Oct. 21, 2001
Game No. 8No. 10/16 BYU (7-0, 3-0 MWC)
at San Diego State (2-5, 1-2 MWC)
Oct. 27, 2001 * 6:05 p.m. PDT
Qualcomm Stadium * Capacity: 54,000
San Diego, Calif.
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Television: The BYU at San Diego State game will be televised live locally by SportsWest on Channel 4 San Diego.
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 a 2-5 (1-2 MWC) record after falling to Ohio State, 27-12, in Columbus, Oct. 20. BYU is coming off a 63-33 victory over Air Force. The Cougars are 7-0 (3-0 MWC).
The Rankings: BYU is ranked No. 10 in the most recent ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and No. 16 in the AP Top 25.
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 42-45-0 (.483) record on The Mesa. Tollner's overall career mark stands at 68-65-1 (.511).
BYU Coach Gary Crowton: BYU head coach Gary Crowton (BYU '83) is in his first year with the Cougars. Prior to taking the helm in Provo, Crowton served as offensive coordinatior for two seasons with the Chicago Bears. He also was the head coach at Louisiana Tech (1996-98), where he guided the Bulldogs to a 21-13 record.
The Series: Brigham Young leads the all-time series, 18-6-1, including a 7-3-1 edge in Mission Valley.
Meet Me At The Q
The San Diego State Aztecs, 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference, return to Qualcomm Stadium Saturday night to host the 10th-ranked Brigham Young Cougars (7-0, 3-0 MWC) in a Mountain West Conference game. Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. and marks the first time this season the Aztecs have started a contest at their traditional time.
Book The Q
Saturday's game marks the Aztecs' annual Book The Q promotion. San Diego State encourages fans to donate books on their way into the game. The donations are then funneled throughout San Diego County in annual event that has become wildly successful. Last year over 14,000 books were donated to the cause.
Aztecs And The Top 25
San Diego State will be facing a member of the Top 25 for the first time this season when Brigham Young visits Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego State has not defeated a ranked opponent since knocking off No. 16 Wyoming on Nov. 7, 1996. The Aztecs were 0-2 vs. ranked opposition last season with losses to No. 24 Colorado State (34-22) and No. 17 Oregon State (35-3).
For The Final Time...
Brigham Young's Gary Crowton is in his first year as head coach of the Cougars. He is the fourth (and final) first-year coach the Aztecs will face this season. SDSU previously squared off with first-year bosses John Mackovic of Arizona, Dirk Koetter of Arizona State and Jim Tressel of Ohio State.
On The Brink
The Aztecs' rather strange 2001 season reaches its most critical juncture Saturday night. Another loss will eliminate San Diego State from any consideration for the Mountain West's three bowl opportunities. Even though SDSU enters the Brigham Young contest at 2-5 overall, the Aztecs are just 1-2 in league play with four Mountain West games remaining. The league has never had an undefeated champion and a win over the Cougars could jump-start a strong Aztec stretch run.
The Aztecs Lately
San Diego State has dropped two straight games for the second time this season. After a shocking 31-3 loss at UNLV in which SDSU was dominated in virtually every phase of the game, the Aztecs were equally puzzling on the positive side when they led Ohio State into the third quarter before a rash of turnovers ended hopes of an upset.
Ohio State Recap
San Diego State entered the Ohio State contest a decided underdog. However, the Aztecs, playing in front of their largest crowd ever, were far from awed. The game ended with Ohio State winning the total offense battle by just 15 yards (334-319). Both teams averaged 4.6 yards per play and Larry Ned recorded yet another 100-yard effort. SDSU led 12-6 at halftime and trailed just 20-12 entering the fourth quarter. The final score, and perhaps the outcome of the game, can be traced to five consecutive SDSU turnovers to start the second half. Four interceptions and a fumbled snap resulted in Ohio State erasing the halftime deficit. Fourteen of Ohio State's second-half points came on a total of 23 yards of offense. The Buckeyes were limited to 136 rushing yards (just 56 through three quarters) and the Aztecs got to OSU quarterbacks for four sacks. The time of possession was a virtual standoff with the Aztecs holding a slight 30:26-29:34 advantage. The Ohio State game marked the first time this season that the Aztecs dropped a game after leading in time of possession and leading at halftime.
Not A Big Secret
* Across America, college football coaches insist that turnover-margin is the most important stat when tracking a team's successes or failures. In 2001, SDSU is an obvious example. The following is a quick look at San Diego State's turnover margin this season.
