Sept. 9, 2001
Game No. 3San Diego State (0-2) at No. 21 Ohio State (1-0)
Sept. 15, 2001
9:10 a.m. PDT
Ohio Stadium
Capacity - 99,000+
Columbus, Ohio
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Television: The San Diego State at Ohio State game will be televised live nationally by ESPN. Steve Levy will call the play-by-play with Todd Christensen providing the analysis. Dave Ryan will serve as the telecast's sideline reporter.
Radio: All San Diego State football games can be heard live in southern California on XTRA Sports (690 AM). Jim Stone calls the action with "The Coach", John Kentera, handling the color. Mike Costa provides sideline reports.
The Records: San Diego State enters the game with an 0-2 record after falling to Arizona State, 38-7, last week in Tempe. Ohio State defeated Akron, 28-14, in its season opener, Sept. 8.
The Rankings: Ohio State is ranked No. 21 in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. SDSU is unranked.
SDSU Coach Ted Tollner: Aztec head coach Ted Tollner (Cal Poly '62) is in his eighth season at San Diego State and has compiled a 40-42-0 (.487) record on The Mesa. Tollner's overall career mark stands at 66-61-1 (.516).
OSU Coach Jim Tressel: Jim Tressel is in his first season at Ohio State. He is 1-0 with the Buckeyes. Prior to his arrival in Columbus, Tressel served as head coach at Youngstown State, compiling a 135-57-2 with the Penguins.
The Series: Saturday's game in Columbus will be the first between San Diego State and Ohio State.
Week Three
The San Diego State road show continues this week as the Aztecs travel to Columbus to meet the Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time ever. Kickoff is set for 12:10 p.m. (Eastern, 9:10 Pacific). The game is the second of three straight on the road for the Aztecs. Next week the Aztecs meet Mountain West Conference preseason favorite and defending champion Colorado State in Fort Collins.
Back On The Tube
The Ohio State game marks the second national television appearance of 2001 for the Aztecs. Saturday's game will be televised by ESPN. SDSU opened the season on ESPN2 against Arizona. Still to come this season are two regional appearances on ABC (Colorado State and UNLV) and another ESPN2 date (Air Force). In the booth for ESPN this week will be Steve Levy and Todd Christensen with Dave Ryan on the sidelines. The producer is Scott Roberts.
The Crowd Factor
Saturday's crowd figures to be the largest ever to see an Aztec game, surpassing the 80,000 in Tokyo that watched the Aztecs and Air Force in the 1981 Mirage Bowl. The largest crowd to see the Aztecs play in the United States came in 1997 when SDSU visited Wisconsin with 76,864 fans on hand. Saturday's gathering could break the 100,000 mark in the newly expanded Ohio Stadium. In the win over Akron to open the season, Ohio State drew 102, 602.
You Know This Already...
San Diego State, for the third consecutive week, will be facing a first-year head coach. The Aztecs opened with two coaches in the first games at their respective schools (John Mackovic at Arizona and Dirk Koetter at Arizona State). This week Jim Tressel will be coaching his second game as the Buckeye boss. Against Brigham Young on Oct. 27th, the Aztecs face yet another first-year boss in Gary Crowton.
The Series
San Diego State and Ohio State will be meeting for the first time on Saturday. However, San Diego Sate, which is 2-7 all-time vs. the Big Ten, is meeting a member of that league for the fifth straight season and for the sixth time in eight seasons.
Against The Big Ten
San Diego State is 2-7 all-time vs. the Big Ten with all of the meetings coming against Illinois (0-2), Iowa (0-1), Minnesota (1-1) and Wisconsin (1-3). Through 2007, the only current Big Ten member on the schedule is Ohio State. The rematch is scheduled for 2005 in San Diego. The Aztecs have dropped five straight against the Big Ten, dating back to a 48-17 romp over Minnesota in 1993.
Bay Back In Town
Saturday's game marks the return to Columbus for Rick Bay. San Diego State's executive director of athletics and special assistant to the president served as the Ohio State director of athletics from 1984 to 1987. He resigned his Ohio State post rather than fire then-head football coach Earle Bruce.
Other SDSU-OSU Connections
Ohio State special teams coordinator Ken Conatser served as an assistant coach at San Diego State during the 1984 and '85 seasons. Conaster was in America's Finest City for the final two seasons of Doug Scovil's tenure as the head coach of the Aztecs.
