Oct. 30, 2015
Past Mick McGrane 2014-15 football features
2014
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 (Oct. 23)
Falling Short is no Longer an Option for Aztec Football (Nov. 29)
Winds of Change: "Rise To 25" Fuels New Direction for Football (Dec. 23)
Pumphrey in Need of a Playing Partner (Dec. 24)
2015
Football no Longer Needs Sun to Sell Itself (Feb. 4)
Aztec Football is Flush with Experience in 2015 (Feb. 20)
Regardless of Road, Whittaker's Future is Flush with Success (July 23)
Gordon no Longer Wrestling with Football Future (July 30)
Kazee has the Corner Covered in Aztec D (Aug. 5)
Hageman has Given Boot to Aztec Kicking Woes (Aug. 14)
Life is a Snap for Aztecs' Overbaugh (Aug. 21)
Munson Shines upon Emerging From Shadows (Aug. 28)
Pumphrey Prioritizes Winning in Rush to Stardom (Sept. 2)
Aztecs Positioned to Take Next Step in '15 (Sept. 4)
Aztecs Look to Get Offense in Gear (Sept. 6)
Penny's Stock Rising on Rate of Returns (Sept. 7)
Sorry, No Apologies Forthcoming (Sept. 11)
Seeking a Solution at Quarterback (Sept. 18)
Aztecs, Hauck Have Something Special (Oct. 2)
Aztecs Positioned to Make Statement (Oct. 22)
Aztecs Deliver Message to MW (Oct. 24)
McGrane: Aztecs' O-line Removing All Doubt
By Mick McGrane, @GoAztecs Senior Writer (@MickOnTheMesa)
San Diego State's offensive line should be flagged for fraud, detained for impersonating a player of star status and blowing it for persons of anonymity everywhere.
You don't assume center stage when you're supposed to be standing in the shadows, don't pose for paparazzi when you're supposed to be maintaining a pedestrian profile.
Before you know it, some 350-pound tackle is going to be recognized as noteworthy, forever ripping the mask off the very definition of undistinguished, Rule 1 of the offensive lineman's Guide to Obscurity.
In last week's decisive win of Mountain West Mountain Division leader Utah State, the Aggies entered touting the sixth-best rush defense in America. USU was ceding 91.0 yards per game, a figure made more notable in that it had already done business with a pair of Pac-12 opponents in Utah and Washington.
Like merchants affixing plywood to storefronts in advance of a hurricane, the Aggies knew what was coming. Knew that a team that throws the ball with all the frequency of the sun waking in the west wasn't likely to suddenly pin its hopes on the passing game.
And so the Aztecs ran. And ran. And if for no other reason than to showcase their flexibility, ran some more. At closing time, in a game in which it was awfully close to flawless and flirting with perfection, SDSU had amassed 336 yards on the ground, the most Utah State had coughed up in five years.
If the fate of offensive linemen is to perpetually remain unrecognized and uncelebrated, fate had just succumbed to a pancake block. The Aztecs won 48-14, running the ball 61 times in 71 offensive plays. This, behind an offensive line that began the season with two returning starters and three others still serving as the perfect model of inconspicuousness.
While the Aztecs were set at left guard with junior Nico Siragusa and right tackle with senior Pearce Slater, they opened the season with a center (junior Arthur Flores) who hadn't played a down in 2014; a left tackle (junior Kwayde Miller) who appeared in three games last season; and a right guard (senior Robert Craighead) who was about to assume his third position in five years, the most recent being that of tight end.
Said Coach Rocky Long upon the team's emergence from spring drills: "I don't know if we have an offensive line."
They do now.
In rushing for more than 200 yards in each of its first four MW games, SDSU has averaged a staggering 56.5 running plays per contest. To be sure, this is not a slight to the talents of quarterback Maxwell Smith. Rather, it is testament to an offensive line that has demolished all doubt and a running back corps whose depth not only leaves opposing coaches green with envy, but roundly leery of the next weapon launched.
"Against Hawaii (a 28-14 win), I think we ran power (man-on-man blocking) with me pulling 17 times," Siragusa said. "If you look at some teams, they don't even run the ball 17 times the whole game.
"It's awesome to have that feeling where even though the other team knows you're going to run, and they load the box to try and stop it, you still run for more than 200 yards and score three rushing touchdowns. It's a great feeling.
"But it's all about working as a collective unit. The wide receivers, the running backs, the tight ends, our tight ends are great run blockers. Now our wide receivers are getting downfield and getting nasty. And then you look at our running backs. You can hit a fly sweep with (Rashaad) Penny, you can give it to Pump (Donnel Pumphrey), you can give it to Chase Price. It's an O-lineman's dream to have so many weapons. All you have to do is make it a situation where there is only one guy they have to beat --- and they usually beat them --- and that makes you look even better."
And makes it virtually impossible for opponents to counter. A defense that has limited its last 11 league opponents to an average of 260.5 yards per game, coupled with an offense that drains time from the clock and energy from the soul, makes for a very formidable foe when playing from behind. The Aztecs, now bolstered by the return of senior right guard Darrell Greene, have never trailed during their four-game winning streak.
"Come the third and fourth quarter (running the ball that much) really starts to wear on a defense," said offensive line coach and former Aztec guard Mike Schmidt. "Our guys take a lot of pride in it and they enjoy it. Guys are coming off the sideline saying, 'Let's run the ball, let's run the ball.' And as long as it's working, we're going to continue to pound the rock.
"We stress everyday that no matter how many guys a team puts in the box that we have to be able to run the ball; we have to be able to create space for our backs. Our offensive line is buying into that, and it's not just something you see on Saturdays. You see it throughout the week in practice."
And in the bottom line. The Aztecs have won 17 straight and are 25-2 under Long when rushing for 200 or more yards. Pumphrey, who is pushing for a fifth straight 100-yard game, has rushed for 605 yards in the last month.
"I knew it was just a matter of time before we got it going," Siragusa said. "Even when people had doubts early in the season, I had no doubt in my guys. We're a bunch of tough dudes who never give up. We're always going to keep grinding through adversity. Look what's happened."
Offensive linemen crowding a space generally reserved for persons of rank, that's what's happened. As to when the planet regains its axis is anyone's guess.
"I think it's all about players and their attitude and their character," Long said. "I think Mike Schmidt has done a nice job of coaching and I think Coach Horton (offensive coordinator Jeff) has done a nice job using schemes that relate to the ability our offensive line.
"But don't ever kid yourself. When you play well, it's the players who are doing it, not the coaches. It's the players taking what they've been taught and putting in the time and effort to master their craft. They've worked hard. They've continued to get better as we've gone along and now they've got some confidence about them."
Maybe even enough to cross campus absent a name tag.