Nov. 11, 2001
Game No. 11Wyoming (2-7, 0-6 MWC) at
San Diego State (2-8, 1-5 MWC)
Nov. 17, 2001 - 7 p.m.
Qualcomm Stadium
Capacity - 54,000
San Diego, Calif.
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Television: The Wyoming at San Diego State game will be televised live locally by SportsWest on Channel 4 San Diego. Eddie Doucette will handle the play-by-play with Blaine Fowler providing the color analysis.
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 2-8 (1-5 MWC) record after falling to Utah, 17-3, in Salt Lake City, Nov. 10. Wyoming is coming off a 41-34 home loss to BYU. The Cowboys are 2-7 (0-6 MWC).
The Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
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 42-48-0 (.467) record on The Mesa. Tollner's overall career mark stands at 68-68-1 (.500).
Wyoming Coach Vic Koenning: Wyoming head coach Vic Koenning is in his second season at the helm of the Cowboy football program. His overall record at Wyoming is 3-17 (.150).
The Series: Wyoming leads the all-time series by a 13-9 margin, however SDSU has won two in a row and three of the last four meetings. The Aztecs have also outscored Wyoming 73-7 in the past two seasons, including a 34-0 shutout last year in Laramie. SDSU holds a 6-5 edge against the Cowboys in Mission Valley.
Season Finale
The San Diego State Aztecs close the 2001 season Saturday night with a Mountain West Conference home game with the University of Wyoming. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium. The Aztecs enter the game at 2-8 overall and 1-5 in the Mountain West. Wyoming is 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the Mountain West Conference.
Back On The Tube
The Wyoming game marks San Diego State's eighth of the season on television. Saturday's game will be produced by SportsWest with Poway's Eddie Doucette calling the action. Analysis will be provided by Blaine Fowler. The game will be carried locally by Channel 4 San Diego. San Diego State's television breakdown for 2001 has included two appearances on ABC (Colorado State and UNLV), two appearances on ESPN2 (Arizona and Air Force), one appearance on ESPN+Plus (Ohio State) and three appearances on SportsWest (Brigham Young, New Mexico and Wyoming).
Ned In The Running
San Diego State senior running back Larry Ned has been named as one of eight semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award. The honor is presented each year to the nation's best running back by the SMU Athletic Forum. The field of 47 was cut to eight on Nov. 8th. It will be trimmed to three finalists on Nov. 27th with the winner to be announced Dec. 6th on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
Ned On The National Charts
Larry Ned will enter his final collegiate game seventh nationally in rushing with an average of 134 yards per game. The national leader is William Green of Boston College with 145 yards per game. Green has not played in two weeks due to an open week and a suspension. Ned also ranks 17th nationally in all-purpose yardage.
The Aztecs Lately
San Diego State will enter the Wyoming contest looking to break a four-game losing streak that dates back to the Oct. 6th Homecoming win over Eastern Illinois. In conference play, San Diego State has dropped five in a row since opening the league slate with a 14-7 win at Colorado State.
Final Curtain For Senior Class
Twenty-three Aztecs will play their final game Saturday night against the Cowboys. The senior list includes:
Player Position HometownAndrew Brigham Defensive End Scottsdale, Ariz.Jomar Butler Linebacker CarsonWill Demps Safety PalmdaleDonte Gamble Kick Returner ComptonAkbar Gbaja-Biamila Defensive Tackle Los AngelesBrian Gelt Tight End ValenciaJerome Haywood Defensive Tackle Chula VistaMike Houghton Offensive Lineman San DiegoThomas Howard Receiver FontanaJay Kos Linebacker Woodland HillsZach LaMonda Offensive Lineman OrangeDerrick Lewis Receiver New OrleansRoss Marchbanks Linebacker BakersfieldDeric Martin Receiver Long BeachDavid Mayhew Offensive Lineman Hacienda HeightsGray McNeill Tight End CovinaDavid Moreno Offensive Lineman PowayLarry Ned Running Back Moreno ValleyGarret Pavelko Safety Del MarChester Pitts Offensive Lineman Los AngelesSakimo Randall Tight End Chula VistaDylan Robles Linebacker PowayGreg Taylor Defensive Back Pomona
Utah Recap
In a game that featured the two best defensives in the Mountain West Conference, the Utes edged the Aztecs by a 17-3 count. The Aztecs' lone points came on a 26-yard field goal by Tommy Kirovski and that field goal gave the Aztecs a 3-0 lead. Utah was nursing a 10-3 lead until Adam Tate's 73-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left in the game closed the door on the Aztecs. The Aztecs' lone trip into the red zone resulted in the Kirovski field goal.