The Buckeyes have two Californians on their roster. Freshman tailback JaJa Riley is from San Diego and a graduate of Mission Bay High while junior linebacker Jack Tucker, from Cypress, Calif., attended Kennedy High and Cerritos College. No current Aztec players call Ohio home.
Ohio State women's basketball coach Beth Burns held the same position at San Diego State from 1990-97. Burns, a three-time WAC coach of the year, led the Aztecs to conference championships in three of her final four seasons in San Diego.
The Ranked Opposition
San Diego State has not faced a ranked opponent since meeting No. 21 Illinois on Sept. 9, 2000. The Aztecs played that game without a number of starters and lost starting quarterback Jack Hawley for the season with a neck injury late in the contest. The Aztecs dropped the game by a 49-13 count.
More On The Top 25
San Diego State last defeated a ranked opponent on Nov. 7, 1996, when they dismissed No. 16 Wyoming, 28-24. The last two meetings against the nation's elite included last year's loss to No. 21 Illinois and the 1999 nailbiter at Southern Cal, when the Aztecs fell to the nation's 17th-ranked team, 24-21, in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Ted And The Big Ten
San Diego State head coach Ted Tollner is 3-5 all-time vs. the Big Ten with all three wins coming during his tenure at USC. Included in that total was USC's only Rose Bowl win from 1981 to 1989, a 20-17 upset of fifth-ranked Ohio State and Heisman runner-up Keith Byers in the 1985 Rose Bowl.
Scouting The Buckeyes
Ohio State is 1-0 in the Jim Tressel era after opening the season with a 28-14 win over in-state foe Akron. The Buckeyes rolled up 525 yards of offense compared to just 248 for the visitors. OSU's Johnathan Wells rushed for 119 yards and quarterback Steve Bellisari passed for 246 yards and two scores on a 15-of-24 effort. Ohio State also had a 100-yard receiving effort with Michael Jenkins' six catches covering 106 yards. The Buckeyes were dominant in possession time, holding the ball for over 35 minutes.
The Sequel Is Better Than The Orginal
Despite opening the season against two opponents from the Pac-10 conference, the San Diego State defense appears to once again be positioning itself among the top 50 in the country. The Aztecs have allowed 656 yards through two contests, for an average of 328.0 yards per contest to rank 53rd nationally. Even more impressive, the Aztec defense is 37th nationally against the rush, issuing 104.5 yards per two contests this season. Through two games, the 2001 edition of the Aztec defense has allowed fewer total yards and fewer rushing yards than the 2000 squad that finished 45th nationally in yards allowed per game.
Never Hit The Century Mark
Although the Aztec defense allowed 154 yards rushing against Arizona State, 16 yards more than they had averaged in 12 games prior to Saturday, San Diego State was still able to extend a streak. In the last 11 games, San Diego State has allowed just two opponent players to rush for 100 yards. Against the Sun Devils, no player rushed for more than 42 yards, marking the fourth time in the last nine games that no Aztec opponent has rushed for more than 53 yards in a contest.
Road Warriors
San Diego State has proven to be "road tough" in recent years, claiming three victories away from Qualcomm Stadium in each of the last three seasons. The Aztecs have posted three consecutive .500 or better records away from home and are 9-9 on the road since the beginning of the 1998 campaign. The Aztecs have also shown an ability to win the close one on the road, winning three straight road contests decided by seven points or less and the Aztecs are 5-1 in road contests decided by 10 points or less since 1998.
Cashing In On An 0-2 Start
For only the third time in the last 12 seasons, San Diego State has opened a campaign with an 0-2 record. Since 1982, in three of the five times the Aztecs opened a campaign 0-2, they have rallied to finish the season with a winning record.
Another strange tidbit involving 0-2 starts revolves around the fact that San Diego State has posted a winning record - both overall and in conference play - after opening with consecutive losses. The Aztecs are 32-31-2 in seasons after losing their first two games and have posted a 24-23-1 record in league play.
In 1998, the Aztecs opened the season with three consecutive losses (Wisconsin 14-26, at USC 6-35 and Arizona 16-35), but won seven of its final eight regular-season games to advance to the Las Vegas Bowl. That Aztec squad finished 7-5 overall and 7-1 in Western Athletic Conference play. In 79 seasons of football San Diego State has only opened with consecutive losses eight times. Since the 1961 season, only six Aztec teams have started 0-2.
