September 8, 1998
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State football team will look for its first win ofthe 1998 season as it heads up the coast to face the University ofSouthern California.
The Aztecs opened their 76th season of collegiate football witha 26-14 loss to 20th-ranked Wisconsin. It was the first ever seasonopening loss for SDSU in Qualcomm Stadium. Prior to this loss, theAztecs were 15-0-1 in Qualcomm debuts since the team moved to MissionValley in 1967. The Trojans are coming off a 27-17 win over Purduein the 1998 Pigskin Classic.
This game will mark the first trip ever for SDSU to the LosAngeles Coliseum and only the second meeting between the Aztecs andTrojans.
SDSU Head Coach Ted Tollner returns to the Coliseum for acollegiate game for the first time since he served as USC head coach(1983-86).
USC is the second consecutive ranked team the Aztecs will facein as many outings this year. The Trojans stand 22nd in AP and 23rd inUSA Today/ESPN this week. Last week, Wisconsin was ranked 20th and thenext SDSU foe, Arizona, is also ranked 21st in both polls thisweek.
SERIES RECORD
Today will mark the second meeting between SDSU and USC. The last time they met was on September 5, 1992 in San Diego. The game ended in a 31-31 tie.
SERIES HISTORY
Sept. 5, 1992 at SDSU.....SDSU 31 USC 31
COMPARATIVE STATISTICS SDSU USCRecord 0-1 1-0Conference Record 0-0 0-0Rushing Yards/Game 58.0 106.0Passing Yards/Game 147.0 168.0Total Offense Yds/Game 205.0 274.0Points/Game 14.0 27.0Opp Rushing Yards/Game 186.0 99.0Opp Passing Yds/Game 111.0 248.0Opp Total Off Yds/Game 297.0 347.0Opp Points/Game 26.0 17.0
THE LAST TIME WE MET
In the first meeting between the two schools, September 5, 1992, thetwo teams played to a 31-31 tie. It was the season opener for theAztecs at Jack Murphy Stadium. SDSU fought back from a 21-7 halftimedeficit with 24 third quarter points to take a 31-28 lead going intothe final 15 minutes.
Senior placekicker Andy Trakas missed on field goal attempts of 30and 55 yards in the game's final minutes in effort to give the Aztecsa win over the Trojans.
Marshall Faulk got 1992 off to a brilliant start rushing for 220yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns against USC. He scored onrushes of 1, 11, and 59 yards. SDSU piled up 274 of its 391 yards oftotal offense in the final 30 minutes.
LAST WEEK
The Aztecs had a tremendous defensive effort against Wisconsin, butthe offense struggled as the Badgers won the season opener for bothteams, 26-14. Wisconsin jumped out to an early 7-0 lead whenquarterback Mike Samuel hit Chris Chambers for a 60-yard touchdown.SDSU struck back with just four minutes remaining in the half on afourth down 2-yard TD plunge from backup quarterback Brian Russell toknot the game at seven.
SDSU took the lead, 14-7, midway through the third quarter whenAztec linebacker Joe Tuipala hit Samuel at the two-yard line andforced a fumble that was covered by defensive lineman Jerome Haywoodin the endzone. Wisconsin managed two field goals from Matt Davenport(40 and 47 yards) following and interception and a blocked punt topull with one going into the fourth quarter, 14-13.
The air was taken out of the Aztecs sails when Samuel scamperedfor a 47-yard TD on a quarterback draw three minutes into the finalquarter. The Badgers converted the two-point conversion and regainedthe lead 21-14. Wisconsin added a field goal and a safety later in thequarter and went on to post a 26-14 victory.
Junior running back Jonas Lewis carried the ball 20 times for 72yards.
USC OPENS '98 WITH COMEBACK VICTORY
USC opened up its season with a 27-17 victory over Purdue in the Pigskin Classic. The Trojans trailed 17-7 in the second quarter before rattling off 20 unanswered points for the win.
