San Diego State Football

Next Saturday, the 18th ranked BYU Cougars will roll into town to face the San Diego State Aztecs in Brady Hoke's first rivalry game as head coach of the school.

Since the start of the decade, this is a matchup that the Aztecs have only won twice, a 16-15 squeaker in 2000 and a 31-10 upset in 2005. In every other game, BYU has scored at least 34 points and won the game by an average of 26 points.

In last season's 41-12 thrashing, SDSU started the game by giving up 27 unanswered points and gave up more than 400 yards of total offense. The Aztecs would finish that season 2-10, resulting in the firing of Chuck Long and the eventual appointment of Hoke.

This season, the outlook doesn't seem to forecast something all too different. The Aztecs, while showing some promise and giving established teams like UCLA a fight this year, are young, inexperienced, and still under-talented when compared to the Cougars.

If the Aztecs hope to have a chance in this one, they must start fast and cut down on unforced errors.

In last year's game, the Aztecs' first seven drives amounted to five punts, an interception, and a fumble before finally getting on the board (with a field goal) at the conclusion of their eighth drive.

By then, of course, it was too little, too late.

Another point of interest is, of course, to find a way to slow down Redshirt JR QB Max Hall. In their last meeting, Hall carved up the Aztec secondary, going 25-30 for 317 yards and three touchdowns.

The 5-1 Cougars suffered a humbling loss against Florida State earlier in the season which has all but dashed their hopes for a national championship bid, however, their effort to obtain the MWC crown is alive and well, and also their best hope to make a significant bowl game, which makes this matchup all the more important.

An upset for 2-3 San Diego State would mean a huge boost for Brady Hoke's squad and a grand injection in confidence for Aztec players, alumni and fans.

When and Where:  Qualcomm Stadium, Oct. 17th @ 3:00 PM

The Pick:  BYU, 31-16

Elsewhere in the MWC (picks in italics ): Wyoming @  Air Force,  Colorado St. @  TCU, UNLV  @ Utah, New Mexico has a bye. So I pick the bye .

            Those who have traditionally watched San Diego State Football should be familiar with their success in playing solid games against powerhouse programs. Last year, the Aztecs lost to Notre Dame 21-13, in a game which the Aztecs outplayed the Irish. In 2006, an Aztec team missing starting quarterback Kevin O’Connell and backup Kevin Craft took Wisconsin to a 0-0 halftime score, eventually losing 14-0. The Aztecs played a spirited game against the ninth ranked Ohio State and a near miss against 23^rd ranked TCU in 2005. In 2004, the Aztecs lost to the 17^th ranked Michigan Wolverines by a score of 24-21. And in 2003 the Aztecs nearly defeated the second ranked, national title defending Ohio State team by a score of 16-13. Clearly, the Aztecs can play with the elite teams of the nation. They do not get run off the field by such competition actually; I would argue that they thrive on it.

            This year the first game of the year is against a UCLA team. The probable starting Quarterback for UCLA will be freshman Kevin Price; I don’t think UCLA fans will want to see the previously mentioned Kevin Craft start again. This will be Price’s first college start, and against a rather unorthodox 3-3-5 of Rocky Long. It would be difficult to believe that he will have a successful day given these two situations.

            The Aztec’s have been constant under-performers. Their teams constantly have talent, especially at Quarterback and Wide receiver.  This year seems no different, considering the Ryan Lindley, Vincent Brown, DeMarco Sampson and Roberto Wallace return. One would expect an improved running game, given the emphasis placed by Al Borges and the physical nature of Brady Hoke. One the defensive side, the unorthodox scheme will help, as will the return of a decent set of linebackers. Overall, one should expect an improved Aztec team.

            Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the biggest reason that the Aztecs should have a fighting chance to pull off an upset in the UCLA game comes down to scheduling. After their game against the ‘lowly’ Aztecs, the Bruins face Tennessee. Having played on both high school and college football teams and coached in high school, I am aware of how difficult it is for a team to focus on the team before a big game.

            Due to these factors, and that my heart genuinely believes it, I am predicting that the Mighty Men of Montezuma Mesa will vanquish the lowly Bruins. I am particularly excited about the Hoke regime, especially the hiring of Al Borges and Rocky Long. And think the Aztecs can finally get over the ‘Who-could-he-have-hired-itus,’ a list including the movers and shakers of the Pac-10, Tedford, Riley and Harbaugh.