Conspiracy Theorey
The similarities between the 1998 and 2001 seasons are beginning to draw an eerie comparison. Both squads entered the season coming off of sub-.500 seasons (1997: 5-7, 2000: 3-8) and both squads returned a majority of their letterwinners (1998: 31, 2001: 43).
Both the 1998 and 2001 squads opened the season against two teams from the Pac-10 and a school from the Big Ten.
In 1998, San Diego State opened the season at home against Wisconsin. The Aztecs took a 14-7 lead on a fumble recovery by Jerome Haywood, but Wisconsin scored the last 19 points to win 26-14. In 2001, San Diego State opened the season at home to Arizona. The Aztecs went up 10-0 on a touchdown set-up by a botched punt attempt that resulted in San Diego State getting possession on the Wildcat one-yard line. Arizona scored the last 23 points to win 23-10.
In the second game of the 1998 season, San Diego State went on the road and was defeated at USC 35-6. The Aztecs trailed in all major statistical categories including first downs (25-11), rushing yards (232-137), passing yards (239-94) and total yards (471-231). In the second game of the 2001 season, San Diego State went on the road to Arizona State and was defeated 38-7. The Aztecs trailed in all major statistical categories including first downs (24-11), rushing yards (154-88), passing yards (271-102) and total yards (425-190).
After opening 0-3 in that 1998 season, the Aztecs rallied to win seven of their last eight regular-season games, winning the Western Athletic Conference title and advancing to the Las Vegas Bowl.
Incidentally, in week three of the 1998 campaign, San Diego State faced a nationally-ranked Arizona team, falling to the Wildcats 35-16. Arizona finished the '98 season with a 12-1 record and a number four national ranking. Ohio State is currently ranked No. 21.
Individual Streaks
The Aztecs enter Saturday's game at Ohio State with the following streaks:
Larry Ned came close at Arizona State, rushing 19 times for 88 yards, but it wasn't enough to snap San Diego State's 100-yard rusher drought, which grew to 13 games. The Aztecs last produced a 100-yard rusher on Nov. 27, 1999, when Jonas Lewis ground out 131 yards on 22 carries in a 39-7 Aztec victory over Wyoming.
Senior defensive tackle Jerome Haywood has started every game of his three-plus year career and enters Saturday's contest at Ohio State with a string of 35 consecutive starts. Other notable double-digit starting streaks include strong guard David Moreno (13), safety Will Demps (13), cornerback Ricky Sharpe (13), quarterback Lon Sheriff (11) and linebacker Jomar Butler (11).
Junior receiver J.R. Tolver, who last season ranked 31st nationally in receptions per game (5.6) and 40th in receiving yards per game (73.5), extended his streak of games with at least one reception to 16 at Arizona State, hauling in two catches for 43 yards.
Wideout Derrick Lewis, who has been suffering with a strained back since training camp, played just the opening quarter in Tempe. Still, the senior did manage to keep his consecutive game catch streak alive, with a two-yard reception. Lewis has now caught at least one pass in 17 straight games.
Demp's Streak Snapped
Senior safety Will Demps, San Diego State's leading tackler this season with 20 stops, had his three-game, double-digit tackle streak broken at Arizona State. The 2000 first-team all-MWC choice just missed extending the string, however, as he finished up with nine total stops. Dating to the end of the 2000 season, Demps has averaged 12.8 tackles over the last four games, including a 17-tackle performance at Air Force and a 14-stop day against UNLV to close out 2000. Demps opened the 2001 campaign with 11 tackles versus Arizona.
Kicking Cousins
Look for a strong resemblance when placekicker Tommy Kirovski takes the field. His holder, and the Aztecs' punter, is Brian Simnjanvoski. They are second cousins out of Escondido. Kirovski is also the first cousin of Jovan Kirovski, a member of the U.S. National Soccer team.
Boom Ball
Ray Guy Award watch list award candidate Brian Simnjanovski continues to make huge strides as San Diego State's punter. Simjanovski, who had never punted prior to last season, is averaging 44.8 yards per boot this season to rank 18th nationally. The junior may have had the best game of his career last week at Arizona State, drilling four of his eight punts over 50 yards. He also showed off his increased skill at the discipline, dropping four kicks inside the 20-yard-line.
