Aztecs Gain Some Ground on Bruins : This Time, SDSU’s Game Against UCLA Won’t Be Off the Board

San Diego State has apparently come a long way in a year, going from prohibitive “off the board” longshot against UCLA in 1984 to a 13 1/2-point underdog tonight against the Bruins.

As is often the case with perennially fearful coaches, UCLA’s Terry Donahue is astonished that his team is a heavy favorite.

“San Diego State is every bit as good a team as Tennessee,” he said. “There is no question in my mind. People are not going to buy that, but that doesn’t matter.”

If SDSU is as good as Tennessee, UCLA shouldn’t even be favored. The Bruins scored two late touchdowns and two-point conversions last week to tie, 26-26, at Tennessee.

There are two ways to look at Donahue’s evaluation of SDSU. Either he’s serious in what he said about the Aztecs, or he’s merely using a ploy to prevent his players from looking past SDSU to next week’s Pacific 10 opener at Washington.

Aztec Coach Doug Scovil said Donahue probably had both ideas in mind when he made the statement. However, Aztec quarterback Todd Santos thought Donahue had one thing in mind.

“He’s probably just trying to get his players serious about us this year,” he said. “I don’t think they were serious about us last year. I think we surprised them.”

The Aztecs did surprise the oddsmakers by losing, only 18-15. In retrospect, it was a game SDSU should have won. The Aztecs twice fumbled deep in UCLA territory in the fourth quarter, and Chris O’Brien missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt with 16 seconds to play.

“We came so close in last year’s game that it’s a motivational factor this year,” Aztec linebacker Chris Davis said. “We know we can play with UCLA. We respect them, but in no way do we fear them.”

Earlier this week, Scovil said his team feared UCLA tailback Gaston Green because he is “the kind of player that keeps you awake at night.”

However, Scovil has slept better knowing Green will not play because of strained ligaments in his left knee suffered Tuesday in practice. Green will be replaced by either freshman Eric Ball or sophomore James Primus from Sweetwater High, who have combined for nine carries in two games.

UCLA will start senior David Norrie over junior Matt Stevens at quarterback. Norrie came off the bench to rally UCLA from a 16-point deficit in the final minutes against Tennessee. The previous week, Stevens came off the bench to lead a game-winning touchdown drive against Brigham Young.

Last year, UCLA played its first game of the season against San Diego State. The Aztecs had played the week before, losing to Air Force, 34-16.

“Sometimes, opening games are tough,” Scovil said. “I’d rather have a game under my belt than play my first game against a team that has already played. With a game under your belt, you have a chance to correct errors. This is UCLA’s third game and our second. I think that helps them a little bit.”

SDSU opened its season last week by beating Cal State Long Beach, 34-14. Santos passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns, the special teams scored a touchdown and the defense limited Long Beach’s Doug Gaynor to fewer than 200 yards passing for the first time in his 49er career.

The Aztecs open Western Athletic Conference play next week at home against Colorado State. Unlike UCLA, nobody expects the Aztecs to be looking past tonight’s game to their conference opener.

“UCLA plays top-notch teams every week,” cornerback LeRoy Wardell said. “Obviously, they’ll look down at us. They know we have some talent, but they’ll tell themselves that San Diego State is not UCLA.”

Aztec Notes

Terry Donahue needs one more victory to become the winningest coach in UCLA history. Donahue, who is in his 10th season at UCLA, has a 72-29-6 record. Bill Spaulding was 72-51-8 at UCLA from 1925-38. . . . Kicker John Lee became the first player in UCLA history to score 300 career points last week. Lee has made 68 of 80 field goal attempts, including 47 of 48 from 40 yards or closer. He made his first 16 field goal attempts in 1984, and he also has 71 consecutive extra points. Lee scored all of UCLA’s points against SDSU last year with six field goals. . . . Chris O’Brien has made 10 straight field goal attempts for the Aztecs, one short of tying the WAC record for consecutive field goals. . . . UCLA’s secondary has had problems thus far, allowing 727 yards passing in two games. The Bruins have faced All-American Robbie Bosco of BYU and All-Southeast Conference quarterback Tony Robinson of Tennessee. “They have a young secondary that we plan to capitalize on,” Webster Slaughter said. “Other than their secondary, their defense is solid.” . . . UCLA leads its series against SDSU, 7-0-1. The teams met seven times from 1922-34 before renewing the series last year. The Aztecs and Bruins are scheduled to play each other through 1993. . . . SDSU is 4-3 lifetime against Pac-10 teams. The Aztecs will play Stanford on Oct. 5 and Oregon on Oct. 26. . . . SDSU has not played in the Rose Bowl since Dec. 6, 1969, when it beat Boston University, 28-7, in the Pasadena Bowl. The Aztecs were representing the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. as conference champion.