The Doc makes a great analogy in comparing former San Diego State coach Chuck Long to the employee challenged George Costanza—from Seinfeld as if you did not all ready know that. The gist is that Costanza was fired for faking an injury and using an electronic cart, but since he had a contract with Play-Now he was offered six months pay to quit.

However the sneaky Costanza opted against that since he would be paid the entirety if he showed up everyday, so the company made it miserable for him as he did show up everyday.

On to the Chuck Long story. He was canned last year and received a buyout since he still had a few years left on his deal, but that is not the story here.

The difference here is that Long still has an office on campus, which is real odd, and doing who knows what. His contract states that he will be paid as long as he has works at the University:

"SDSU hired Kelley to mediate a way out of Long's contract, which ensures him $715,900 per year through Dec. 31, 2010. Long was fired as football coach in November, but his contract guarantees him his full salary while continuing work at the university. Since he was fired, Long has kept office hours on campus doing “projects and analysis.”

His contract is unusual in that it contains a clause saying he is entitled to no further compensation once he lands a new job. In effect, this creates an incentive for Long to stay at SDSU because no other likely job would pay him nearly as much.

That outside consultant is being paid $125 per hour to work out a settlement, but the real question is who made this deal. Somehow this clause that would only pay Long as long as he was not employed elsewhere was designed to save the school money.

Huh?!? The reason that Long is reporting each day is that their is no assistant coaching job—unless you are at Tennessee—that would pay him more then his $715,900.

Plus, there is no one going to hire Chuck Long as a head coach any time soon, so who can blame him to report each day and this is the reason San Diego has not been relevant since Marshall Faulk.

This article originally appeared on Examiner.com.

On San Diego State's official athletic Web site, a series of ads promoting the upcoming football season has been dubbed "Hoke Rules."

The ads are intended to introduce Aztec fans to new head coach Brady Hoke’s philosophy and his motivational techniques in an effort to raise the putrid program from the dead.

One such rule, Hoke Rule No. 61, simply states: “Believe.”

Uh, Brady, I wish it could be that easy.

Aztec fans are a jilted breed, designed to get excited about the basketball team, and not much else (until Stephen Strasburg came to prominence, Tony Gwynn Stadium was just a nice—but solitary—building).

Oh, don’t get them wrong, they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and been sold on false messiahs in the past.

Why, State’s most recent head coach, Chuck Long? He was supposed to lead them to the promised land after running Oklahoma’s high powered offense earlier this decade and after becoming a finalist for the top assistant coach award in the nation.

Long ran the program (into the ground) for three seasons, finishing with a 9-27 record and leading the school to its first 10-loss season of its history. Bowl games? What are those?

Before that? They had Tom Craft. He did so well at State that his next job was offensive coordinator at Mt. San Antonio Junior College. I guess gym teacher at the local junior high was already filled.

Long gone are the days of Don Coryell and Claude Gilbert. Aztec football has been more conquered than conquistador this past decade, so excuse us for not jumping for joy at the arrival of our next coach.

Hoke’s unimpressive 34-38 career record at Ball State is somewhat obscured by his last season, in which the Cardinals went 12-1, were ranked no. 22 in the BCS and went on to the 2009 GMAC Bowl.

SDSU Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel’s obvious intent is for Hoke to work the same magic he worked at Ball State, where he went from 2-9 to the aforementioned near-perfect run in just five years.

However, keeping in mind Hoke did face inferior conference opposition in his latter seasons at Ball State (the Cardinal’s inclusion in the 2008 MAC Championship Game was the first time since 2003 that a ranked team played in the title match) than he will in the Mountain West.

In 2008, five MWC teams played in bowl games, and conference champ Utah was ranked #2 by the AP en route to a perfect 13-0 finish and a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama.

TCU (ranked no. 11 by the BCS); on the other hand, defeated previously unbeaten Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl—held at Qualcomm Stadium, mind you—and BYU (ranked no. 16 in the BCS) fell to Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl.

And they’re not going away anytime soon. Utah and TCU, especially, look like forces to be reckoned with for years. BYU is a perennial contender, and Air Force’s season was no fluke, either.

The question for San Diego State is how much time they are willing to give Hoke, who has proven able to reverse a sagging program’s failures.

Recruitment needs to be tuned up, the running game needs fixing, and the defense is downright horrid.