Getting Off On The Right Foot
San Diego State placekicker Tommy Kirovski connected on his first Division I field goal attempt, drilling 23-yarder to open the scoring versus Arizona. He later helped SDSU expand its lead to 10-0, booting his first PAT. At Arizona State, Kirovski remained perfect, hitting a fourth-quarter PAT, his only kick of the night.
A JC All-American at Palomar College prior to transferring to San Diego State, Kirovski connected on 11-of-12 field goal attempts as a sophomore before participating in spring practice at Arizona in 2000 before returning to San Diego.
Kind Of A Break Out
It may not seem like it should rank among a team's superlatives, but Larry Ned's 19-carry, 88-yard rushing performance at Arizona State last week was as much as an San Diego State running back has gained on the ground (Garric Simmons had 88 yards on 28 attempts last season at New Mexico) since Nov. 27, 1999, when Jonas Lewis ran for 131 yards on 22 carries against Wyoming. In fact, Ned's performance versus the Sun Devils was his best in since going for 203 yards on 18 carries at Utah in 1999 - a span of 16 games.
Ned Marching Toward History
San Diego State running back Larry continues to climb up the charts in the Aztec record book.
Rushing: Ned enters the Ohio State game with 2,144 career rushing yards, good for eighth on the Aztecs' all-time list. He needs just 699 yards to overtake SDSU's No. 2 all-time rusher, Jonas Lewis (2,843 from 1996-99). Marshall Faulk (1991-93) is San Diego State's career leader in both yards and attempts with 4,589 yards on 766 carries.
Rushing Attempts: With 494 carries, Ned is fourth all-time at SDSU. He needs 96 attempts to move past No. 2 Jonas Lewis (589).
Scoring: Ned enters the Ohio State game with 132 career points. With 34 more points this season, Ned will move past John Hancock (165 points from 1921-24) into the top 10. More Chart Watching
Two other Aztecs could move into SDSU's all-time top 10 this season: Receiver J.R. Tolver needs 46 catches to tie Webster Slaughter (1984-85) at No. 10 on the Aztecs' career reception list.
Lon Sheriff could move into the top 10 in total offense, passing yardage and completions by season's end with a repeat performance of 2000, when he connected on 155-of-290 attempts for 2,163 yards. The junior needs to accumulate 2,235 yards of total offense, 2,052 passing yards, and 148 completions, respectively, to move into SDSU's top 10 in each category.
Slow Starter, Fast Finisher
Slow starts are nothing new for quarterback Lon Sheriff, who threw for only 138 yards on 15-for-30 passing in the season opener versus Arizona and just seven yards on 1-for-7 passing at Arizona State. The junior signal-caller also got off to a tepid beginning a year ago, when he was thrust into the starting role in game three.
After not cracking 200 yards passing in his first two starts behind center versus Arizona and Oregon State, Sheriff was a new man once he got some snaps under his belt. Sheriff had his break out game in start No. 3 at Wyoming, passing for 317 yards and a touchdown en route to MWC Player-of-the-Week honors. He would go on to pass for at least 239 yards in four of the last five games of the year, including a career best 393 yards against league-champ Colorado State and 328 yards vs. bowl-bound UNLV.
Sheriff ended the year as the Mountain West's top passer in conference play, averaging 264.4 yards per game. He was also the league champ in total offense, finishing with 1,744 yards. Sheriff also proved capable in crunch time, leading the Aztecs to come-from-behind road victories at New Mexico and BYU.
New Kid In The Hall
Despite entering the season with a clear-cut starter at quarterback in junior Lon Sheriff, head coach Ted Tollner indicated that transfer Adam Hall would also get plenty of snaps this season. Hall, who has missed the last two season after redshirting at Texas and sitting out under NCAA transfer guidelines at SDSU in 2000, finally made his collegiate debut against Arizona with 9:07 to play in the fourth quarter. He drove the Aztecs 43 yards on 14 plays before San Diego gave up the ball on downs. Hall completed 3-of-8 passes for 22 yards and scrambled for another 15 on the ground during the drive.
Against ASU, Hall saw even more playing time, starting eight series, including the Aztecs' only scoring drive on the night. He finished the game 9-of-22 passing for 91 yards, including a 31-yard hook up with J.R. Tolver and a 29-yard connection with Jeff Webb.
Just Where Do You Want Me?
