Oct. 31, 2006
SAN DIEGO - SAN DIEGO STATE GAME NOTES
Wyoming (4-5, 3-2 MWC) at San Diego State (1-6, 1-2 MWC)
Television
The mtn. Rich Cellini (play-by-play), Rich Berger (analysis) and Blaine Fowler (sidelines).
Radio
XPRS 1090-AM and 105.7 FM San Diego. Ted Leitner (play-by-play), John Kentera (analysis), and Dave Marcus (producer). Josh Rosenberg serves as host for the pregame and halftime shows. Coverage begins one hour prior to kickoff.
San Diego State Looks for Second Straight MWC Victory with Road Contest at Wyoming
Things don't get any easier for San Diego State (1-6 overall; 1-2 Mountain West Conference) as it travels to Laramie to battle Wyoming (4-5; 3-2 MWC) in a 1 p.m. MT (noon PT) start at War Memorial Stadium.
San Diego State, which has faced the 19th most difficult schedule to date according to the NCAA, will face a sub .500 team at kickoff on Saturday for the first time this season. The Aztecs' first seven opponents are a combined 37-19 (66.1 percent) to date.
San Diego State is coming off a heartbreaking 16-14 loss to Cal Poly last Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium. The Aztecs led for 47:10 of the 60 minutes contest, but were unable to hang on for their second consecutive victory. The two-point loss dropped the Aztecs to 0-7 in games decided by four points or less since the final game of the 2002 season (SDSU is 16-20 in all other games during that time frame).
The Aztecs scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions and led 14-3 after a quarter. The teams combined to produce 590 yards of total offense and the game morphed into a field position chess battle after the first quarter. The Aztecs, which outgained Cal Poly, marking the first time this season that has happened since the season opener against UTEP, could muster just 186 yards following the first quarter. The Mustangs put together a six-play, 81-yard drive just before halftime to cut the SDSU lead to 14-10.
Cal Poly used a pair of fourth quarter field goals to claim the win, the final one set up following an SDSU fumble, its first turnover in 154:45, gave the Mustangs the ball at the Aztec 23. Three plays later, the Mustangs had their third field goal of the game and a 16-14 lead with 1:50 left.
Without a timeout, the Aztecs moved the ball 50 yards to give SDSU a 47-yard field goal attempt with 32 seconds left, but the attempt was wide left
Wyoming's three-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday with a 26-3 loss at TCU. The Horned Frogs scored the first 19 points of the game to hand the Cowboys their first loss since Sept. 30th. Wyoming sports one of the nation's top defense with the national rankings to back up the claim. The Cowboys rank first in passing defense (yardage), third in defensive passing efficiency, sixth in total defense, 35th in scoring defense and 38th in rushing defense.
Entering the wekend, eight of the nine teams in the Mountain West Conference have at least two league losses, as six teams are tied for second place in the loss column with two conference defeats, including Wyoming and San Diego State. The Cowboys are tied for second (with New Mexico and Utah) in the MWC with a 3-2 record, while the Aztecs are tied for sixth (with TCU) with a 1-2 mark.
Saturday marks the 28th meeting between the teams with Wyoming owning a 14-13 series advantage. The Aztecs have won five of the last six meetings between the teams, including two of the last three encounters in Laramie. Two of the last four games have been decided by five points or less.