Oct. 23, 2014
Past Mick McGrane 2014 football features
Kaehler: A Thinking Man's Game (Aug. 5)
Whittaker: Long Time Gone, Never Forgotten (Aug. 6)
Life in the Weight Room: Hall's Strong Suit (Aug. 15)
Roberts: A Career Comes Full Circle (Aug. 21)
The Season's in Session, Take Your Seats (Aug. 29)
How Quickly We Forget (Sept. 7)
Looks Can Be Deceiving (Sept. 19)
O-Line has Aztecs' Running Game in High Gear
By Mick McGrane (@MickOnTheMesa)
If Rocky Long was attempting to rally the troops, trying to ignite a spark by challenging the machismo of his charges, the provocation was met with a pounding.
After comparing the talents of Hawaii's defensive front seven to that of Week 4 opponent Oregon State, the Aztecs' fourth-year head coach then got around to throwing down the gauntlet, saying of his offensive line, "They're not blocking a defensive line that they're better than this week."
Seems bulletin-board material isn't solely reserved for rivals.
With starting quarterback Quinn Kaehler nursing a sprained throwing shoulder and Long's assessment of Hawaii's defensive front serving as fuel for the fire, SDSU's offensive line last week hit the ground running. By the time it was over, the Aztecs had rushed for 283 yards against a defense allowing 125.8 per game, 36th-best among the nation's 125 FBS teams. The Rainbow Warriors hadn't allowed more than 174 yards rushing this season despite half of their first six opponents --- Washington, Oregon State and Colorado --- hailing from the Pac-12.
Perhaps more impressive, however, is that defenses are hardly oblivious to the fact that SDSU's success hinges on running the ball. Employing eight, even nine players near the line of scrimmage, opponents are daring the Aztecs to throw while loading up against the run. The result? SDSU exited last weekend's affair against Hawaii ranked 23rd in the nation in rushing offense (227.7) and has outrushed its last two opponents by 438 yards.
Sophomore sensation Donnel Pumphrey, who ranks seventh in the nation and leads all sophomores with an average of 141.3 yards per game, is averaging a head-turning 6.9 yards per carry.
"Our (offensive line) knows our run game is going to carry this offense and that it's ultimately going to define our success on Saturdays," said offensive line coach Mike Schmidt, a former Aztec offensive lineman from 2005-08. "They're doing a nice job of believing in the run game, believing in the plan and understanding that teams are going to load the box against us.
"But there are still plays to be made. There are no excuses for zero-yard runs. When we run the ball on first or second down, our plan is always to end up with at least plus-four (yards). Our run game is pretty efficient right now."
Consider: SDSU, which has outrushed its opponent in eight consecutive games and has featured a 100-yard rusher in 13 of its last 17, has won 12 straight contests when rushing for at least 200 yards.
"Teams know what's coming, but they still can't stop it," said 6-foot-4, 315-pound junior guard Darrell Greene. "Nothing feels better to us as an O-line than to go out there and physically wear down a defense, especially when they're stacking the box. We're still busting out effective runs where 6-yard runs turn into 12-yard runs and 12-yard runs turn into touchdowns. That's a great feeling."
It's particularly great when your starting quarterback misses the bulk of two games due to injury and his backup is a true freshman with all of six quarters under his belt.
"There's definitely more attention on us," Greene said. "We can't afford to have mistakes. I don't know if there's a lot more weight on our shoulders (due to limitations at quarterback), because we love running the ball. It's just that feeling we get when people stack the box and we're still able to run the ball effectively. I think knowing that teams can't stop our run game really reflects on our toughness and has a big impact on how we prepare during the week. It's about having that running mentality and knowing that every week we can go out and run the ball effectively. Everyone on our O-line believes in that and it's been a real key to our success."
In addition to Pumphrey, who has five 100-yard games this season, junior Chase Price topped the 100-yard mark in Week 7 against New Mexico as the Aztecs finished with multiple 100-yard rushers in the same game for the 18th time in school history. Also lurking is redshirt freshman Marcus Stamps, who merely averaged 19.0 yards on two carries against Hawaii.
"We have three or four really talented running backs in our program," Long said. "That's a positive. (Pumphrey) is having the best season of all of them, and he's probably the quickest and the fastest of all of them.
"But don't make too much out of this, because if the (offensive linemen) don't block for him, he wouldn't be having anywhere close to the kind of year he's having."
Nor would the Aztecs.
Said Schmidt: "We knew that we had a big, physical offensive group up front, but we also knew that we had to put in a lot of hard work to get to where we are and I think our guys are now starting to reflect that.
"There's been a huge emphasis on running the ball. As a group, it's our responsibility to get our backs to the second level. All of our guys have taken ownership in it. They know there are going to be nine guys in the box, but as long as we allow our guys to get to that second level, we know we're going to have some explosive plays. Our guys believe in it."