Sept. 8, 2002
Complete San Diego State Game Notes vs. Arizona State in PDF Format
San Diego State Depth Chart in PDF Format
San Diego State Two-Game Statistics PDF Format
Arizona State (2-1/0-0) at San Diego State (0-2/0-0)
Saturday, September 14, 2002
7:05 p.m. PDT (announced)
Qualcomm Stadium (Grass, 54,000)
San Diego, Calif.
Television: There is no local television for Arizona State-San Diego State. The game will be carried on local cable in Phoenix.
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 enters the contest 0-2 following a 34-14 loss at Colorado. Arizona State is 2-1 with consecutive wins over Eastern Washington and Central Florida.
The Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
SDSU Coach Tom Craft: Tom Craft is 0-2 in his first season at San Diego State and overall.
Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter: Koetter is 32-18 overall in his fifth season. At ASU, he is 6-8 in his second season, including 1-0 vs. SDSU.
The Series: The Sun Devils lead it, 8-0-1, including a 38-7 victory last season.
So This Is The Q
The San Diego State Aztecs (0-2) will play their home opener this weekend when they host the Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:07 p.m. There is no local television planned for the game. The contest will be televised back to Arizona and the normal Mountain West Conference timeout policy for televised games will be followed.
Celebration Of America
Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the Arizona State game to enjoy pregame festivities with the "Celebration Of America" theme. Members of the San Diego Police and Fire Departments, along with the United States Navy, Marines and Coast Guard will take part in the festivities featuring music performed by the San Diego State University Marching Band. In addition, San Diego State student-athletes, along with University faculty, staff and ROTC will unfurl a length-of-the-field American flag. The "Celebration of America" is scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m.
The New Look
With the San Diego State faithful clamoring for a return to the high-octane offense that is the Aztec tradition, Saturday's game marks the locals' first chance to see the new attack. Entering the game against Arizona State, San Diego State is 13th nationally in passing offense with 299.50 yards per contest. That is a sharp contrast to a year ago when SDSU was 89th in that category.
Individual Numbers
The new attack has landed several San Diego State players near the top of the NCAA charts. Kassim Osgood's 14 catches at Colorado are the most in a game by any player in the country this season. His 23 receptions through two games rank him second and he is 12th with 118 receiving yards per game. J.R. Tolver is 11th in receiving yards per game (118.50) and sixth in catches per game (9.0). Quarterback Adam Hall is 15th nationally in total offense at 280.50 yards per game.
On A Mission In The Valley
San Diego State's Sept. 14th home opener is its latest debut in front of the home crowd since 1989 when the Aztecs opened at home on Sept. 16th with a 28-25 loss to UCLA. The Aztecs opened the season with two road games for the first time since the 1982 season.
Home Openers
San Diego State is usually tough to beat when its makes its first appearance in front of the locals. The Aztecs are 57-19-4 all-time in home openers, although San Diego State has dropped its last two home openers, including a 10-7 loss to Arizona State to begin the 2000 campaign. Although the Aztecs are 0-2 in the new millennium in home openers, San Diego State closed the 1900s with strong debuts. From 1970 to 1999, San Diego State was 25-4-1 in home openers and some of the victims included Oregon State, Fresno State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, California, Utah, Air Force and Navy. The last tie came in 1992, a 31-31 draw with Southern California.
Good History, Bad Trend
San Diego State has a sparkling record in Mission Valley. Since moving to San Diego Stadium, which became Jack Murphy Stadium and eventually Qualcomm Stadium, the Aztecs own a record of 150-66-6 (.689), including six unbeaten home seasons. However, the winning percentage at the Q has taken a hit over the last three seasons. Since the start of the 1999 campaign, the Aztecs are just 4-12 in home games. San Diego State did close the 2001 season with a 38-16 home win over Wyoming. In fact, two of San Diego State's four home wins over the last three years have come at the expense of the Cowboys.
Tom Craft In Town
The Arizona State game marks the home debut of new San Diego State head coach Tom Craft. The former Aztec offensive coordinator and quarterback is back on the home sidelines for the first time since the 1996 season, his last as offensive coordinator for SDSU. Incidentally, Craft's last season at San Diego State also marked San Diego State's last undefeated home season. The 1996 squad was 6-0 in Mission Valley, including wins over Oklahoma, Fresno State and Air Force.