* If I-AA Eastern Illinois is thrown out of the equation, the Aztecs are 0-4 when they lose the turnover battle, 1-0 when turnovers are even and 0-1 when they win the turnover battle thanks to the mirage in Las Vegas when SDSU was out of the contest early. Officially SDSU won the turnover battle in Las Vegas, however a case can be made for hidden turnovers. SDSU had a punt blocked that set up a score and another punt was returned for a score on the last play of the first half. Although the stat crew in the press box will not credit a turnover on those special-teams plays, most coaching staffs would not hesitate.
A Pair At Qualcomm
After ending a seven-game losing streak at Qualcomm Stadium with the 40-7 Homecoming win over Eastern Illinois on Oct. 6th, the Aztecs will be looking for two straight victories at the Q when BYU visits. San Diego State has not won two straight at home since closing the 1998 home season with a 34-29 win over Texas-El Paso and opening 1999 with a 41-12 win over South Florida. The Aztecs haven't registered consecutive home wins in the same season since defeating Fresno State 10-0 on Nov. 7, 1998, followed by the win over the Miners. The Aztecs have dropped their last four conference home games since defeating Wyoming, 39-7, to close the 1999 season.
More On The Mountain
San Diego State, in two-plus seasons in the Mountain West, is now 7-10 against league foes. The ironic records, of course, are the home and road numbers. Since leaving the WAC, San Diego State is 1-7 in conference home games and 6-3 in league road games. The three conference opponents who visit Qualcomm Stadium for the remainder of the season all suffered home losses at the hands of the Aztecs last year.
The Series
Brigham Young leads the all-time series with San Diego State by an 18-6-1 advantage. BYU is 7-3-1 vs. the Aztecs in Mission Valley. The tie came in the infamous 1991 meeting that ended 52-52. San Diego State's 16-15 victory last season in Provo ended a five-game losing streak in the series. The Aztecs have never won two straight against Brigham Young and will be looking to defeat the Cougars in San Diego for the first time since a 28-15 win in 1988, a period that spans just five games. Two of those games are memorable. The 52-52 draw has been featured on ESPN Classic and in 1993 the Cougars outscored the Aztecs by a 45-44 count.
Last Year In Provo
From the Aztec standpoint, San Diego State's 16-15 win in Provo last season was a thriller. After leading most of the game, San Diego State watched rather helplessly as BYU's Owen Pachman booted a 50-yard field goal with just 46 seconds remaining to give the Cougars a 15-13 lead. So desperate did the SDSU situation seem, the ESPN+Plus television crew awarded Pachman player-of-the game honors for his "game-winning field goal". However, Lon Sheriff, in just his fifth start, marched the Aztecs on a frantic 62-yard drive. His 39-yard completion to Derrick Lewis gave SDSU a chance. Kicker Nate Tandberg took advantage. The senior booted a 36-yarder with just one second remaining to provide San Diego State with just its second win ever in Provo. Neither team committed a turnover on the rainy day at Cougar Stadium.
Iron Man
Defensive tackle Jerome Haywood may be small in stature but he plays with a big heart. The senior, who has started every game of his three-plus year career, made his 41st consecutive start last week at Ohio State. Haywood had his best statistical game of the season a week earlier at UNLV, racking up nine tackles, including five solo stops.
More Streaking Aztecs
In addition to Haywood, three other Aztecs extended double-digit starting streaks last week in Columbus, including strong guard David Moreno (18 games), safety Will Demps (18 games) and cornerback Ricky Sharpe (17 games).
Black Jack
Junior receiver J.R. Tolver and senior wideout Derrick Lewis each extended their consecutive games with a reception streak to 21 versus last week versus the Buckeyes. Tolver, the Mountain West's No. 2 receiver in receptions and yards per game, hauled in a game-high six receptions for 67 yards. Lewis finished up with 25 yards on two catches.
Running Man
* Larry Ned posted his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season at Ohio State, grinding out a game-high 112 yards on 29 carries. It was the 10th time in his Aztec career that the senior has cracked the century mark.
* Ned, who has now run 100 yards four times in five games, continues to lead the Mountain West Conference in rushing, averaging 132.7 yards per game. That figure also ranks eighth nationally.
* Prior to his 177-yard outing at Colorado State, no San Diego State running back had reached 100 yards on the ground in the previous 12 games. Over the next three games, Ned would total 640 yards rushing, including 178 yards versus Air Force and 285 yards against Eastern Illinois, marking the best three-game rushing performance since George Jones totaled 696 yards during a three-game stretch in 1995.