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 0-6 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, 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. The same case could be made for BYU's first score, a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. The Aztecs enter the Wyoming game 112th of 115 teams in turnover margin.
Turnover Tales, II
The Aztecs enter the season finale minus-16 in turnover margin with nine takeaways and 25 giveaways. Eleven of the 25 turnovers have been turned into 73 points for the opposition for an average of 7.3 points per contest.
Mountain Talk
San Diego State, in two-plus seasons in the Mountain West, is now 7-12 against league foes. The ironic records, of course, are the home and road numbers. Since leaving the WAC, San Diego State is 1-8 in conference home games and 6-4 in league road games. Two of San Diego State's seven Mountain West wins have come against Wyoming.
The Series
The Cowboys and Aztecs first met on the gridiron in 1978 and have now met 22 times, including every year since 1978, with the exception of 1998. Wyoming leads the series by a 13-9 count, but San Diego State has won the last two games and three of the past four meetings. The winning team in the series has scored over 30 points 15 times in the 22 games and SDSU's 34 points last season in the win in Laramie was the lowest total by the winner since 1996. The home team has won 15 of the 22 games.
In The MWC
In the two games between the schools since the formation of the Mountain West Conference, the Aztecs are 2-0 vs. Wyoming by a combined score of 73-7, including last season's 34-0 win in Laramie. The Aztecs have also won the last two games played between the teams in Qualcomm Stadium.
Last Year In Laramie
San Diego State broke into the win column for the first time in 2000 with a 34-0 over Wyoming in Laramie. Quarterback Lon Sheriff passed for 317 yards and was named Mountain West Conference offensive player of the week for his efforts. J.R. Tolver caught seven passes for 129 yards and the Aztec defense limited the Cowboys to 184 yards. San Diego State led 24-0 at halftime and was never threatened.
Scouting The Cowboys
Although Wyoming is winless in league play, the Cowboys are coming off of a strong effort against Brigham Young. The undefeated Cougars escaped Laramie with a 41-34 win when Wyoming's final drive stalled at the BYU five yard-line in the game's final seconds. The Cowboys also had a near miss early in the season against Texas A&M and fell one point short against New Mexico, 30-29. Wyoming has scored 60 points in its last two games, but enters the SDSU contest last in the Mountain West in points allowed at 33.7 per contest. Cowboy quarterback Casey Bramlet leads the Mountain West in passing at 288.6 yards per game. He is second in the league in total offense (290.2 per game).
Wideout Matchup
The San Diego State-Wyoming contest will feature the Mountain West Conference's top two receivers. Wyoming's Ryan McGuffey leads the league with an average of 80.6 receiving yards per game. SDSU's J.R. Tolver is second at 78.3 yards per contest after catching 11 passes for 140 yards at Utah. Tolver is third in the league in catches per contest at 5.8 while McGuffey leads the MWC with 7.1 per contest. Az-Defense The San Diego State defense will look to put the touches on another strong campaign on Saturday night. SDSU is ranked third in the league in total defense, allowing 336 yards per game.
Strike A Pose
There's no poster of him hanging in Time Square and he doesn't have a CD-ROM, but the nation's most efficient running back just may be San Diego State's Larry Ned. And though the senior will not receive any serious Heisman Trophy consideration, he is - at least statistically - one of the nation's top running backs.
* Despite playing week in, week out with defenses stacked against him, Ned has averaged 134.0 yards per game this season to rank seventh in the nation in rushing.
* He has cracked 100 yards on the ground in five of the last eight games and nearly made it six out of eight versus New Mexico with 93 yards.
* Ned has two of the 11 best single-game rushing performances of the 2001 season, gaining 239 yards against BYU and 285 yards versus Eastern Illinois. Ned's performance versus the Cougars was the most rushing yards given up by BYU since Marshall Faulk ran for 262 yards on Nov. 11, 1993. His performance against EIU ranks as the fourth-best single-game rushing performance in SDSU history.