Junior tailback Chad Morton scored twice for USC, returning a firstquarter kickoff 98 yards, then running for a 13 yard TD to seal thewin in the fourth quarter.
Highly touted freshman quarterback Carson Palmer made hiscollegiate debut in the contest, completing three of six passes for 79yards. Palmer entered the game in the third quarter trailing 17-10,but helped guide the Trojans to a come-from-behind victory.
Although Palmer came on late in the game, sophomore Mike VanRaaphorst started at quarterback, completing 11 of 22 passes for 89yards.
TROJANS AT A GLANCE
USC is coming off of a 6-5 season in 1997. The Men of Troy did notearn a bowl bid for the second straight season after winning the 1996Rose Bowl.
The Trojans have two of the premier defensive players in thenation. Junior linebacker and Butkus Award candidate Chris Claiborneearned 1997 All-Pac-10 first team honors to accompany his honorablemention All-America accolades. Claiborne was also a first-teamFreshman All-American in 1996. Senior defensive back Daylon McCutcheonis also a force on the USC defense. McCutcheon is an All-American andThorpe Award candidate. He's a dangerous kickoff returner as well, andcould see some action at wide receiver or tailback.
The strength of the Trojan offense is the receiving corps, which isled by All-America candidate R. Jay Soward and senior Billy Miller.Soward is one of the most explosive receivers in the nation. Lastseason, he caught 48 passes for 831 yards (17.8 yards per catch.)Miller, who led USC in receiving last year, caught four passes for 70yards in the season opener this year.
SAN DIEGO CONNECTIONS
The Trojans have six players from the San Diego area on their roster.Junior safety Rashard Cook (Morse HS), sophomore quarterback Mike VanRaaphorst (Helix HS), senior kicker Adam Abrams (Bishop's HS),sophomore linebacker Zeke Moreno (Castle Park HS), freshman tight endLonnie Ford (Morse HS), and senior kicker Adam Rendon(San Dieguito HS) all hail from San Diego County.
Trojan qb Mike Van Raaphorst is the brother of Bill, an offensivelineman at SDSU who lettered in 1995-96.
USC AGAINST THE WAC
The Trojans own an 18-5-2 record all-time against Western AthleticConference opponents. The Men of Troy have not lost to a WAC opponentsince 1992 when they lost 24-7 to Fresno State in the Freedom Bowl.USC has defeated all three WAC opponents it has played since the loss.From 1961 on, the Trojans have compiled a 9-1-2 record against WACschools.
HEAD COACH PAUL HACKETT
In his first season at the helm of the USC program, former Kansas CityChief offensive coordinator Paul Hackett became the first Trojan headcoach since 1951 to win his first game when he guided USC to its 27-17win over Purdue on August 30. Hackett served as an assistant coach atSouthern California from 1976-1980. Hackett was the quarterbackscoach for the Trojans' 1978 National Championship squad, and duringhis three-year stay with the San Francisco 49ers, the Niners won the1984 Super Bowl. Hackett's only previous head coaching experience wasat the University of Pittsburgh from 1989 until 1992. During his timeat Pitt, he compiled a 12-20-1 record.
HEAD COACH TED TOLLNER
SDSU Head Coach Ted Tollner is in his fifth year at the helm of the Aztec football program. He has compiled a 25-22 record (.532) in his four years with the Aztecs.
This week Tollner returns to USC, where he was the head coach from 1983-86.
Overall, Tollner has a 51-42-1 (.543) collegiate coaching record, which includes four years at USC.
Prior to becoming a head coach, Tollner served eight years as an assistant at SDSU (1973-80) for head coach Claude Gilbert, now the Aztecs' defensive coordinator. Tollner also has seven years of experience as an NFL assistant coach (Buffalo Bills - 1987, San Diego Chargers - '89-91, Los Angeles Rams - '92-93).