To that tune, Hoke Rule No. 59 states: Unbelievable effort isn’t unbelievable. It’s expected.

The head coach’s insistence on believing and enforcing that mantra may very well result in those cynical, scalded fans eventually embracing it.

That, like the Aztecs’ projected turnaround, should also take a long time.

For more on the SDSU Aztecs, please visit Examiner.com.

Las Vegas: UNLV announced that in 2010 the Rebels will be traveling to take on Big East foe West Virginia.

This is the 13th game UNLV's 2010 season, and the reason they get to play thirteen games is because they travel to play Hawaii.

"The payout for UNLV’s trip to Morgantown comes at a good time for the athletic department, which just yesterday announced a budget cut of more than $1 million. The Rebels will receive $740,000 in cash and $10,000 in tickets for the trip."

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but this could be a winnable game for UNLV, because UNLV will have a Senior QB in Omar Clayton.

Plus, if history is any reminder West Virgina will follow the path of Miami, FL and hand off the program to a long time assistant.

Larry Coker was that long time assistant and won a national title, but then Miami fell off.   The same could be said with Bill Stewart who won the Orange Bowl in his first official game, and then last year finished only 9-4.

Just something to think of.

Deseret News: The Mountain West is desperately making an attempt to get into the BCS.

"The plan for the BCS right now is obvious: ride this out. If it can stall a few more months, and no spoiler like Utah or Boise State emerges, it can say it’s vindicated."

The  BCS has no reason to change since all the league signed the agreement, and little is likely to change from political pressure.

San Diego Union-Tribune: In 2008 San Diego State was working on an emergency lease from Qualcomm for Aztec games.

The new lease has a contingency with the San Diego Chargers, because the Aztecs do not make enough money in six home games to sustain the lease if the Chargers were not playing at Qualcomm.

"San Diego State’s new lease to play football at Qualcomm Stadium is set to include the right for the city to evict the Aztecs if the Chargers leave San Diego."

"SDSU would be given a five-year notice if the Chargers left and the city decided to exercise that option, SDSU Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel said."

The best choice would be to have a stadium on or near campus and the main benefit would be that San Diego State would not have to pay a lease to the stadium.

A stadium close to the school also could help get the Aztec athletic department out of their financial stress.

2008 was known as year of the injury with nearly everyone injured on offense and defense. 

Freshman and Sophomores were forced into playing time, which resulted in their two win campaign.

New Coach Brady Hoke is looking to toughen up the team on both sides of the ball.

Not only were they bad, the Aztecs were nearly the worst team in FBS. 

The Aztecs ranked 117th out of 119 teams in rushing offense last season and 118th in rushing defense.

Brady Hoke brings over his offense from Ball State, which ranked 17th nationally in offense in comparison to San Diego State who was 99th in total offense.

The defense looks strong as former New Mexico coach, Rocky Long, is now the new defensive coordinator.  The new defense is the odd ball 3-3-5 which brings in misdirection and blitzing from nearly every position.

The premise of the defense is to cause misdirection and confusion against the opposing offense. 

During spring scrimmages, the defense looked strong by continually getting sacks and tackles for loss.

The loan bright spot on the offense is quarterback Ryan Lindley who passed for 2,653 yards and 16 touchdowns.  Most of those stats were from behind, but their is reason to be optimistic since Lindley was an accurate passer and had nine interceptions.

The running game is wide open with Davon Brown, Atiyyah Henderson, and Brandon Sullivan all competing for the starting job. 

Henderson was the lead back last year, but managed only 490 yards.  He still averaged 4.1 yards per carry.

To be successful, the Aztecs must develop a solid running game...so, opposing defenses need to be honest. 

The new offense that Hoke is bringing to San Diego State should eventually bring success to the only school that has not been to a bowl game in the conference's ten year history.

The Aztecs have a lot to do to get back to the mid-level of the MWC. The upside is that sophomore QB Ryan Lindley is a great player. If the new staff can find a way to make plays and find playmakers, the Aztecs will be more competitive.

Here's a look at the Aztecs' 2009 schedule.

Sept. 5, at UCLA—The Bruins' potential starting QB is former SDSU player Kevin Craft.

Sept. 12, vs. Southern Utah—With the Aztecs 1-1 in their last two against FCS opponents, a win is not a given.