As Good As It Gets
San Diego State has had only 13 1,000-yard single-season rushing performances in its history. Ned, who enters the season finale versus Wyoming with 1,340 yards, has rushed for 1,209 yards - an average of 151.13 yards per game - in the last eight contests. The senior has also scored 10 touchdowns over that span, with four multiple-touchdown games. Historically Speaking
* Ned eclipsed both the 3,000-yard career mark and the 1,000-yard single season mark with his 239 yards against BYU. Including his 79-yard outing against Utah, the senior has now rushed for 3,353 yards in his career, including 1,340 yards this season. With Marshall Faulk (4,589 from 1991-93), he is just the second back in SDSU history to crack 3,000 yards in career rushing.
* His 2001 season rushing total of 1,340 yards ranks as the fifth-best in SDSU History. Though George Jones' single-season record of 1,842 yards set in 1995 is clearly out of reach, Ned needs just 90 yards to surpass Marshall Faulk's 1991 season total of 1,429 and move into fourth place on SDSU's single-season rushing chart. Incidentally, Faulk led the nation in rushing that season.
* Ned's current rushing total already ranks as the top single-season rushing performance in the brief three-year existence of the Mountain West Conference.
* With 264 carries this year, Ned enters the Wyoming game ranked fifth on San Diego State's single-season chart for rushing attempts. Jones' 305 carries in 1995 is the Aztecs' single-season record. Ned needs just 11 touches to overtake Wayne Pittman (274 carries in 1994) and move into third place.
Elite Company
With 1,340 rushing yards this season, Ned joined has joined an elite class in San Diego State history, becoming just the 10th back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. It is the 13th 1,000-yard season in Aztec history and the first since Jonas Lewis gained 1,021 in 1997.
What A Difference A Year Makes
Despite practicing just a handful of times the past three weeks due to a high ankle sprain, Ned continues to be SDSU's work horse, rushing 84 times for 411 yards - an average of 4.9 yards per carry - over the past three games. For the season, he is averaging 5.1 yards per rush. By comparison, Ned was never 100 percent a year ago, struggling with a knee injury early on and later going down for the year with a season-ending shoulder injury. He ended the 2000 campaign with just 357 yards on 139 attempts, an average of 2.6 yards per rush.
He Can Score, Too
* Ned recorded the ninth multiple touchdown game of his career and his fourth this season against Brigham Young. He has found pay dirt 11 times this season and 32 times during his career.
* Earlier this season, Ned found the endzone a career-high three times in a game (Eastern Illinois). His other multiple touchdown games include Colorado State (2) and Air Force (2).
* San Diego State's leading scorer, the senior has now recorded 66 points on the season - 45 percent of the Aztecs' 146 points.
* Ned has had at least one rushing touchdown in 6-of-10 games this season and 21-of-36 games in his career. He also has nine games with at least two touchdowns.
* In the SDSU records book, Ned is in sole possession of eighth place in scoring with 192 points.
Tolver Vaults Into Top 10, Too
Wide receiver J.R. Tolver needed four catches at Utah to move into San Diego State's career top 10 in receptions. He got more than twice that many, hauling in a career-high 11 balls for 140 yards versus the Utes. The junior enters the Wyoming game tied for eighth with 129 career receptions. He'll have to have a monster game against the Cowboys, however, to move up any further this season. Az-zahir Hakim, who owns SDSU's No. 7 spot, recorded 147 receptions during his Aztec career from 1994-97. Will Blackwell (1994-96) is San Diego State's all-time leading receiver with 197 catches.
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 58 balls for 783 yards - an average of 78.3 yards per game.
* Those numbers account for just under 45 percent of SDSU's total aerial yardage and nearly 40 percent of the Aztecs' total number of receptions. They are also more than double those of the Aztecs' next leading receiver, Derrick Lewis (25 catches for 336 yards).
* Tolver also owns SDSU's longest pass reception of the season, a 45-yarder versus Eastern Illinois.
Tolver In the Rankings
* Tolver is the MWC's No. 2 receiver in yards per game (78.3) and No. 3 pass catcher in terms of receptions per game (5.8). Those figures rank 35th and 30th nationally.