TOLLNER YEAR-BY-YEARYear School Overall Conf. 1998 SDSU 0- 1 0- 01997 SDSU 5- 7 4- 4 (T-4th)1996 SDSU 8- 3 6- 2 (T-2nd)1995 SDSU 8- 4 5- 3 (5th)1994 SDSU 4- 7 2- 6 (8th)Total Fourth Year 25-22 17-15
1986 USC 7- 5 5- 3 (T-4th)1985 USC 6- 6 5- 3 (T-4th)1984 USC 9- 3 7- 1 (1st)1983 USC 4- 6-1 4- 3 (4th)Total Four Years 26-20-1 21-10Overall Record 51-42-1 38-25
DEJA-VU FOR TOLLNER
It's been 12 years since Ted Tollner has patrolled the sidelines as acollege head coach at the LA Coliseum, but this time he will be on thevisitor's side. Tollner was the USC head coach from 1983-86 where hecompiled a 26-20-1 overall record. Under Tollner, the Trojans earned aPac-10 title and three bowl appearances. His 1984 squad posted a 9-3record, finished 10th in the AP poll and upset fifth-ranked Ohio Statein the Rose Bowl, 20-17. The Trojans finished 7-1 in the conferencethat year and earned their first trip to the Rose Bowl as conferencechamps since 1979. Tollner was named Pac-10's Coach-of-the-Year thatseason. Among the victories that year was a 16-7 win over a Washingtonsquad ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time.
Tollner took over as the Trojan head coach after serving a year asan assistant to John Robinson.
CROSSING PATHS
Tollner and Hackett have followed a similar path in their coachingcareers. Both have served as head coaches and assistant coaches atUSC. After their stints with the Trojans they both assumed coachingduties in the National Football League. While Tollner was with theBuffalo Bills in 1987 coaching wide receivers under Marv Levy, Hackettwas the pass offense coordinator under Tom Landry at Dallas. Hackettthen went back to the college ranks as the offensive coordinator atPittsburgh in 1989 while Tollner remained in the NFL as the offensivecoordinator for the San Diego Chargers. For the 1992 and '93 seasons,Tollner was the quarterback coach for the Los Angles Rams whileHackett served his last season as head coach at Pitt in 1992 and thenreturned to the NFL as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas CityChiefs in 1993; a position he held until he was hired back to USC.
KA-BOOM GBAJA-BIAMILA
Junior defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila is just one sack away frombreaking into the top 10 career list for sacks. In the season openeragainst Wisconsin, Gbaja-Biamila recorded seven total tackles, fiveunassisted and three tackles for loss.
Gbaja-Biamila recorded six tackles for loss in 12 games in 1997,but against Wisconsin last week, he registered three for four yardslost. The single season record is 16 (Mike Stevens, 1984) and10th-place is held by four players with 12 in a season. The careerrecord is 37 tackles for loss (Kevin Richey, 1979-82) and 10th-placeis 18, held by Craigus Thompson (1993-96) and Kevin Mitchell (1979-80).
The 6-4, 235 All-America candidate returns home when the Aztecstravel up the coast to Los Angeles. Gbaja-Biamila attended CrenshawHigh School where he was the Los Angeles Times Central City DefensivePlayer of the Year and All-Central City and All-Pacific League.
THE AZTEC RECORDBOOK
Senior cornerback Eric Lewis moved up to a tie for second on theall-time pass broken up list with 29 in his career. Lewis broke up apass against Wisconsin and is now tied with Marlon Andrews (1985-88)and Mike Fox (1979-82). Mario Mitchell (1985-88) holds the all-timerecord with 34 passes broken up.
Junior strong safety Rico Curtis, who has compiled 193 total tackles(8.0 tackles per game) in 24 games, needs 63 tackles (6.3 tackles agame) to break into the top ten career total tackles list. The 10thspot on the list is occupied by Tracey Mao (1988-92) who record 256tackles. Last season, Curtis accounted for 112 tackles (9.3 tpg) forsecond best on the team earning him All-WAC second team honors.
THE THREE JOES
The linebacker corps made a huge impression in the first game of theseason against Wisconsin. Senior Joe Tuipala, junior Joey Mayo andsenior Joe Jackson accounted for 23 total tackles, two for loss andtwo fumbles caused. Tuipala caused both fumbles with one leading to atouchdown by freshman defensive lineman Jerome Haywood and Mayo leadthe team with 12 total tackles.
