San Diego State Hopes to Shake Losing Image

San Diego State, coming off three straight losing seasons for the first time in nearly three decades, hopes to start a new era tonight when it plays host to Cal State Long Beach in the season opener for both teams. The game marks the debut of Denny Stolz as Aztec football coach.

“We’re ready to get rid of the losing and the bad reputation we have throughout Southern California,” senior tight end Robert Awalt said. “Especially the guys who have been here four or five years don’t want to hear about it. This is my second year here, and I’m already tired of it. I don’t want this season to leave a bad taste in my mouth 10 years down the road.”

The Aztecs have 42 fourth- and fifth-year players who have not had a winning season since the 1982 team went 7-5.

According to Western Athletic Conference coaches and media, the Aztecs should expect another losing season. Both groups have picked them to finish sixth in the nine-team conference.

“I don’t like being the underdog all of the time,” linebacker Richard Brown said. “As a senior and one of the leaders of this team, I’m very disappointed about that. I’m not just disappointed, I’m mad. I’m not going to say we have potential. We have the ability.”

Individual ability and team ability may not necessarily be the same. San Diego State was 5-6-1 last season, yet three players were selected within the first five rounds of the National Football League draft.

“These players have heard for so long that they are good players who can’t win or compete,” Stolz said. “It’s a tough thing to live with when you play .500 ball and have five or six kids drafted into the NFL. Whether Air Force would have any players drafted into the NFL is a good question. Yet, they win every game.”

Stolz’s Bowling Green team won all 11 regular-season games last year before losing to Fresno State, 51-7, in the California Bowl.

For Cal State Long Beach, fullback Mark Templeton is the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.’s all-time leading receiver with 163 career receptions, and wide receiver Charles Lockett is a two-time member of the all-PCAA first-team.