SDSU Is Hoping to Get a Save : Desperately Needing a Win in Wyoming

First, there were thoughts of contending for the Western Athletic Conference championship. Then, there were notions of playing in the Holiday Bowl.

Now, San Diego State’s football team must contend with the reality that the rest of its 1985 season is little more than an afterthought.

“To save our season, we have to win our last four games,” running back Casey Brown said. “I feel it’s within our reach, no doubt. If we let down, we could lose.”

For a change, SDSU is supposed to win this week. The Aztecs are a nine-point favorite in today’s game against Wyoming.

The Aztecs won’t take anything for granted, though. They have lost four straight and must win their last four to have a winning season. To make matters worse, the Laramie forecast today calls for a 50% chance of snow flurries with a high in the 30s.

“It could be snowing or raining or the wind could be blowing like hell,” Coach Doug Scovil said. “At this time of year, the weather can change very quickly. Our players know this is a tough place to play.”

In 1982, the Aztecs arrived two hours late for their game here because of poor road conditions, yet still managed to win, 24-21.

The Aztecs are 1-3 in the WAC and must win another game to assure they won’t finish last. Wyoming is 0-5 in the WAC.

In SDSU’s last four losses, no one can dispute that it has taken a team effort.

The offense was terrible in a 28-0 loss to Brigham Young. The defense was even worse in losses to Utah (39-37) and Oregon (49-37). And last week, the offense and special teams played poorly in a 31-10 loss to the Air Force Academy.

Yet, despite four straight losses, SDSU players and coaches said they had their best practices this week.

“We’ve never gone through anything like this streak in the last few years,” defensive end Mike Stevens said. “Even so, we still have a sparkle in our eyes. Guys aren’t talking each other down, and we have a good feeling.

“It’s unbelievable. In the past few years, if we hadn’t won two straight at this time, everybody would be saying, ‘We’re going to lose again.’ ”

Nobody’s saying as much this year. The Aztecs are just doing as much.

They have not been helped by a minus-15 turnover ratio, suffering 26 turnovers while only creating 11. And their defense has given up more passing yards per game than any Division 1 team in the country.

Some Aztec personnel say part of the reason for their failure has been the quality of the opposition. Three teams were nationally rated when they played SDSU--UCLA, BYU and Air Force. The Aztecs have lost to teams with a combined 33-9-1 record.

“We have played some real good teams in the middle,” Brown said. “Still, I thought the schedule was perfect for us. There were no excuses not to win.”

In the next four weeks, there certainly will not be any excuses for losing. The Aztecs conclude against Wyoming (1-7), Texas El Paso (1-7), New Mexico (2-6) and Hawaii (3-4-1).

This week, the Aztecs face Wyoming as it comes off a 59-0 loss to BYU. The week before BYU played Wyoming, BYU lost to UTEP, 23-16.

“I would have hated going to Provo (Utah) after BYU lost to UTEP,” Scovil said. “Whenever you go to Provo, it’s hard enough. Last week? Wow.”

Few people, including the locals, have been impressed by Wyoming. The Cowboys have lost five straight and are expecting a crowd of 12,000 today if there is decent weather. In Wyoming’s home opener, it drew 29,134.

The Cowboys can pin most of the blame for their failures on a struggling offense that has averaged 16.1 points and 311.9 yards a game. Their defense has allowed 36.1 points a game, meaning they have been outscored by an average of 20 points a game.

The key matchup today may well be Wyoming’s weak offense against SDSU’s weak defense.

Wyoming has been so inept offensively that it changed offenses two weeks ago, going from the run-oriented wishbone to the pass-oriented flexbone. Against BYU, Wyoming unsuccessfully tried both offenses.

“The flexbone is better for passing and sprint outs, and you can still run the option from it,” Scovil said. “Their offense is not as good as it has been. Defensively, they’re still pretty good. They fly around and do a lot of things.”

One thing neither SDSU nor Wyoming has accomplished is winning a game in the past month. That is about to change for somebody today.

Aztec Notes Webster Slaughter, SDSU’s leading receiver, will play today. Slaughter has been slowed by a sprained ankle suffered in last week’s loss at Air Force. . . . Running back Corey Gilmore will miss his second straight game with a pulled hamstring. Tight end Robert Awalt will also sit out with a pulled hamstring. . . . Todd Santos is expected to move into seventh place on SDSU’s all-time passing list today. Santos has passed for 3,895 career yards, trailing Don Horn by 27 yards. Santos needs 168 passing yards to surpass 2,000 for the season. . . . Chris Hardy needs to rush for 318 yards in the last four games to become SDSU’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Tony Allen rushed for 1,094 yards in 1979. Only four Aztecs have ever rushed for 1,000 yards in a season. . . . Vince Warren has moved into sixth place on SDSU’s all-time list for receiving yardage with 1,851. Tom Reynolds is fifth with 1,955 yards. . . . Wyoming cornerback Mark Thomas played high school football at San Diego Morse. Thomas, a junior, leads Wyoming in interceptions with three. . . . Wyoming leads its all-time series against the Aztecs, 4-3. However, SDSU has won its last two games in Laramie. The Aztecs recorded their only shutout in the last 97 games when they won last year at Wyoming, 21-0. SDSU has since lost five straight road games.