Q-Ball, Part II
Overall, as a player and a coach, Tom Craft is 25-8 all-time in Mission Valley. During his playing days at San Diego State the Aztecs were 11-3 in the stadium, including seven wins in 1976 with Craft as the starting quarterback. His last two seasons on Ted Tollner's staff saw the Aztecs post an 11-2 home mark.
History Says...
Home debuts of first-year head coaches have generally been a time of celebration on Montezuma Mesa. Since World War II, San Diego State is 8-2 in its home opener under a new coach. The following is a quick look at those scores:
Date Coach Result9-3-94 Ted Tollner San Diego State 56, Navy 149-16-89 Al Luginbill UCLA 28, San Diego State 259-6-86 Denny Stoltz San Diego State 27, Long Beach State 2410-10-81 Doug Scovil San Diego State 52, Iowa State 319-30-73 Claude Gilbert San Diego State 17, Kent State 99-30-61 Don Coryell San Diego State 9, Cal Poly 69-29-56 Paul Governali San Diego State 27, Pepperdine 710-4-47 Bill Shutte San Diego State 56, Cal Poly 139-28-46 Bill Terry San Diego State 34, Pomona 010-6-45 Bob Breitbard Cal Tech 32, San Diego State 20
Adam At ASU
The Arizona State game of a year ago marked the first extensive playing time of Aztec quarterback Adam Hall, who is now the SDSU starter. Hall was 9-of-22 for 95 yards with an interception in relief of Lon Sheriff. Hall led San Diego State on its only scoring drive of the night.
Last Time In Qualcomm
The last time SDSU and ASU met in Qualcomm Stadium was the 2000 season opener and a national cable audience (ESPN2) was on hand as the Sun Devils out-slugged the Aztecs, 10-7. The only Aztec score came on a Jack Hawley-to-Raleigh Fletcher 11-yard pass play. The Aztecs missed a field goal try with eight seconds remaining that would have sent the game into overtime. San Diego State outgained the Devils, 319-270.
Eleven Is Enough
San Diego State will be looking to break an 11-game losing streak against the Pac 10 conference when the Sun Devils come to town. The last win over the league took place in the 1995 season opener (9-2-95) when the Aztecs bounced California, 33-9. There have been some nailbiters during the losing streak including:
* - 2001 vs. Arizona: The Aztecs led at halftime after jumping to a 10-0 lead, but a fumble return for a score turned the game in John Mackovic's Wildcat debut. San Diego State also gave up a safety on punt attempt and the final Arizona tally was set up by a punt return. Arizona managed just 231 yards of total offense. Arizona 23, San Diego State 10.
* - 2000 vs. Arizona State: Both teams struggled on offense, but San Diego State missed a field-goal try with eight seconds remaining that would have sent the game into overtime. The game was tied at seven after three periods and SDSU won the total-offense battle, 319-270. Arizona State 10, San Diego State 7.
* - 2000 vs. Arizona: San Diego State was a 17-point underdog in Lon Sheriff's debut as the starting quarterback when injuries felled Jack Hawley. However, the Aztec defense limited the Wildcats to their lowest home point total in five years. A blocked punt returned for a score with 9:45 remaining broke up a 10-3 game.
* - 1999 vs. USC: San Diego State struggled early but in Jack Hawley's first start the squad rallied to get within 24-21 of the 17th-ranked Trojans. San Diego State's last possession began at midfield, but USC escaped with the win. Seven of the Trojan points came on an interception that was returned for a score. USC 24, San Diego State 21.
* - 1997 vs. Arizona: The Wildcats scored 10 fourth-quarter points, including the game-winning field goal with 1:12 remaining to rally for the win. Arizona won the turnover battle, 3-0, to overcome a 21-0 first-quarter deficit. Arizona 31, San Diego State 28.
* - 1996 vs. Cal: The Aztecs were down 21-17 at the half and two late scores brought SDSU to within striking distance in a game that saw just a two-yard difference in total offense. California 42, San Diego State 37.