Aztec Update : Crowd Also Played a Role in BYU Victory : Loud Fans Came to Cougars’ Defense When SDSU Threatened to Score By

There has been no such thing as in between for San Diego State’s offense recently. The Aztecs scored 89 points in games against Colorado State and Stanford, then they were quieted in Saturday’s 28-0 loss to Brigham Young.

In retrospect, SDSU personnel wished the crowd at BYU’s Cougar Stadium had been quieted in the fourth quarter.

After the Aztecs had first and goal at the nine, reserve quarterback Jim Plum twice asked the officials to quiet the crowd. Both requests were denied.

On fourth down at the five, the Aztecs were even penalized for delay of game after Plum’s second request was waved off. Subsequently, SDSU fell one yard short on a fourth-down play from the 10.

Though the Aztecs already were hopelessly behind, 28-0, they thought their chances of scoring were decreased by the crowd.

“That’s a tough place to play,” Coach Doug Scovil said Sunday. “When we were getting ready to score, their crowd would stand up and yell and we couldn’t hear signals. They’re supposed to be such great sportsmen.”

Scovil said the crowd was only partly to blame. He could not understand why the officials denied Plum’s request, reasoning the crowd might have toned down if the officials requested.

It was not a great day for quarterback Todd Santos. He was pulled early in the fourth quarter after BYU defenders had dropped four possible interceptions on one series.

“I thought Todd played well except for the last quarter,” Scovil said. “He became a little erratic.”

Santos, who had led the nation in passing efficiency, fell to eighth after Saturday. He also trails BYU’s Robbie Bosco in the Western Athletic Conference.

Webster Slaughter is 10th nationally in pass receiving with an average of six per game. The Aztecs are 16th in passing yardage (258.6) and 21st in total offense (409.2).

SDSU will play host to Utah on Saturday night. The Utes are 3-0 in the WAC and 5-1 overall. The Aztecs are 1-1 and 3-2.

Utah features return specialist Erroll Tucker, who leads the nation in punt return average (28.1) and is fourth in kickoff returns (30.6). He has scored one touchdown on a kickoff return.

“Every time I touch the ball, I think I’m going all the way,” Tucker told a Salt Lake City writer last week.

SDSU did not have a balanced attack against BYU, passing on 44 of 59 plays.

“We were hoping to stay more balanced,” Scovil said. “Their defensive line caused that. They had held Gaston Green of UCLA to 33 or 34 yards and Steve Bartalo of Colorado State to 19 yards. We knew it might be tough sledding trying to run against them. We ran enough to keep them honest.”

SDSU’s defense played well overall. After the Cougars scored two touchdowns within the first 11 minutes, they did not score again for 32:14.

Safety Steve Lauter recorded nine unassisted tackles, five assists and one interception. Linebacker Todd Richards had six unassisted tackles, eight assists and one interception.

“We started playing well after we saw that we were physically even with them,” Richards said. “We had a few mental letdowns that hurt us. It was obvious they came on third and long plays. When BYU needed a big play, they got it.”

BYU was 10 of 17 on third-down plays, compared to SDSU’s 4 of 13.

Chris O’Brien of SDSU has not attempted a field goal in two games. He has made 13 straight attempts, a WAC record.

Basketball practice begins Tuesday for the men’s and women’s teams. Both teams earned NCAA playoff berths last season.

The men’s season begins Nov. 29 in the Sun-Met Tournament at Fresno. The women’s season begins Nov. 27 at Minnesota.