Versatile may be the best word to describe San Diego State's Mike Houghton and Sakimo Randall. A senior offensive lineman and former walk-on, Houghton continues to show why the Aztec coaching staff considers him to be the squad's most versatile line asset. He entered 2001 with 20 career starts - 13 at tackle and seven at center. The Mission Bay HS product has been on the move once again this season, starting both of SDSU's games at quick guard. He has now started at least one game at 4-of-5 interior line positions. The new position apparently agreed with the 6-6, 315-pounder, who graded out at 92 percent versus Arizona. Randall's sojourn has been even more dramatic. The senior tight end opened his Aztec career on offense but was moved to defensive tackle during 2000 due to a lack of depth in SDSU's front. He spent the spring of 2001 with the black shirts, but was moved back to the offensive side of the ball when fall camp opened and was the starter at tight end in the opener versus Arizona. Randall was slated to make his second straight start at tight end at ASU but did not make the trip due to the flu.
Must Be A Toll Call
Lighting hasn't struck just yet in 2001 for senior wide receiver Derrick Lewis, who has been slowed by a back sprain, but that wasn't the way he closed out the 2000 season. Lewis, who has just four receptions for 34 yards thus far, was one of America's hottest receivers over the final five games of 2000. As a junior, Lewis led the nation with a 25.2 yards-per-catch average. He was particularly dangerous down the stretch, cracking the 100-yard mark in four of the season's final five games, including 138 yards at Air Force and 153 yards against UNLV - a pair of bowl-game winners.
Lewis' numbers have been even more impressive on his seven touchdown receptions, which have averaged 57.4 yards over his two-plus year career.
Go-To Guy
Wide receiver J.R. Tolver extended his consecutive game reception streak to 16 with two catches for 43 yards versus Arizona State, including a season-long 31-yarder. Though it's not quite up to the numbers he posted last year, expect the junior to become more productive as the season wears on.
Tolver led the Mountain West in receptions per game a year ago with a 6.57 average. He also accounted for over 30 percent of San Diego State's receptions (62-of-194) and 32 percent of the Aztecs' total aerial yardage (808-of-2,501).
Back In The Saddle
Tight end Gray McNeill, who missed the final nine games of 2000 with a torn left ACL, shook off the rust in the season opener to finish with a team-high five receptions for 38 yards. The 1999 first-team all-conference selection added a seven-yard catch at Arizona State and has now had at least one reception in 14 of his last 15 games.
Butler Continues To Roll
Senior linebacker Jomar Butler continues to show why he's a member of the Butkus Award watch list. The Aztecs' second-leading tackler this season with 18 stops, Butler notched his seventh double-digit tackle performance in the last 10 games with a game-high 10 stops at Arizona State, including a tackle for loss.
Butler exploded on the scene in 2000 after missing all of '99 after an injury-plagued and academically challenging freshman campaign, ending the year as the MWC's third-leading tackler with 112 stops, 86 of which were solo, despite not seeing regular playing time until game three at Arizona. He earned second-team all-league accolades and SDSU team MVP honors for his efforts.
First Timers
Despite being deep in returning lettermen, several Aztecs saw their first playing time at Arizona State last week. Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Steve Nevarez, freshman H-back Fale Poumele and junior tight end Jason Dion and walk-on freshman safety Hector Nunez all made their collegiate debuts versus the Sun Devils.
Walking Into Starting Roles
During the early portions of fall camp, Ted Tollner confided to the media that the group of 2001 walk-ons may be the best he has been around. On the surface, that statement may not turn many heads. However, consider the following:
Linebacker Jomar Butler was scholarshipped, lost his scholarship, returned as a walk-on and became San Diego State's 2000 MVP and the leading tackler in the Mountain West Conference, despite not seeing his first extensive playing time until the third game of the season at Arizona.
Safety Will Demps, a 2000 all-Mountain West performer, walked on at San Diego State.
Offensive lineman Chester Pitts is an incredible walk-on who may be headed to a career in the NFL. He didn't play high school football and spent much of his early career working at a grocery store. He joins receiver Derrick Lewis as an Aztec starter that did not compete in high school football.
Offensive lineman Mike Houghton has started 22 games over the past two-plus years after walking on at SDSU.
Defensive back Jeff Shoate walked away from a scholarship at Division I-AA power Montana to walk on at SDSU. He is the starter at a corner opposite Ricky Sharpe.
Brian Simnjanovski is a second-team all-conference punter and Ray Guy preseason watch list member who walked on at SDSU after one year of high school football.