Aug. 21, 2002
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San Diego State (0-0/0-0) at Fresno State (0-0*/0-0)
Thursday, August 29, 2002
7:05 p.m. PDT (announced)
Bulldog Stadium (Grass, 41,031) Fresno, Calif.
Television: The San Diego State at Fresno State game will be televised live to a national cable audience by ESPN2.
Radio: All San Diego State football games can be heard live in southern California on XTRA Sports (690 AM). Lee Hamilton calls the action with former Aztec quarterback Mark Halda returning to the broadcasts to provide analysis. John Kentera reports from the sidelines. Mike McGregor is the producer.
The Records: San Diego State will be playing its first game while Fresno State was scheduled to open at Wisconsin on Aug 23.
The Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
SDSU Coach Tom Craft: The Fresno State game marks the debut of new Aztec head coach Tom Craft. It will also mark the debut of Craft as a Division IA head coach.
Fresno State Coach Pat Hill: Bulldog head coach Pat Hill was 37-25 at FSU through his first five years at Fresno State.
The Series: San Diego State leads the series by a 26-19-4 count. The Aztecs have played the Bulldogs more than any other opponent. SDSU has won all four meetings since 1995, including a 20-19 win at Fresno in 1997, the Aztecs' last trip to the San Joaquin Valley. Even though SDSU has a healthy series lead, SDSU has only outscored Fresno State by a combined total of eight points, 1,003-995. The first meeting between the two schools took place in 1923.
* - at Wisconsin on August 23rd.
The 2002 Chapter
The 80th season of San Diego State football gets underway Aug. 29th when San Diego State visits Fresno State at Bulldog Stadium. San Diego State enters the game with an all-time record of 442-322-32, but will be trying to shake off three straight losing seasons. After opening at home for 11 straight seasons, San Diego State will open a season on the road for the first time since dropping a 42-21 decision at Oregon on Sept. 8, 1991. Fresno State will have a game under its belt with a road trip to Wisconsin on tap for the Bulldogs before they return home to host the Aztecs. The game marks the debut of new San Diego State head coach Tom Craft.
The Nation's Eyes, Again
For the third straight year, San Diego State's season opener will be televised live to a national cable audience. The Aztec-Bulldog game will be telecast live by ESPN2 with Chris Marlowe and John Cooper calling the action and Heather Cox reporting from the sidelines.
Aztec Spinoff
The Fresno State game marks San Diego State's 20th appearance on national cable or network television since the 1996 season and the eighth cable or network appearance since the start of the 2000 season. The national numbers will grow again next week with Fox Sports Net set to televise the San Diego State-Colorado game to a national audience. At least two more games could be added by ABC or ESPN during the course of the regular season. Overall, 25 of San Diego State's last 34 games have been televised. San Diego State has lost its last six games on ESPN2, including last season's 23-10 setback against Arizona to open the season.
For Openers
San Diego State is 42-32-5 all-time in openers and 7-3-1 in lidlifters over the past 11 years. The Aztecs have dropped a couple of tough games to open the last two seasons, including a 10-7 setback to Arizona State in 2000 and last season's 23-10 loss to Arizona. The Aztecs have not opened a season with a road victory since Sept. 12, 1981, when they defeated Colorado State, 30-14. That drought includes seven straight losses when opening on the road. Incidentally, that season-opening road win at Colorado State came in the first game the Aztecs played under head coach Doug Scovil. Overall, San Diego State is 8-21 when opening a season on the road.
If You Like Football...
If football is your game and you like to travel, San Diego State is your team for the 2002 season. The Aztecs are embarking on their longest season ever with 13 games scheduled for the regular season, including eight road trips. The 1991 team played 13 games when factoring in the Freedom Bowl appearance. San Diego State will travel east as far as Boulder, Colo., and end the season with a road game at Hawaii in December. In all, San Diego State's regular season will cover 18 weeks from start to finish.
Now On The Sidelines...
The Fresno State game marks the debut of Tom Craft as the San Diego State head coach. The former Aztec quarterback is the first alumnus of SDSU to lead the football program since Bob Breitbard's one season as boss in 1945. Craft has a direct link to the San Diego State glory days of Don Coryell. He played under former Aztec head coach and former Coryell assistant Claude Gilbert and served as offensive coordinator at San Diego State in the Aztecs' most prolific attacks of the post-Marshall Faulk era. The following is a look debut games and debut seasons for Aztec head coaches. The Aztecs have won eight of the last nine games under head coaches in their first contest as the San Diego State boss.
