Sept. 3, 2000
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Week Two
* The San Diego State Aztecs play their second home game in 10 days Saturday night as they host No. 21 Illinois Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium. The game will begin at 7:05 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2. SDSU's contest vs. Illinois marks the only meeting this season between the Mountain West Conference and the Big Ten this season.
Western Exposure
* Saturday's game will mark SDSU's third straight on national television. The Aztecs closed the 1999 season with an ESPN-televised romp over Wyoming before opening 2000 with two straight ESPN2 contests. The game marks SDSU's 28th appearance on a national network since 1990. The Aztecs will be appearing on ESPN2 for the fifth time. Saturday's contest versus the Illini also marks the eighth time in nine games that the Aztecs will have appeared on television.
Book The Q
* Saturday's game marks the third annual "Book The Q" at Qualcomm Stadium. The annual book drive has generated over 26,000 books for San Diego County schools over the last two years.
Strong Defensive Effort Falls Short in Opener
* San Diego State recorded more first downs (21-16) and more total yards (319-270) but still came up short, falling to Arizona State 10-7 in front 30,931 fans at Qualcomm Stadium last Thursday night. Mike Barth's 21-yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourth quarter provided the Sun Devils with the winning margin.
* The loss was just the second season-opening defeat for San Diego State since the 1990 season, and dropped the Aztecs to 8-2-1 in their last 11 home openers.
* The teams exchanged first-quarter touchdowns. Arizona State's Shaun McDonald had 120 yards on punt and kickoff returns in the first half. His 40-yard punt return gave the Sun Devils the ball on the San Diego State 38 to set up their second possession. Four plays later Arizona State was on the scoreboard with Donnie O'Neal making a 14-yard reception for a 7-0 lead 2:53 into the game.
* San Diego State got a 34-yard punt return by Sean Pierce to set up Jack Hawley's 11-yard TD pass to tight end Raleigh Fletcher for a 7-7 tie with 3:24 left in the opening quarter. It was the first career catch for the redshirt freshman.
* The defenses took control after that, forcing the two teams to punt 23 times.
* Arizona State used an edge in field possession to set up the winning score. The Sun Devils drove 61 yards in 11 plays, including three plays of more than 10 yards on the drive. The drive culminated on the third play of the fourth quarter with Barth's field goal to give Arizona State a 10-7 lead.
* San Diego State, which saw its final three drives of the game started inside the Aztec 12 yard-line, mounted one last drive. With 3:10 remaining in the contest, and starting on their own four yard-line, the Aztecs marched 67 yards in 15 plays, converting a third-and nine, fourth-and-four and third-and-four, to get in fiel-goal range in the closing seconds. But senior Nate Tandberg, a finalist for the 1999 Lou Groza Award, was unable to convert a 47-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining.
The Series
* Not much football history between the schools with Illinois owning the only series victory, a 38-10 victory last year in Champaign, Ill. Last season, the Illini scored 17 second-quarter points en route to the victory. San Diego State outgained Illinois in the first quarter but the Illini scored on three second-quarter drives of less than two minutes to build a 17-0 lead at the half. Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner threw touchdown passes of 54, 38 and five yards and ended the afternoon 16-of-25 for 230 yards.
Big Ten Again
* This is the fourth consecutive season the Aztecs have played a member of the Big 10 conference, a streak which will continue next season with San Diego State scheduled to play at Ohio State on Sept. 15.
* Overall, San Diego State is 2-6 against the Big Ten, including 0-1 vs. Illinois, 0-1 vs. Iowa (Holiday Bowl '86), 1-1 vs. Minnesota, and 1-3 vs. Wisconsin. The Aztecs are 2-2 against members of the league at Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium. Of the three Big Ten tams that have traveled to San Diego to play the Aztecs, two have lost on their first visit to America's Finest City.
