Oct. 22, 2016
2016 Mick McGrane Features
Continuity Makes a Comeback (Jan. 15)
SDSU Hits its Stride in Recruiting Race (Feb. 4)
Aztecs Knock Down Doors on Recruiting Trail (Feb. 9)
Ernie Lawson Comes Home to New World (March 17)
Washington now has Room to Roam (March 21)
Peer Pressure? Not for Chapman (Aug. 8) Penny is Worth Every Cent to Aztecs (Aug. 18) Football has Never Been More Fun for Siragusa (Aug. 19) Nobody is Perfect, but Barrett is Closing Fast (Aug. 28) Aztecs Force Future with a Premium on Past (Sept. 1) Chapman Earns More than Passing Grade (Sept. 4) Aztecs Have Put Critics in Their Corner (Sept. 9) College Football Makes Comeback in San Diego (Sept. 11) Veteran Leadership is Treasured Commodity (Sept. 15) SDSU Shuns Fence in Favor of Fortress (Sept. 22) Life is neither Necessarily Easy nor Fair (Oct. 7) Pumphrey, Penny and Pick your Poison (Oct. 9) For Hauck, Teach Outweighs Turbulence (Oct. 13)
McGrane: Aztecs' Defense in State of Denial
By Mick McGrane, GoAztecs.com Senior Writer (@MickOnTheMesa)
Over the course of the ensuing five weeks, there will come a time when it is tested, when it strains to maintain its stranglehold, when a slip could prove costly.
Of course, it might also find its dominance in need of additional development, in which case opponents would be wise to turn in for the winter.
On a night when Donnel Pumphrey ran past Marshall Faulk in the record book and the Aztecs won their 14th straight Mountain West game, their defense was again a date with a dentist's drill, a headache addressed with a hammer.
If it has become commonplace, it remains no less confounding. Head coach Rocky Long's 3-3-5 alignment, a beast seemingly constructed in some dank dungeon with bubbling beakers, is alive and snarling.
And the numbers are numbing.
To wit: The Aztecs' defense, which entered Friday night's 42-3 battering of San Jose State ranked No. 8 nationally, has not allowed a touchdown in its last 169 snaps, a stretch spanning three league games. It has yielded six points on two field goals, and even then probably went to the sideline simmering.
"That's one of our goals that we look forward to accomplishing every week," junior linebacker Austin Wyatt-Thayer said of locking teams out of the end zone. "When we can do that, it's a big thing for us. We take a lot of pride in it. It's not something we obsess about, but even during the game if (an opponent) is driving down the field, we're talking about how we're going to stop them."
In the case of San Jose State, the Aztecs apparently talked themselves into a full-fledged frenzy. Against a group that has limited 19 consecutive MW opponents to fewer than 400 yards total offense, tops in the FBS, the Spartans finished with 209. If not for an interception that San Jose State converted into a field goal late in the first half --- despite being handed possession at the SDSU 25 --- the Aztecs would have had their second shutout of the season.
That's less dominance than total destruction.
"I want to emphasize this: when (our) offense does well, it's because the defense has put them in good field position," Long said. ... "I think it all goes together. We'll play some better offensive teams as the season goes on, but (the defense) has played pretty good the last three weeks."
Pretty good, indeed. In league play thus far, SDSU's defense is yielding a paltry 182.7 total yards per game. San Jose State averaged 3.2 yards per play. It ran the ball 28 times for 67 yards (2.4 yards per rush). Spartans quarterback Kenny Potter, who spent most of the evening resembling a man fleeing a burning building, was sacked three times and finished with 104 yards passing.
Even Pumphrey, who surpassed Faulk's school record of 57 rushing and 62 total touchdowns, had to chuckle when asked about a defense that has held three straight opponents to single-digit scoring for the first time since doing so in a four-game stretch from Oct. 15-Nov. 5, 1977.
"They're very aggressive," said Pumphrey, who scored on runs of 27 and 23 yards. "Just seeing them in practice is unbelievable, to see how they get after the ball. It's like a scrimmage at practice for them. Our offense is just out there hanging out and running plays, and they're out there treating it like it's a scrimmage. It shows in the game. (San Jose State's) quarterback was having a hard time being able to see guys get open and taking sacks the whole game."
To the Spartans' credit, SJSU did put together an 11-play drive early in the fourth quarter, marching to the Aztecs' 7-yard line following a 21-yard scramble by Potter. On the ensuing four plays, the Spartans gained two yards.
"I'd say our defense is really coming together," said Wyatt-Thayer, who had two of the SDSU's five sacks on the night. "Like I said, in conference we haven't been scored on (touchdowns), but I would say it's more of an attitude adjustment. We've come out a lot more fired up trying to put teams out."
At the close of business in college football Friday night, the Aztecs had climbed to No. 7 nationally in total defense (284.6). They were No. 5 in rush defense (93.6 yards per game), tied for 13th in points allowed (17.6) and ranked No. 16 in pass efficiency defense (108.53).
SDSU, which became bowl eligible for the seventh straight season, has held an opponent to fewer than 10 points nine times in its last 21 games.
"We try to put our players in the best position possible to make them successful," Long said. "With the defense we're running this year, it has some slight adjustments to take advantage of certain people's talents. It also has to do with what kind of offenses we're playing against. We're not playing any triple-option teams, so it would be different than it is right now if we were getting ready for those kinds of teams. We try to take who our best players are and we try to work our defense to take advantage of their talents."
With every intention of minimizing the talents of others.