Coach Debut Game Date First SeasonC.E. Peterson SDSU 6, Army-Navy 0 Oct. 1, 1921 4-6W.B. Herreid SDSU 39, SD Marines 0 Sept. 25, 1930 5-4Leo Calland SDSU 7, Occidental 0 Oct. 5, 1935 3-4-1John Eubank SDSU 6, Pomona 6 Oct. 3, 1942 0-6-1Bob Breitbard Redlands 7, SDSU 6 Sept. 29, 1945 2-5Bill Terry SDSU 34, Pomona 0 Sept. 28, 1946 6-4Bill Shutte SDSU 24, Utah St. 19 Sept. 19, 1947 7-3-1Paul Governali SDSU 27, Pepperdine 7 Sept. 29, 1956 4-3-2Don Coryell SDSU 13, Cal St. LA 13 Sept. 23, 1961 7-2-1Claude Gilbert SDSU 35, Utah St. 7 Sept. 22, 1973 9-1-1Doug Scovil SDSU 30, Colorado St. 14 Sept. 12, 1981 6-5Denny Stoltz SDSU 27, Long Beach St. 24 Sept. 14, 1985 8-4Al Luginbill Air Force 52, SDSU 36 Sept. 2, 1989 6-5-1Ted Tollner SDSU 56, Navy 14 Sept. 3, 1994 4-7
More On Craft
Under the direction of Tom Craft, San Diego State finished among the 10 nationally in total offense and scoring in both the 1995 and 1996 seasons. He served as the Aztec offensive coordinator the last time that San Diego State posted consecutive eight-win seasons. Also under Craft, the 1995 Aztec squad became the first in NCAA history with a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers.
Aztecs And Craft
When Tom Craft goes to battle with the Aztecs as a player or a coach, the odds for success tend to jump dramatically. His two years as a player saw the Aztecs carve out a record of 18-4. His three years as an offensive coordinator saw San Diego State post a cumulative mark of 20-14, including a 16-7 record over the final two years.
The Rest Of The Sidelines
Along with new head coach Tom Craft is a new coaching staff. Only offensive line coach Damon Baldwin and secondary coach Fred Bleil return from last year's group. Quarterbacks coach Brian Stark was aboard last year as Ted Tollner's director of football operations. The Fresno State game will mark the first as defensive coordinator for Thom Kaumeyer, a former defensive standout at Oregon who came to San Diego State from the Atlanta Falcons. Craft will serve as his own offensive coordinator.
Number Crunching
For the record, San Diego State returns 37 lettermen and 14 starters (including specialists) from last year's squad. San Diego State has had a 100-yard rusher six times in the last nine games. Through the air, the Aztecs have not had a 300-yard passing effort since Lon Sheriff ripped UNLV for 328 yards on Nov. 25, 2000. The drought covers 11 games and Sheriff's effort against the Rebels represents San Diego State's only 300-yard effort in the last 14 games. That number is eye-catching when considering San Diego State has had eight seasons in which quarterbacks have passed for at least 3,000 yards.
The Opposition
San Diego State faces a daunting 2002 campaign. The upcoming schedule includes 2001 bowl teams Fresno State, Colorado, Utah, Brigham Young and Colorado State. In addition, two more opponents, UCLA and Hawaii, were bowl eligible but did participate in the postseason.
Scouting The Bulldogs
Fresno State, which will have played at Wisconsin before hosting the Aztecs, is coming off a 11-3 season that saw it climb as high as No. 8 in the national polls. Coach Pat Hill's squad returns seven starters on both sides of the ball and several special-teams standouts in its mix of 37 returning lettermen. Fresno State has won 16 of its last 17 games at Bulldog Stadium.
Aztecs and Bulldogs
San Diego State and Fresno State are meeting for the first time since 1998 when the Aztecs picked up a 10-0 shutout on their way to the championship of the WAC's Pacific Division and a slot in the Las Vegas Bowl. At that time, the game represented a conference battle for SDSU and FSU. The win was the fourth straight for SDSU in the series and the longest for SDSU against the Bulldogs since the mid 1970s. It was also the last time San Diego State registered a shutout at Qualcomm Stadium. The game at Fresno State marks the Aztecs' first visit to the San Joaquin Valley since 1997 when San Diego State escaped with a 20-19 win after clawing back from a 19-7 deficit. In Fresno, the Aztecs have won five of their last seven games.
Last Time In Bulldog Stadium
San Diego State is 13-10-2 all-time at Bulldog Stadium, including a dramatic 20-19 win on its last visit in 1997. In that contest, the Aztecs rallied from a 19-7 halftime deficit for the win. Aztec running back Jonas Lewis capped the comeback with a 1-yard touchdown run with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game. Lewis ran for 253 yards on 40 carries and Spencer Brinton passed for 221 yards. San Diego State rolled up 453 yards of total offense while limiting Fresno State to 197 yards. That contest took place just 11 games into Pat Hill's coaching career at Fresno State.