Oct. 3, 2005
SAN DIEGO - SAN DIEGO STATE GAME NOTES | SDSU TWO-DEEP | SDSU BROADCAST ROSTER | SDSU WEEKLY NEWS CONFERENCE QUOTES | UNLV GAME NOTES
Game No. 6
San Diego State (2-3/1-1) at UNLV (1-4/0-2)
Media Coverage
ESPN+Plus. Trey Bender (play-by-play), Kelly Stouffer (analysis).
Radio
XPRS 1090-AM or XEPE 1700-AM, San Diego. Alan Horton (play-by-play), John Kentera (analysis), Jack Cronin (sidelines). Josh Rosenberg serves as host for the pregame show.
Aztecs Look to Even Their Record; Carry Two-Game Winning Streak to Sin City in Battle with UNLV
San Diego State (2-3 overall; 1-1 Mountain West Conference) will look to make it three straight victories as it travels to Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday afternoon for a MWC match-up with UNLV (1-4; 0-2). Game time is set for Noon PDT.
The contest will be televised regionally throughout the western portion of the country by ESPN+Plus and is available nationally through ESPN's GamePlan. The game can also be heard either on XPRS 1090-AM or XEPE-1700 AM (San Diego) (Depending on starting time of NL playoff game between the Padres-Cardinals).
After impressive victories over San Jose State (52-21) and Brigham Young (31-10), the 2005 Aztecs can become just the third team in the program's 83-year history to climb back to .500 after an 0-3 start. Only two times in school history have the Aztecs been able to climb back to a .500 record in the same season after starting 0-3. The 1954 and 1998 squads both turned the trick with the latter making SDSU's most recent bowl appearance.
The Aztecs will look for their first three-game winning streak since the 2002 campaign on Saturday at UNLV. The Rebels are 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the MWC following a 42-17 setback at Wyoming. UNLV's other three losses have all come by eight points or less and all four defeats have been on the road.
San Diego State leads the series 8-6 and has won the last three meetings. The Aztecs and Rebels have split the six all-time meetings in Las Vegas.
Last Saturday, San Diego State never trailed in defeating Brigham Young 31-10 in front of 41,680 at Qualcomm Stadium. The win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cougars and was the first time SDSU has defeated Brigham Young in San Diego since 1988. The 21-point margin of victory was the largest for the Aztecs in the series since 1947 and gave San Diego State consecutive victories by at least 21 points for the first time since the final two games of the 1999 season.
For the second consecutive week San Diego State compiled more than 500 yards of total offense with a balanced attack of 265 yards rushing and 243 yards passing against the Cougars. SDSU converted 14-of-20 third-down opportunities, including four third downs of 10 or more yards and six of eight or more yards. The Aztecs were 5-for-5 in the red zone and have scored points on 15 consecutive trips inside the 20.
Sophomore quarterback Kevin O'Connell posted another strong performance going 21-for-31 for 243 yards. He has now completed 73.3 percent of his passes in his last two games and has not thrown an interception in a career best 77 attempts.
Sophomore running back Lynell Hamilton carried 30 times for a season-high 161 yards and two touchdowns. It marked the third time in his career the Doak Walker Award candidate has rushed for at least 150 yards in a game. Senior split end Jeff Webb caught a career-high 13 passes for 129 yards. It was the second consecutive game and the eighth time in his career that he has compiled at least 100 receiving yards in a game.
The Aztec defense continued its strong play, limiting Brigham Young, a team that entered the game averaging 32.7 points and 461.0 yards, to 10 points on 305 yards of total offense. San Diego State held BYU to two yards or less on 36 of 68 plays and forced three turnovers in the contest. The Aztecs held Brigham Young to four plays or less on 7-of-12 possessions. Freshman outside linebacker Russell Allen made a career-high and team-high 10 tackles to pace SDSU.
The San Diego State defense has now put together solid performances in three consecutive games. One reason is that the Aztecs have been particularly stingy on third downs. SDSU opponents have converted just 5 of their last 34 (14.7 percent) third-down attempts dating back to late in the fourth quarter at Ohio State.