Sept. 19, at Idaho—The Vandals were one of two teams SDSU beat last year.  Idaho, a member of the WAC, is really that bad.

Oct. 3, vs. New Mexico State—The Aggies replace their star QB Chase Holbrook, but one can still expect New Mexico State to put up points.

MWC home games, all TBA—New Mexico, TCU, Wyoming, and BYU.  Wyoming was the only conference opponent which the Aztecs defeated last year.

MWC road games, all TBA—Air Force, UNLV, Utah and Colorado State.

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SDSU Football over the last couple years has been considered a joke, and a stats-raising game to all the teams they play.

The only exception might be New England Patriots quarterback Kevin O'Connell who played at SDSU for four years and was their only bright spot.

Last year the Aztecs were going into the 2008 season blind, and not knowing what to expect.

They started off the season with a very competitive game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Redshirt freshman Ryan Lindley did not disappoint. Could the Aztecs actually start the season 1-0?

In a heartbreak loss, the Aztecs lost by a field goal in the final seconds of the game.

That game led the Aztecs to start off the season 0-4. It was just another disappointing season for SDSU football again.

Why have the Aztecs been such a disappointment? Is it because they don't have a good recruiting class? Maybe they can't have a good recruiting class because they don't seem attractive with their poor play.

SDSU is looking to change that this year. With nine players returning on offense and eight players returning they have a chance of turning somethings around, especially their record.

It would be a good start with a win at UCLA, who have been really struggling in the past and might look to San Diego native Chris Forcier to play QB if things don't go well from the start. Still for that to happen, they will have to improve somewhat dramatically over the winter and summer.

As much as I might hope they at least win half of their games I'm not necessarily expecting that.

Yes, I do see the Aztecs being possible threats to certain teams—but not to Utah or TCU yet.

The Aztecs are in the middle of a rebuilding process and that takes time. We might not see very much improvement till two to three years down the road. However, I do see Lindley putting up big numbers in the passing game this year and his remaining years at SDSU.

The Aztecs are looking towards sophomore quarterback Ryan Lindley and new coach Brody Hoke to turn things around.

Brody Hoke turned around a once joke of a program Ball St. and took them to a bowl game this year.

Will lightning strike twice for Hoke?

Hopefully for the Aztecs it does. Can the Aztecs rise out of the ashes and elevate to the top of the Mountain West Conference?

The Aztecs can only hope, and so can their fans.

With all the Sugar Bowl hoopla over, it is time to get back to some news that slipped through the cracks the past week.

San Diego State has been a laughingstock for the better part of the past decade, and it finally looks like the team could be on the rise. San Diego State brought in former Ball State head coach Brady Hoke, who took Ball State to a 12-1 record and won the Western Division of the Mid-American Conference.

The Aztec staff is taking shape with two big hires last week, bringing in former New Mexico head coach Rocky Long and former Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges.

Long was at New Mexico for 11 seasons and took the Lobos to their first bowl win in 50 years by winning the 2007 New Mexico Bowl.  His defenses were known for Long’s odd lineup with a 3-3-5, which allowed for his defenses to be creative and confuse opposing offenses.

Long worked with Hoke at Oregon State in the 1990s, when the former served as defensive coordinator and the latter worked with the team’s defensive line and inside linebackers.

The offensive coordinator hire is Al Borges, who for three seasons was the Auburn offensive coordinator, from 2004-2007. That span includes his first year in 2004, where Auburn finished 13-0.

Borges, who has a reputation as a quarterbacks guru, does inherit a very good quarterback in Ryan Lindley.  In 2008 he was the league's second-leading passer and was the lone bright spot on a lowly Aztec team.

Do not expect overnight change, but with Long, who is familiar with the league, and Borges, who is a bright offensive mind, San Diego State might be able to creep up the pecking order in a few years.

Below is the two new coaches' experience.

Al Borges

Offensive coordinator

Age: 53

Recent experience (all as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach): Portland State, 1986-92; Boise State, 1993-94; Oregon, 1995; UCLA, 1996-2000; Cal, 2001; Indiana, 2002-03; Auburn, 2004-07.

Rocky Long

Age: 58

Defensive coordinator

Recent experience: TCU, secondary coach, 1988-90; Oregon St., defensive coordinator, 1991-95; UCLA, defensive coordinator, 1996-97; New Mexico, head coach, 1998-2008.

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