L.A. TIES
There are 37 Aztecs on the roster from the greater Los Angeles areawith the SDSU two-deep containing 12 players from the L.A. area. TheAztecs on last week's two-deep from LA are Kabeer and AkbarGbaja-Biamila (Crenshaw HS), Tairou Smith (Inglewood HS), AntwoneYoung (Inglewood HS), Andrew Kline (Beverly Hills HS), Damon Gourdine(Palos Verdes HS), Jim Ange (Thousand Oaks HS), James Wu (Bishop AmatHS), Darryl Jones (Brethen Christian HS), Kevin Burton (Banning HS),Sean Pierce (South Hills HS) and Zach LaMonda (Servite HS).
AZTEC NOTES
Juinor wide-out/punt returner Damon Gourdine is second in the WACaveraging 12 yards a return. Against Wisconsin, Gourdine returned twopunts for 24 yards. He is tied for ninth in the conference inreceiving with four catches for 44 yards.
Junior center Mike Malano has started 24 consecutive games donningthe Scarlet and Black. He started 18 games at right guard beforeswitching to center midway through the 1997 season. Gbaja-Biamilalooks to add to his 15 consecutive starts for the Aztecs at defensiveend while Tuipala has started 22 games in the last 36 dating back tothe 1995 season.
The 26-14 defeat to Wisconsin was the first home loss head coachTed Tollner has suffered in September since his arrival in 1994(7-1).
SDSU has struggled against non-conference opponents in the 1990's(11-17-1). The Aztecs have not won a non-conference road game since1981 when they defeated UNLV of the PCAA, now the Big West, 38-20.The Aztecs also defeated Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahomaearlier that year, 23-16.
Since the arrival of Tollner, SDSU has posted an 8-14 roadrecord.
If the Aztecs can beat USC, it will be the first time they have wonback-to-back road games since 1995 (SDSU beat UTEP 49-20 and Hawai'i49-10). SDSU won its final road game last year against Fresno State20-19.
Last week vs. Wisconsin, the Aztecs did not attempt a field goal ina game for the first time since October 5, 1996 at New Mexico, an 18game stretch. It was also the first time in placekicker NateTandberg's collegiate career that he has not attempted a field goal ina game.
San Diego State's all-time record against PAC-10 schools is7-25-1.
The Aztecs rushed for only 58 yards against Wisconsin. The lasttime SDSU rushed for less than 100 yards was against Wyoming onNovember 1, 1997 in Laramie. The Aztecs also lost that game, 41-17.San Diego State has failed to gain 100 yards rushing in a game eleventimes in Tollner's four years as head coach. The team has emergedvictorious on just two of those occasions.
The SDSU defense allowed 297 total yards against Wisconsin, with107 of those yards coming on two plays (60-yard TD pass and 47-yard TDrun). On the other 63 plays in the game, SDSU gave up only 190 totalyards, an average of just 3.0 per snap.
The Aztecs recorded 10 tackles for loss in the Wisconsin game. Thelast time the SDSU defense racked up double-digit tackles for loss wason November 18, 1995 at Hawai'i (10).
SDSU has lost five consecutive games when the opponent has scoredfirst.
AZTEC ITINERARY
The Aztecs will travel by charter bus leaving San Diego afterpracticing at home on Friday, September 11; the time of departure hasyet to be determined. The team will have no Friday walk through at theColiseum. SDSU will be lodging at the Long Beach Mariott(562-425-5210) and will return to San Diego by charter bus followingthe game Saturday night.
AZTEC ACHES
Sean Pierce, wr, right ankle sprain - doubtful
Jim Ange, te, concussion - questionable
James Stewart, fs, fractured right arm - out
Jason Asbury, ls, torn acl left knee - out
Robert Jarvis, wr, left knee - out
Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, cb, left ankle sprain - doubtful