usual methods that have long been synonymous with San DiegoState football.
Known over the years as a high-powered offensive team that relied on thepassing game to outscore foes, the Aztecs used a different route topost-season play during the 1998 season. The offense was based on therunning game and SDSU used its best defense in over 20 years to holdopponents in check.
Offensively, the running back duo of Jonas Lewis and Larry Ned split timeand combined to average over 180 yards rushing per game. Each had four100-yard rushing games, twice reaching that mark in the same contest. Dueto their efforts, this season marked the first time since the 1976 campaignthat San Diego State gained more yards on the ground than via the pass.
Sophomore quarterback Brian Russell, who became SDSU's starter due toinjury to soph Spencer Brinton early in the season, turned in a solidseason. A transfer from Penn, Russell showed consistent improvement overthe course of the year and turned in his best performances of the season inthe Aztecs' final two games. In those contests he completed 64 percent ofhis passes (34-of-53) with no interceptions while throwing for well over200 yards in each game.
SDSU's leading receiver, junior Damon Gourdine, turned out to be more thanjust a pass catcher. In addition to leading the team in receptions andyardage (55 catches for 649 yards), he also stood out on both punt andkickoff returns. He ran back a pair of punts for touchdowns this fallincluding a school record 95-yarder against Utah. Gourdine ranked second inthe nation in punt returns with an average of 18.4 yards per return and wasamong the conference leaders in all-purpose yardage at 137.1 ypg.
On the other side of the ball, the Aztecs finished 35th in the nation intotal defense, their highest ranking since 1970 when they were fourthoverall. The average of 20.4 points a game by opponents was the lowestsince the 1977 season when the team allowed just 15.0 ppg. At one point inthe season, the "D" went 14 straight quarters without allowing foes toscore an offensive touchdown.
A number of heroes emerged for the defense over the course of the season,led by defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. The junior from Los Angeles ledthe team in both quarterback sacks and tackles-for-loss while establishinghimself as one of the premier defensive players in the conference.
Rico Curtis' switch from strong safety to free safety early in the seasonproved to be a good move for both he and the team. Curtis led the team intotal tackles as well as interceptions with three.
It was also the work of the SDSU linebacking corps, the "Three Joes"(Jackson, Mayo and Tuipala), that helped thwart opposing offenses in keysituations. That trio combined for 242 tackles with 19 tackles-for-loss andfive quarterback sacks.
Much of the optimism leading up to the 1998 season was tempered when theAztecs began with three straight losses for the first time since 1960.However, those losses came to three teams ranked among the top 25nationally: Wisconsin (26-14), USC (35-6) and Arizona (35-16). Two of thosesquads (Arizona, Wisconsin) reached the Top 10 this season and all threewill be bowl game participants this year. The season's fourth setback wasto fellow Pacific Division champion and Liberty Bowlbound Brigham Young.
Even through the losses, there were a number of bright spots along withone injury that changed the course of the season.
Freshman Jerome Haywood established himself on the SDSU defensive line,recovering a fumble against Wisconsin for a touchdown that gave the Aztecsa lead entering the fourth quarter. Running back Larry Ned was impressivein his first collegiate start, gaining 146 yards against an Arizona defenseknown for stopping the run. Gourdine gave a glimpse of his potential whenhe returned the opening kickoff against the Wildcats for 76 yards.
However, the one play that perhaps had the biggest effect on SDSU's seasoncame against USC when starting quarterback Spencer Brinton suffered asprained ligament on the thumb of his throwing hand. The injury effectivelyended Brinton's season and opened the door for Brian Russell, a sophomorewho transferred from Penn in 1997, to take over as SDSU's signal caller.
The San Diego State University Aztec football team made its firstpost-season appearance since the 1991 Freedom Bowl when it was selected forthe Las Vegas Bowl after recording a 7-4 overall record and becomingco-champions of the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division. Along theway, the Aztecs produced 10 all-conference selections plus the league'sPacific Division Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year.Despite the20-13 Bowl loss to North Carolina and a final 7-5 record, the team took amajor step forward.