* Ned's 285 yards versus Eastern Illinois stands as the best rushing performance in the nation this season. It is also a Mountain West Conference record and the fourth-best single-game rushing performance in San Diego State history.
This Way To 1,000 Yards
Though San Diego State has played just seven games, Larry Ned has already posted the best single-season of his career. Heading into the BYU game, the senior has gained 929 yards on 180 attempts to top his previous best of yards 894 set during the 1999 campaign, Ned is now just 71 yards shy of becoming the Aztecs' first 1000-yard rusher since Jonas Lewis gained 1,021 in 1997.
What A Difference A Year Makes
What does a fully healthy Larry Ned mean to SDSU? After struggling with a knee injury early on and later going down for the year with a season-ending shoulder injury, Larry Ned averaged just 2.6 yards per rush during 2000. This season, Ned has exactly doubled his production per carry and enters the BYU game averaging 5.2 yards per attempt.
He Can Score, Too
* Larry Ned scored his ninth touchdown of the season last week at Ohio State. He now has 30 for his career.
* SDSU's leading scorer, Ned enters the BYU game ranked sixth in the MWC and 43rd nationally in scoring with 54 points (7.7 ppg).
* Earlier this season, Ned found the endzone a career-high three times in a game (Eastern Illinois).
* Ned has had at least one rushing touchdown in 5-of-7 games this season and 20-of-33 games in his career. He also has eight games with at least two touchdowns.
* In the SDSU records book, Ned is in sole possession of eighth place in scoring with 181 points.
He's No. 2 ... And That's Not Bad
* San Diego State running back Larry Ned became the second most prolific rusher in Aztec history last week at Ohio State. With his 112 yards on 29 carries versus the Buckeyes, Ned vaulted past Jonas Lewis (2,843 from 1996-99) and into second place and enters the BYU game with 2,942 career-rushing yards on 634 attempts. Now just 58 yards shy of 3,000, Ned trails only Marshall Faulk, who totaled 4,589 yards on 766 carries from 1991-93.
Tolver Eyeing Top 10, Too
J.R. Tolver could move into SDSU's all-time top 10 this season as well:
* With 103 career receptions, wide receiver J.R. Tolver needs just 12 catches to tie Webster Slaughter (1984-85) at No. 10 on the Aztecs' career reception list with 122.
Boom Ball
* Ray Guy Award watch list award candidate Brian Simnjanovski continues to make huge strides as San Diego State's punter. Simnjanovski, who had never punted prior to last season, is averaging 44.6 yards per boot this season to lead the Mountain West Conference and rank eighth nationally.
* Simnjanovski, who has averaged at least 45.0 yards per punt in three games this season and has nine boots over 50 yards, had another banner outing at Ohio State last week, averaging 45.0 yards on four punts, including a 53 yarder. He had one punt downed at the Ohio State 12. * At UNLV, Simnjanovski averaged 43.7 yards on seven punts, including a 57 yarder, and dropped a pair inside the 20-yard line.
* The junior also had solid outings earlier this season at Arizona State and Colorado State, averaging 47.4 yards on eight kicks versus the Sun Devils and 46.8 yards on nine punts against the Rams. Of those 17 punts, six traveled over 50 yards. He also showed off his increased skill at the discipline, dropping six of the kicks inside the 20-yard-line.
* Against Air Force, Simnjanovski had only three attempts, but placed two of the three inside the 20. For the season, the Escondido junior has killed four punts inside the opposition's 10.
Kicking Into Gear
* Not to be outdone by his younger cousin (Brian Simnjanovski), place-kicker Tommy Kirovski has also been heating up of late. Kirovski, who had just one field goal in SDSU's first four games of the season, has booted five in the last three.
* With field goals of 29 and 38 yards at Ohio State, Kirovski has now made his last five attempts. The junior is 6-of-7 on the year, including a perfect 6-for-6 inside 40 yards.
Marked Man
* Despite being SDSU's lone true pass-catching threat this season, J.R. Tolver continues to be the Mountain West Conference's most consistent receiver. After leading the league in reception in league games last year, averaging 6.57 receptions per contest, Tolver is right back near the top of the charts once again.
* San Diego State's leading receiver, Tolver has hauled in 39 balls for 551 yards for an average of 78.7 yards per game.