* San Diego State has dropped four consecutive games to members of the Big Ten Conference. The last Aztec victory against the conference came on Sept. 25, 1993, when San Diego State defeated Minnesota 48-17. It is worth noting that three of the four losses during the streak have come on the road, with the one home game ending in a 26-14 defeat to Wisconsin on Sept. 5, 1998. The Badgers ended the season 11-1 and claimed victory in the 1999 Rose Bowl.
Ranking Notes
* San Diego State will be trying to knock off a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since defeating 16th-ranked Wyoming 28-24 on Nov. 7, 1996. The Aztecs' last game against a ranked foe, was Sept. 18, 1999, when 17th-ranked Southern California knocked off San Diego State 24-21 at the Coliseum.
Tollner And The Big Ten
* Ted Tollner is 3-4 against the Big Ten Conference and enjoys a 2-1 series edge with Illinois. The former head coach at Southern California was a perfect 3-0 against the league while he wore the Cardinal and Gold.
* In addition, Tollner coached the Trojans to a series weep over Illinois in 1985 and 1986. In '85, Southern California defeated Illinois 20-10 in Champaign and completed the sweep the following season, winning 31-16 at the Coliseum.
* Tollner's best-known victory over a Big Ten opponent came in the 1985 Rose Bowl when Southern California claimed its only victory in the game between the years of 1981 and 1989 with a 20-17 win over Ohio State. Tim Green threw touchdown passes to Joe Cormier and Timmie Ware while Steve Jordan kicked two, 51-yard field goals to lead the Trojans to victory.
Aztecs vs. "The Land of Lincoln"
* Although San Diego State lost its only encounter with Illinois, the Aztecs have had better experiences with other teams from The Prairie State. The Aztecs are 4-0 against Northern Illinois, a school located in DeKalb, west of Chicago. That gives San Diego State an all-time mark of 4-1 against teams from the Illinois.
First Time Visitors
* Illinois is the 57th opponent to visit the Aztecs at Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium, where San Diego State is 43-12-1 (77.7 percent) against first-time visitors since moving to the stadium in 1967. The Aztecs have played rude hosts, disposing of five of the six first-time visitors during the Ted Tollner era and seven of the last eight first-time guests overall. After the 1986 loss to Iowa in the Holiday Bowl, seven straight opponents fell to San Diego State on their first visit to Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium: Cal State Northridge ('93), Minnesota ('93), Navy ('94), Nevada ('95), Idaho ('96), Oklahoma ('96) and South Florida ('99). That streak was snapped last Thursday when Arizona State claimed a 10-7 victory in the Sun Devils first visit to the Stadium.
* The 12 teams that have traveled to San Diego for the first time and come away with a victory at Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium are: Air Force ('83), Arizona State ('00), Hawai'i ('81), Houston ('73), Iowa ('86), Iowa State ('70), Missouri ('80), Oklahoma State ('80), Oregon ('85), UCLA ('84), Utah ('78) and Utah State ('67).
* Among the impressive teams to fall to the Aztecs in their inaugural visit to Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium include: Pacific-10 members Arizona, California and Stanford, Atlantic Coast Conference power Florida State, Big East traditional power Miami and Big Ten members Minnesota and Wisconsin.
* In defeat under the previously stated conditions, the Aztecs have played tough. The last two teams that won on their first visits, Iowa and Arizona State, have won by a combined four points and the last four teams UCLA, Oregon, Iowa and Arizona State have won by a total of 19 points.
First-Time Starters Continue Strong Defensive Trend
* Despite the influx of five defensive players making their first career start, San Diego State continued its strong defensive presence in the opening game against Arizona State. After leading the Mountain West Conference and ranking 18th nationally.
* San Diego State held Arizona State to 10 points, 110 yards rushing and 270 total yards.
* It was the third consecutive game, dating back to last season, that the Aztec defense allowed 10 points or fewer in a game. The last time that occurred was in 1977, when San Diego State held four consecutive opponents to seven points en route to a 10-1 campaign.
* The 10 points allowed against the Sun Devils is even more impressive when factoring in the fact that Arizona State started two drives inside the San Diego State 40 yard line and another four possessions at the Sun Devil 40 or better. The Aztec defense did not allow a touchdown and yielded just three points total in Arizona State's final 15 drives of the evening.
