Oct. 25, 2006
SAN DIEGO - SAN DIEGO STATE GAME NOTES
Cal Poly (5-2) at San Diego State (1-5)
Television
None
Radio
XPRS 1090-AM and 105.7 FM San Diego. Ted Leitner (play-by-play), John Kentera (analysis), Jack Cronin (sidelines) and Dave Marcus (producer). Josh Rosen-berg serves as host for the pregame and halftime shows. Coverage begins one hour prior to kickoff.
With A Win Under Its Belt, San Diego State Battles Cal Poly in Non-Conference Homecoming Tilt
Following its first victory of the season, San Diego State (1-5 overall) takes a break from Mountain West Conference play to battle Cal Poly (5-2 overall), one of the top Division I-AA programs in the country, on Saturday evening at Qualcomm Stadium.
It's homecoming for the Aztecs with the game scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PDT (5:06 p.m. kickoff). For the first time this season, San Diego State's game will not appear on television, however, the game can be heard up and down the west coast on XX Sports Radio (1090 AM and 105.7 FM  in San Diego). The radio call can also be heard on the Internet via goaztecs.com.
San Diego State snapped a six-game losing streak dating back to last season and gave first-year coach Chuck Long his first victory as a head coach last Saturday with a 19-12 victory over previously MWC undefeated Air Force.
The Aztecs led the majority of the game, but trailed 12-10 with 3:06 to play. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Craft engineered a 58-yard drive that culminated with junior Garrett Palmer's 30-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to put the Aztecs on top 13-12. Marc Hull then recovered an errant lateral on the ensuing kickoff and ran two yards for the score to provide the final 19-12 margin.
Following the victory, two San Diego State players were honored by the Mountain West Conference as league players of the week. Senior middle linebacker Joe Martin (defensive player of the week) recorded a career-high 16 tackles, 12 of which kept the Falcons from picking up a first down and 13 of which came on plays in which Air Force gained four yards or less. Palmer also received league accolades (special teams player of the week) by connecting on both field goal attempts during the contest, including the game-winner with two seconds remaining.
The Aztecs offense continued to show improvement, scoring 19 points, its highest output since the season opener. Craft, who made his second career start at quarterback, completed 12-of-19 passes and led SDSU to its first turnover free game of the season. Redshirt freshman Atiyyah Henderson, making just his third career start, rushed for a career-high 142 yards and cleared the 90-yard rushing barrier for the fourth consecutive game.
Cal Poly enters the game with a 5-2 record and is ranked ninth nationally in both the Sports Network Division I-AA and College Sporting News I-AA polls this week. The Mustangs, which have been ranked as high as No. 3 nationally, had their 10-game wining streak snapped last week when South Dakota State rallied from a 22-point deficit in the final eight minutes to claim a 29-28 victory last Saturday.
San Diego State is looking to send the Homecoming crowd home happy for the first time since 2002. SDSU has lost its last three Homecoming titlts (New Mexico in 2003, Utah in 2004 and 20th-ranked TCU in 2005).
The Aztecs have been challenged with one of the nation's most difficult schedules to date. Including Cal Poly, SDSU's first seven opponents are all currently .500 or better. SDSU's schedule to date is rated the 23rd most difficult according to the Sagarin Ratings and 30th most difficult according to the NCAA. SDSU's first seven opponents are a combined 32-17 through last weekend.