Minus 9 Players, Wyoming (2-7) Is Too Much for SDSU

While playing at an elevation of 7,220 feet Saturday afternoon, San Diego State’s performance plunged well below sea level.

The Aztecs lost their fifth straight game as they were embarrassed by Wyoming, 41-20, in front of an all-time low crowd of 1,946 at War Memorial Stadium.

Fans were kept away by a minus-four degree wind chill factor and snow flurries that lasted through the first quarter. The fact that Wyoming began the day with five straight losses and a 1-7 record didn’t help.

SDSU should have been helped by the absences of nine Wyoming players, including three defensive starters, who were suspended for the game because they missed the team bus to a Friday night movie. But that didn’t matter.

What matters to the Aztecs is that they are 3-6 in a season in which they expected to do much better. And as the losses mount, the more the players shake their heads and wonder why.

“Losing to Wyoming hurts us bad,” safety Steve Lauter said. “We were supposed to win this game. Coming to Wyoming in a blizzard must have tripped our players out.”

Said linebacker Todd Richards: “We should’ve beaten these guys handily. I don’t know what happened. It happens each week.”

Said runnning back Casey Brown: “We’ve lost games maybe we should’ve lost. There was no reason to lose to these guys. They’re not that good of a football team.”

Evidently, neither is SDSU. Although this was supposed to have been the season when Coach Doug Scovil’s five-year plan paid off, the Aztecs must win their final three games to finish at .500.

Scovil blamed Saturday’s loss on SDSU’s six turnovers (Wyoming didn’t have any). The Aztecs have committed 32 turnovers this year, 21 more than the opposition.

“You just can’t turn the ball over, and we did it again,” Scovil said. “We moved the ball well and executed. If we didn’t turn the damn thing over . . . “

SDSU outgained Wyoming, 530 yards to 381. But three Wyoming touchdowns came after Aztec turnovers.

Even so, SDSU defensive coordinator Burnie Miller wasn’t using turnovers as an excuse.

“I have the feeling that after the first 18 minutes, we didn’t keep the intensity going,” Miller said. “This is the first time this year we didn’t keep the fight going. I didn’t feel we were flying around like we normally have been. Unless you do that, you don’t win.”

The Aztecs could not contain Wyoming fullback Toriano Taylor, who rushed 16 times for 166 yards and a touchdown. Taylor had runs of 37 and 38 yards, the two longest for Wyoming this season.

Taylor supported Miller’s claim that SDSU might have given up.

“As the game progressed, they let down and let the weather affect them,” Taylor said. “I sensed they lost their intensity. During the first part of the game, they were yelling a lot. After we busted a few plays, they didn’t yell too much at all.”

After the scored was tied, 13-13, at halftime, SDSU had little to cheer about.

Wyoming scored on its first drive of the third quarter, covering 73 yards in seven plays. Scott Runyan threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Allyn Griffin, who had dropped an apparent touchdown pass earlier in the drive.

When Wyoming punted later in the quarter, Webster Slaughter fumbled at his 31. He attempted to pick up the loose ball on the run, but fumbled again and Wyoming’s Mike Hill recovered on the Aztec 1. Runyan scored on the next play, giving the Cowboys a 27-13 lead.

“It’s not like Web (Slaughter) to miss the ball,” Scovil said. “I don’t know why he missed it. He has great hands. That play probably did it for us.”

Slaughter had earlier fumbled a punt at his 4, but was saved when the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback after a Wyoming player muffed it. Slaughter refused to use the weather as an excuse, saying he simply let both balls slip off his hands.

Wyoming scored another third-quarter touchdown after Brown fumbled on a pass reception. Stan Waddell ended a 41-yard drive with a 1-yard run.

SDSU pulled to within 34-20, on an 80-yard drive early in the fourth quarter. Todd Santos hit Jim Laughton with a 4-yard touchdown pass.

Santos completed 28 of 49 passes for 351 yards with 1 interception. He has passed for 4,246 yards in 1 3/4 seasons with the Aztecs, moving into seventh place on the school’s all-time passing list.

Santos’ good day was an aberration during another bad day for SDSU. Chris O’Brien was another exception, kicking two field goals to extend his streak to 20 straight.

“I think our biggest mistake is that we should’ve gotten right on top of Wyoming,” Brown said. “They would’ve broken. When you play a team like that running on emotion, you can’t let them stay in the game.”

Aztec Notes Fred Miller is scheduled to interview for the permanent athletic director position at SDSU this week. Miller, 50, was athletic director at Arizona State from 1971 to 1980. He is currently a physical education and health studies teacher at ASU. . . . Starting cornerback Mark Thomas from Morse High was among the nine Wyoming players suspended for the game. “Those nine players figured prominently in our plans,” Coach Al Kincaid said. “We were not going to compromise our integrity to win a football game. I feel bad for them. It’s a shame.” . . . War Memorial Stadium’s previous low crowd was 5,515 in 1980. The stadium opened in 1950.