* In addition, the opportunistic defense combined to record 10 tackles for losses, and broke-up three passes in addition to intercepting a pass.
Scheduling the Best
* How difficult is the 2000 Aztec schedule? San Diego State opponents went 7-2 last weekend, including Utah's loss to Arizona, both future opponents of the Aztecs. Six of the first eight opponents on the San Diego State 2000 schedule received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week (Sept. 3 release) and six of the Aztecs' first eight opponents advanced to a bowl game last season. San Diego State does not play an opponent that finished the 1999 season below .500 in their first eight games of the 2000 season.
NCAA Rankings
* It may be early, but is never to early to look at the NCAA rankings. On the heels of San Diego State's impressive defensive showing against Arizona State, the Aztecs are among the nation's elite in the majority of the defensive categories.
* In team defense, San Diego State is 21st in passing efficiency, T-21st in point allowed, T-34th in total defense, 35th in passing yardage and 46th in rushing defense.
* In addition, San Diego State's Sean Pierce is 25th in the country in punt returns and is the major reason the Aztecs rank 45th in the team category.
Aztec Angles
* San Diego State has won 20 consecutive games at Qualcomm Stadium in which it has enjoyed a turnover edge dating back to Nov. 28, 1992, when Miami, which completed the 1992 season with a 12-0 record and won the national championship, claimed a 63-17 victory in the Aztecs' season finale...The Aztecs have won 10 consecutive games when scoring 30 or more points... Under Tollner, San Diego State is 25-6 when scoring 30 or more points in a game...The Aztecs' string of three consecutive games without allowing a 50-yard rusher was snapped against Arizona State when Davaren Hightower carried for 70 yards...The San Diego State defense has allowed just two 100-yard rushers in the last 13 games...Through games of Sept. 2, San Diego State is one of just 25 teams allowing 10 points or less a game and was the only school to allow an average of 16 points or less a contest and lose...Teams allowing 16 points or less per contest in 2000 are 33-1 with the lone defeat being San Diego State 10-7 loss to Arizona State.
Illinois Insight
* Illinois Opened its season with a 35-6 victory over Middle Tennessee Sept. 2.
* While Illinois has never faced SDSU on the Aztecs' home turf it has competed in Qualcomm/Jack Murphy Stadium. The Illini faced Hawai'i in the 1992 Holiday Bowl, losing 27-17.
* Illinois has not lost a game on the road since Oct. 2nd of last season when it suffered a 34-31 overtime loss to Indiana. The program's current win streak sits at five games, dating back to last year's Nov. 6th win at Iowa.
* The Illini return 39 letterwinners from last season's 8-4 squad, including 14 starters. Ten of those returning starters come back from an offensive unit that became the highest scoring squad in school history. The Illini's 388 points in '99 surpassed the 1902 team's 380 points scored in 13 games.
* Illinois is led by junior quarterback Kurt Kittner. Kittner completed 18-of-26 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception in the team's 35-6 victory over Middle Tennesse Saturday. Kittner comes off an outstanding '99 campaign in which he threw 24 touchdown passes and five interceptions, leading the Illini to their first bowl appearance in five years.
Connections
There are several connections between the Aztec and Illini programs: * Ted Tollner and Ron Turner spent two season's ('85-'86) together at USC, with Tollner head coach and Turner serving as quarterbacks/receivers coach in '85 and offensive coordinator in '86. Illini quarterbacks coach Craig Ver Steeg was a graduate assistant with the two during that time.
* Ron Turner hails from Martinez, Calif. He is a 1977 graduate of Pacific.
* Aztec defensive coordinator Ken Delgado and Ron Turner spent the 1992 season together at San Jose State. Delgado coached the defensive line under Turner, who was head coach. The Spartans went 7-4 that year.
* Aztec defensive back Ricky Sharpe and Illini offensive lineman Duke Preston played high school football together at San Diego's Mt. Carmel High School.