* Those numbers account for over 44 percent of SDSU's total aerial yardage and 37 percent of the Aztecs' total number of receptions. They are also nearly triple those of the Aztecs' next leading receiver, Derrick Lewis (15 catches for 215 yards).
* Tolver also owns SDSU's longest pass reception of the season, a 45-yarder versus Eastern Illinois and the Aztecs' lone touchdown receptions of the year (a 40-yard hookup with Lon Sheriff and a 21-yard reception from Adam Hall versus Eastern Illinois).
Tolver In the Rankings
* Tolver is the MWC's No.2 receiver in both yards per game (78.7) and receptions per game (5.6). Those figures rank 34th and 30th nationally.
* In conference games, Tolver is the league's leading receiver in catches with 6.67 per contest. His 88.3 yards receiving per league game ranks No. 4.
Rock-Solid Safety
* San Diego State strong safety Will Demps ranks third in the Mountain West Conference in tackles with 69 on the season, including a game-high 11 at Ohio State and eight solo stops and two tackles behind the line of scrimmage at UNLV.
* With his 11 stops at Ohio State, Demps has now registered double figures in tackles on three occasions this season and seven times over the past two years.
* Dating back to the end of the 2000 season, Demps has averaged 11.2 tackles per game over SDSU's last 10 contests. Demps is a returning all-conference safety and was also voted to repeat on that team during the preseason.
Can't Keep This Good Man Down
* Preseason Butkus Award watch list member Jomar Butler may be struggling with injuries this season, but that still hasn't kept the senior from making his presence felt on the field.
* Butler, who missed the Air Force game and large portions of the UNLV contest, ranks second on the team in tackles with 45 after posting his second double-digit tackle performance of the season (10) at Ohio State. His performance versus OSU improved his tackles per game average to 7.5, which ranks ninth in the MWC.
* The senior is also tied for third on the team in tackles for loss (5) and tied for second in sacks (2).
* Butler has led the Aztecs in total tackles twice this season, recording seven against Eastern Illinois and 10 at Arizona State. He has registered eight double-digit tackle performances in his last 12 starts.
Looking Sharpe
* Ricky Sharpe is making a strong bid for all-conference honors at the cornerback position. Entering the BYU game, the junior ranks second in the Mountain West in passes defended with eight, including a pair of games with three break-ups. Sharpe's lone interceptions on the season came in the fourth quarter versus Eastern Illinois.
* Sharpe registered his first double-figure tackle game of the season and just the second of his career against Air Force, making 10 stops versus the Falcons to tie a career high for total tackles.
Getting More From Morrison
* Redshirt linebacker Kirk Morrison showed his game-high 12 tackles at UNLV two weeks ago were no fluke, coming back to record his second double-digit tackle performance in as many weeks with 10 stops, including a pair of sacks, at Ohio State.
* Morrison, who made his first career start at Eastern Illinois, now ranks sixth on the team in tackles with 33, 28 of which have come in the last three games. He now has an average of 9.3 per contest during that span.
Sticky Fingers
Cornerback Jeff Shoate may be in just his first year of Division I football, but sophomore-transfer is beginning to develop a knack for interceptions. Shoate, who matriculated to Montana out of high school before transferring back home to attend San Diego State, nabbed his second career interception at UNLV and nearly had his third in the first quarter last week at Ohio State. His first pick came earlier this year at Colorado State.
Pavelko Picks
Safety Garret Pavleko snared his second interception of the season and the third of his career last week at Ohio State. The senior, who ranks third on the team in tackles and 22nd in the Mountain West with 40, grabbed his first pick of the year in the season opener versus Arizona.
Webb Weighs In
He may be only a freshman, but wide receiver Jeff Webb is beginning to make his presence felt in the Aztecs' offense. Webb, who has at least one reception in 6-of-7 games, has had five catches over the past two games for 92 yards, including a career-long 29 yarder at Ohio State. His 51 yards receiving versus the Buckeyes were also a career best.
Gambling On Donte
* Kick return specialist Donte Gamble may fly by the seat of his pants, but the senior has energized SDSU's kick return unit this season. Gamble, who had just five kick off returns in 2000, is averaging 22.8 yards per return this season to rank 5th in the Mountain West.
* Gamble turned in his best return of the season at UNLV, bringing back the Rebels' first kick of the game 61 yards to set up SDSU's lone score. In all, Gamble averaged 28.5 yards on four returns.
* Against Air Force, Gamble had six returns for 125 yards, including a 38-yard return on the game's opening kickoff.