Up, Up and Away
* Though he failed to make the final list for the 2001 Ray Guy award, Brian Simnjanovski continues to make huge strides as San Diego State's punter. Simnjanovski, who had never punted prior to last season, is averaging 43.8 yards per boot this season to lead the Mountain West Conference and rank 15th nationally.
* Simnjanovski's 43.8 yards per punt average is on pace to rank as the third-best single-season average in SDSU history. Noel Prefontaine, who averaged 46.5 yards per punt during the 1996 campaign, is the current record holder.
* The junior has averaged over 40 yards per punt in 9-of-10 games this season and over 45 yards four times.
* For the season, the Escondido product has killed 21 kicks inside the 20-yard-line, including seven inside the opposition's 10.
Kirovski Kicks
First-year place-kicker Tommy Kirovski is quietly having a solid season for the Aztecs. The junior notched his third multiple field-goal game of the season against New Mexico, booting a career-long 42-yarder during the second quarter and adding a 36-yarder in the third. He also scored SDSU's only points of the game last week at Utah, drilling a 26-yarder during the second quarter. Kirovski has now connected on 9-of-12 attempts this season to rank third in the MWC in field goal percentage.
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 44th consecutive start last week at Utah, finishing with five tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage. Haywood also had five stops the week before and scored two points for the Aztecs with his sack of UNM quarterback Casey Kelly. Haywood had his best statistical game of the season at UNLV, racking up nine tackles, including five solo stops.
More Streaking
In addition to Haywood, three other Aztecs extended double-digit starting streaks last week against the Utes, including strong guard David Moreno (21 games), safety Will Demps (21 games), cornerback Ricky Sharpe (20 games), quick tackle Chester Pitts (13 games), wide receiver J.R. Tolver (12 games) and strong tackle Brendan Darby (12 games).
24 And Counting
Junior receiver J.R. Tolver and senior wideout Derrick Lewis each extended their consecutive games with a reception streak to 24 last week versus Utah. Tolver notched a career-high 11 receptions for 140 yards and has now hauled in 23 passes in the last three games. Lewis finished up with two catches for 31 yards.
Rock-Solid Safety
Preseason all-Mountain West safety Will Demps continues to lead the Aztec secondary.
* Demps, who leads the Aztecs with 86 tackles, ranks seventh in the league in stops (8.6 tpg). He has finished as SDSU's leading tackler four times this year.
* The senior strong safety has registered three double-digit tackle performances this season, including a season-high 18 versus Air Force and 11 against both Arizona and Ohio State. Over the past two seasons, he has registered seven double-figure tackle games.
* Demps nearly notched yet another double-digit tackle effort at Utah, finishing the game with nine tackles, including one for loss.
* Though he had only four total tackles against New Mexico, Demps had perhaps his most active game of the season in pass defense, grabbing his second interception of the season and recording two pass break-ups.
Behind Enemy Lines
Senior Dylan Robles may not talk much, but he carries a big stick and is quietly having an strong season from his outside linebacker position.
* Robles ranks fifth on the team with 49 total tackles.
* The Poway product also leads the Aztecs in tackles for loss (9) and sacks (4). His tackles for loss total ranks fifth in the Mountain West Conference.
Morrison Giving More
* Redshirt freshman linebacker Kirk Morrison has been an active part of the SDSU defense since taking over for injured starter Beau Tricky following the Air Force game.
* Morrison had his break-out in his second start at UNLV, recording a game-high 12 tackles. He came back the following game to record his second double-digit tackle performance in as many weeks with 10 stops, including a pair of sacks, at Ohio State.
* Last week, the Oakland product posted yet another double-figure tackles outing, making a season-high 15 total stops at Utah.
* Including his seven-tackle performance against New Mexico, Morrison now ranks third on the team in tackles with 60, 55 of which have come in the last six games - an average of 9.2 tackles per game.
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 63.
* The senior has notched two double-digit tackle performance on the season, including 10 at Ohio State. He added a game-high nine tackles against New Mexico and was in on six stops at Utah and now ranks 13th in the league in tackles with 7.0 stops per game.
* The senior is also third on the team in tackles for loss (7) and tied for second in sacks (3).
* Butler has led the Aztecs in total tackles three times this season, recording seven against Eastern Illinois and 10 at Arizona State to go with his nine-tackle last week versus the Lobos. He has registered eight double-digit tackle performances in his last 14 starts.