* Illinois defensive end Bernard Grady calls San Diego home having attended Scripps Ranch High School.
* Two other Californians suit up for the Illini. Redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron Nobles is from Rocklin and senior cornerback Trayvon Waller comes from Los Angeles.
* SDSU Executive Director of Athletics Rick Bay grew up in Waukegan, Ill. As a senior in high school Bay was named Illinois "Athlete of the Year" and was recently named as one of 30 athletes selected to the states all-century high school wrestling team.
First Timers
* Eleven Aztecs made their first career starts versus Arizona State last week, including Raleigh Fletcher, Chester Pitts, Johnathan Ingram, David Moreno, Chris Williams, and James Truvillion on offense and Amon Arnold, George Heather, Beau Trickey, Donte Gamble and Ross Marchbanks on defense.
Walking into Starting Roles
* San Diego State has a proud tradition of walk-ons who have gone on to make big impacts as starters. The 2000 season continued that trend as the Aztecs opened the year with five players who joined the program as walk-ons filling starting roles against ASU. SDSU's walk-ons-turned-starters include strong safety Will Demps, offensive lineman Mike Houghton, offensive tackle Chester Pitts, cornerback Donte Gamble and kickoff specialist Brian Simnjanovski.
Family Ties
* A trio of Aztecs, senior H-back Bill Hammett, junior free safety Garret Pavelko and freshman safety Josh Dean, followed in their father's footsteps by accepting scholarships to San Diego State. The elder Hammett, Bill Hammett III, was a standout linebacker for the Aztecs during the 1972 and '73 seasons, while Galen Pavelko, Garret's dad, lettered at SDSU in 1969 and '70. Josh Dean's father, Vernon, is perhaps the most well known, however. After starring at SDSU from 1980-81, he went on to play for the Washington Redskins from 1982-87.
Ned Due Back?
* When the Aztecs take the field against Illinois Saturday night it will have been only 19 days since Larry Ned underwent orthoscopic surgery on his left knee on Aug. 20. Still, the senior from Moreno Valley, Calif., may see action versus the Illini. Ned, who is listed as questionable for the Illinois game, made rapid progress during the rehabilitation process and is about a week ahead of schedule, according to trainers.
Ned Eyeing Record Book
* When Ned does return to the Aztecs' lineup, he will be looking to jump into SDSU's top 10 in both career rushing yards and career carries. Despite splitting time with Jonas Lewis for the past two seasons, Ned enters the 2000 campaign just eight yards shy of 10th place all-time on SDSU's career rushing chart with 1,656 yards. With his next carry, the senior will also move into the Aztecs' all-time top 10 for career carries. Ned had carried the ball 315 times.
Ned On Doak Walker Short List
* SDSU running back Larry Ned is one of 35 players selected as a preseason candidate for the 2000 Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate running back. The award will be presented at ESPN's Home Depot College Football Award Show on Dec. 7. He is one of only two backs from the Mountain West Conference (Air Force's Scotty McKay) to make the preseason list.
Truvillion Takes his Turn
* Junior James Truvillion had a solid outing last week versus Arizona State in his first career start, finishing with 73 yards on 19 carries, including a long of 14, for an average of 3.8 yards per rush. During his first two years in the SDSU football program as a backup to Larry Ned and Jonas Lewis, Truvillion totaled only 28 carries for 83 yards (3.0 ypc).
Airing it Out
* Quarterback Jack Hawley's 57 passing attempts last week versus ASU was a career high and the most by an Aztec quarterback since Tim Gutierrez had 59 attempts against Air Force in 1994. It was also the fourth-most in a single game in SDSU history. Hawley's previous high was 46 last season versus New Mexico.
Hawley Named as Golden Arm Candidate
* SDSU signal caller Jack Hawley is one of 23 quarterbacks selected as candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top senior collegiate quarterback. The winner will be selected from a list compiled by a select committee of football experts from across the United States. The committee will narrow the field to five finalists plus any ties and announce the list on Oct. 25. The winner of the award will be named on Nov. 21.