In leading SDSU to a bowl berth, Coach Ted Tollner built a base for thefuture by utilizing his first class of fifth-year seniors since he took thereins of the program in 1994. However, his 1998 squad did not achievesuccess via the usual methods that have long been synonymous with San DiegoState football.
Known over the years as a high-powered offensive team that relied on thepassing game to outscore foes, the Aztecs used a different route topost-season play during the 1998 season. The offense was based on therunning game and SDSU used its best defense in over 20 years to holdopponents in check.
Offensively, the running back duo of Jonas Lewis and Larry Ned split timeand combined to average over 180 yards rushing per game. Each had four100-yard rushing games, twice reaching that mark in the same contest. Dueto their efforts, this season marked the first time since the 1976 campaignthat San Diego State gained more yards on the ground than via the pass.
Sophomore quarterback Brian Russell, who became SDSU's starter due toinjury to soph Spencer Brinton early in the season, turned in a solidseason. A transfer from Penn, Russell showed consistent improvement overthe course of the year and turned in his best performances of the season inthe Aztecs' final two games. In those contests he completed 64 percent ofhis passes (34-of-53) with no interceptions while throwing for well over200 yards in each game.
SDSU's leading receiver, junior Damon Gourdine, turned out to be more thanjust a pass catcher. In addition to leading the team in receptions andyardage (55 catches for 649 yards), he also stood out on both punt andkickoff returns. He ran back a pair of punts for touchdowns this fallincluding a school record 95-yarder against Utah. Gourdine ranked second inthe nation in punt returns with an average of 18.4 yards per return and wasamong the conference leaders in all-purpose yardage at 137.1 ypg.
On the other side of the ball, the Aztecs finished 35th in the nation intotal defense, their highest ranking since 1970 when they were fourthoverall. The average of 20.4 points a game by opponents was the lowestsince the 1977 season when the team allowed just 15.0 ppg. At one point inthe season, the "D" went 14 straight quarters without allowing foes toscore an offensive touchdown.
A number of heroes emerged for the defense over the course of the season,led by defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. The junior from Los Angeles ledthe team in both quarterback sacks and tackles-for-loss while establishinghimself as one of the premier defensive players in the conference.
Rico Curtis' switch from strong safety to free safety early in the seasonproved to be a good move for both he and the team. Curtis led the team intotal tackles as well as interceptions with three.
It was also the work of the SDSU linebacking corps, the "Three Joes"(Jackson, Mayo and Tuipala), that helped thwart opposing offenses in keysituations. That trio combined for 242 tackles with 19 tackles-for-loss andfive quarterback sacks.
Much of the optimism leading up to the 1998 season was tempered when theAztecs began with three straight losses for the first time since 1960.However, those losses came to three teams ranked among the top 25nationally: Wisconsin (26-14), USC (35-6) and Arizona (35-16). Two of thosesquads (Arizona, Wisconsin) reached the Top 10 this season and all threewill be bowl game participants this year. The season's fourth setback wasto fellow Pacific Division champion and Liberty Bowl bound Brigham Young.
Even through the losses, there were a number of bright spots along withone injury that changed the course of the season.
Freshman Jerome Haywood established himself on the SDSU defensive line,recovering a fumble against Wisconsin for a touchdown that gave the Aztecsa lead entering the fourth quarter. Running back Larry Ned was impressivein his first collegiate start, gaining 146 yards against an Arizona defenseknown for stopping the run. Gourdine gave a glimpse of his potential whenhe returned the opening kickoff against the Wildcats for 76 yards.
However, the one play that perhaps had the biggest effect on SDSU's seasoncame against USC when starting quarterback Spencer Brinton suffered asprained ligament on the thumb of his throwing hand. The injury effectivelyended Brinton's season and opened the door for Brian Russell, a sophomorewho transferred from Penn in 1997, to take over as SDSU's signal caller.
