SDSU Football to Honor 1966 and 1986 Conference Championship Teams on Saturday

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State football program will honor a pair of conference championship teams Saturday during its home clash with The Team Up North (Fresno State). Both the 1966 team and the 1986 squad will be honored in-game during the Saturday night contest, which is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. PT at Snapdragon Stadium.

The 1966 team finished 11-0 and was voted the small college national champions in both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) polls. It was the first time in program history that an Aztec team won every game it played.

Led by head coach Don Coryell, SDSU posted four shutouts and outscored the opposition, 317-105, winning by an average of 19.3 points per game. The 1966 team capped the 11-0 campaign with a 28-7 win over Montana State in the Camelia Bowl.

San Diego State had nine players on the all-CCAA first team after 5-0 in league play, a feat it would do once again in 1967. Quarterback  Don Horn and defensive end Leo Carroll each were named Little All-Americans

Horn passed for 2,234 yards and 18 touchdowns, most of it to Craig Scroggins (81 catches, 1,212 yards, 8 touchdowns). Ted Washngton led the rushing attack with 608 yards and seven touchdowns.

The 1988 squad, meanwhile, went 8-4 overall and captured its only Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title with a 7-1 record. The eight wins were the most by the Aztecs in an 11-year span from 1980-90.

In the first season with Denny Stolz leading the team, SDSU won its final four regular-season games before falling to Iowa, 39-38, in the Holiday Bowl at Jack Murphy Stadium. San Diego State finished ranked 25th in the final CNN/USA Today coaches poll.

Stolz was named the WAC Coach of the Year and four Aztecs made the all-league first team in guard Doug Aronson, tight end Rob Awalt, defensive tackle Levi Esene and safety Steve Lauter. Aronson and Awalt each were named third-team AP All-Americans, and five others were honorable mention AP picks.

Todd Santos threw for 2,553 yards and 14 touchdowns, Awalt caught 45 passes for 541 yards and two touchdowns, and Chris Hardy just missed out on his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season, running for 947 yards and 12 touchdowns. Randy Kirk led the defense with 124 tackles, while Lauter’s four interceptions topped the team.

The Aztecs (2-4, 1-1 Pac-12) are looking for their third consecutive victory against the Bulldogs (4-2, 1-1 Pac-12). Single-game tickets are still available.