Gray Matters
* Senior tight end Gray McNeill picked up where he left off last season, hauling in a career-best and co-game-high seven receptions for 42 yards against ASU. A 1999 first team all-MWC selection, McNeill posted his previous single-game high of five last year versus BYU and New Mexico. McNeill is also on the candidate list for the John Mackey Award, which will be presented to the nation's top tight end in December.
Signs of Promise
* Sophomore wide receiver J.R. Tolver entered the season with just nine receptions for 101 yards. In last week's season opener against Arizona State, Tolver grabbed a career- and co-game high seven catches for a career-best 77 yards. His previous best was four receptions for 46 yards in the 1999 finale against Wyoming.
Fletcher Firsts
* Freshman tight end Raleigh Fletcher registered a number of firsts in last week's season opener. The redshirt freshman from Renton, Wash., made his first career start, hauled in his first career catch and scored his first touchdown. The catch and score came on the same play, an 11-yard pass from Jack Hawley in the first quarter.
Stepping Up
* With only one returning starter on the defense, a number of Aztecs were called upon to play significant roles for the first time in their careers last week. Three who answered the call were safety Will Demps and linebackers Brian Berg and Ross Marchbanks. Taking over for SDSU's second-leading career tackler Rico Curtis at strong safety, Demps was credited with a game-high 15 tackles (10 unassisted), including three for loss. The former walk-on entered the game with just 40 career stops, posting a previous high of seven at Utah in 1999. Berg and Marchbanks similarly posted career games, finishing with 12 and 10 tackles, respectively, as the Aztecs held the Sun Devils to just 270 total yards on 82 offensive plays.
Upholding the Family Name
* San Diego State may have lost its career sack leader in Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, but younger brother Akbar showed coaches there may not be much of a drop off. Akbar, who entered the season with just 14 tackles and one sack, posted a career-high seven tackles, six solo, against Arizona State, including two for loss and a six-yard sack.
Donte's No Gamble
* Playing in his first Division I-A football game against Arizona State, junior walk-on cornerback Donte Gamble posted a solid performance, accounting for four tackles, a pass break-up and the Aztecs' first interception of the season. A transfer from El Camino Junior College, Gamble worked his way from obscurity to starter during training camp, leapfrogging five contenders for the cornerback spot opposite Ricky Sharpe.
Quarterbacking the "D"
* Senior safety Brian Russell appears to have made the most of his switch to defense midway through last season. SDSU's starter at quarterback for the first two games of the '99 campaign, Russell was once again in the starting lineup for this year's season opener -- only this time at free safety -- and finished the game with six tackles, including five solo stops. Russell, who calls the plays in the defensive huddle, made three starts in the Aztec secondary a year ago and was a 10-game starter at quarterback in 1998 when he led SDSU to a Las Vegas Bowl berth.
Tandberg Climbing Charts
* Aztec place-kicker Nate Tandberg, a Lou Groza award finalist in '99, enters the season seventh all-time at SDSU in scoring and third in kick scoring with 185 points. In last week's season opener, Tandberg missed on field goal attempts of 37 and 47 yards. His 37-yard miss was his first miss inside 40 yards since the 1998 season. Tandberg was a perfect 10-for-10 inside 40 yards last season.
Busy Boys
* San Diego State punters Justin Sisco and Brian Simnjanovski joined up to tie an Aztec record last week versus ASU, combining for 12 punts, including two inside the 20 by Sisco. It is the most punts by SDSU since Wyane Ross booted 12 against BYU in 1996. John Beck, who punted 12 times versus Tennessee State in 1967, shares the single-game Aztec record for most punts.
Did You Know?
* Senior Sean Pierce's 34-yard first-quarter punt return that set up SDSU's lone touchdown against ASU was a career long and the longest by an Aztec since Damon Gourdine's 95-yard return for touchdown on Oct. 24, 1998 against Utah. His previous best was an 18-yard return in last season's finale versus Wyoming.