If there was a turning point to SDSU's season, it was perhaps its fourthgame of the year at Tulsa. Trailing 14-3 late in the third quarter. Russellclosed the gap with a 7-yard TD pass to tight end Jim Ange. Then, midwaythrough the final period, came one of SDSU's biggest plays of the year asredshirt freshman linebacker Jomar Butler picked off a pass and returned it28 yards for a score to give the Aztecs a 17-14 lead. Russell added SDSU'sfinal touchdown himself on a four-year run. San Diego State had captured animportant WAC road victory.
The following week in San Diego, SDSU spotted Hawaii a 7-0 lead beforeresponding with 35 unanswered points in a 35-13 win. Both Larry Ned (111yds, 2 TD) and Jonas Lewis (118 yds, 1 TD) hit the century mark in rushingwhile Damon Gourdine contributed a 57-yard punt return for six points.
The Aztecs chalked up win number three at New Mexico, but it was no easytask as the game was decided in overtime by the score of 36-33. After tyingthe game at 30-30 in the dying second, New Mexico opened the overtimeperiod with another three-pointer. SDSU came right back on second-and-10 atthe 25 with a middle screen that Gourdine carried into the end zone for thewinning points.
A week later at home, San Diego State faced Utah in what proved to be adefensive struggle. While the offense struggled, defense and special teamskept the Aztecs in the game. Trailing 7-0, Gourdine's 95-yard punt returntied the game just before halftime. Again down by seven in the fourthquarter, SDSU's Sheldon Pope blocked a Utah punt that was returned 23 yardsfor a score by defensive back Kevin Burton, and for the second week in arow it was overtime for the Aztecs. Utah scored first, but missed the extrapoint. That opened the door for Russell and the Aztecs as he found Gourdinein the corner of the end zone on third-and-goal from the six, and walk-onplacekicker Mike Spellman added the game-winning PAT. With the win, SDSUbecame the first team in NCAA history to win back-to-back overtimecontests.
The next week, SDSU's four-game win streak ended in Provo as it fell toBrigham Young, 13-0. The Aztec defense excelled as BYU's lone touchdowncame on an interception return. However, the Aztec offense stalled in thecold, rainy conditions.
San Diego State came back to win its final three games as it defeatedFresno State, 10-0, at home to record its first shutout since 1984. A 34-6win at San Jose State one week later was nearly a second consecutiveshutout as the Spartans scored a consolation six points in the game's finalseconds.
The season finale at home vs. Texas-El Paso was the Brian Russell show asthe sophomore threw for 267 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Gourdine hadseven catches for 109 yards and senior Jesus Reyes had six for 97 yards anda score, plus a touchdown run on a 79-yard reverse that sealed the victory.
In its first bowl appearance since 1991, the Aztecs battled not only thestoried tradition of the North Carolina Tar Heels, but 50 mph winds in thedesert of Las Vegas. Luck went the Aztecs way early on as Lonny Mitchellrecovered a fumble and ran for a 60-yard touchdown for the first score ofthe game. It was a defensive struggle for the remainder of the game asfour of the combined seven scoring drives resulting in field goals. Latein the fourth quarter, SDSU had a chance to tie the game and send it intoovertime. Senior linebacker Joseph Tuipala recovered a UNC fumble whichset the Aztecs up for a scoring opportunity inside the 20-yard line. Withonly second remaining Brian Russell's pass was intercepted in the endzoneand Carolina held on for the 20-13 victory. For his efforts in his finalgame donning the Scarlet and Black, Tuipala earned Defensive MVP honors.
When it was all over, the Aztecs earned a good share of conferencepost-season honors as four players were selected first team All-WAC PacificDivision accolades. That list included wide receiver Damon Gourdine,offensive linemen Rick Austin and Mike Malano, plus defensive linemanKabeer Gbaja-Biamila (a repeat first-team selection from 1997). Inaddition, Gourdine was also honored as the first team special teamsplayer.
Five others earned second-team honors led by running back Jonas Lewis,linebackers Joey Mayo and Joe Tuipala, and defensive backs Rico Curtis andEric Lewis.
The Aztecs also claimed individual awards as Ted Tollner was named thePacific Division Coach of the Year and defensive tackle Jerome Haywood wasthe Pacific Division Freshman-of-the-Year.