SDSU’s Stolz Calls Loss to UCLA a Closed Case

San Diego State football Coach Denny Stolz didn’t search for excuses Sunday while discussing his team’s 45-14 loss to UCLA Saturday night. The Bruins are a superior team. Case closed.

“They outplayed us in every aspect of the game,” Stolz said. “They are a whole lot better team than we are. They are just flat-out good. There isn’t any more to say about it.

“When I came into this program, we were trying to get into the top 20. Then, one of the top two or three teams in the country beats the heck out of us. Well, then, there isn’t any other good explanation. We’re not as good as they are.”

The Bruins proved on their second play of the game that they were the better team when tailback Gaston Green (131 yards in 16 carries and 3 touchdowns) ran off tackle virtually untouched for a 63-yard touchdown.

“He had a touchdown about a yard past the scrimmage line,” Stolz said.

Among the disappointments for Stolz was the Aztecs’ inability to perform well in front of the third-largest home crowd in Aztec history--50,338.

“That was a big-time crowd and it was really pulling for the Aztecs,” he said. “It was disappointing that we couldn’t stay closer because that was a Division I crowd. I thought they supported us well.”

“I think the one thing that stood out was our punter (Wayne Ross). He did a fabulous job (averaging 42.3 yards a kick). Ross definitely was the best weapon that we had.”

Ross punted eight times, five in the first quarter.

Aztec quarterback Todd Santos is usually considered SDSU’s most potent weapon, but a menacing Bruin rush silenced him. Santos was 15 of 29 for 151 yards and a touchdown. Still, he managed to surpass Brian Sipe as SDSU’s all-time passing leader with his 12-yard strike to running back Ron Slack with 12:48 remaining in the game. Santos has passed for 5,727 career yards.

Saturday night, Santos operated out of the shotgun formation for the first time this season. He said he preferred it.

“I was comfortable passing out of the shotgun,” the junior quarterback said. “I could definitely see (his receivers) a lot more clearly.”

The young Aztec offensive line, still a question mark in the eyes of Stolz, had trouble slowing the Bruin pass rush as Santos was sacked 5 times for 48 yards. He was sacked four times while operating out of the shotgun.

“It (the shotgun) gives us a little more time, but it’s also more predictable for the defense,” Stolz said. “It gave us more of a chance to throw. We did get one good run out of it, which did help.”

The run that Stolz referred to occurred in the second quarter. After taking the snap from the shotgun, Santos faded back and handed off to fullback Corey Gilmore, who gained 12 yards on the draw.

UCLA (1-1) had entered Saturday’s game after a 38-3 loss to top-ranked Oklahoma two weeks before. The two weeks gave the Bruins time to work on redeeming themselves.

“Anytime you’ve got two weeks to get ready for somebody, that’s good,” Stolz said. “The psychological thing wore off and people forgot about UCLA’s loss after the first week. They didn’t have to read about it or hear it all week long, so the second week they probably had good practices, good concentration, good motivation. . . . (UCLA) did to us what Oklahoma did to them.”

So will the Aztecs be able to bounce back against the University of New Mexico Saturday the same way UCLA did against them?

“I think there’s obviously good motivating factors in that we’re going to be playing a (Western Athletic Conference) team,” Stolz said. “It’s just a matter of whether we can bounce back after a big loss to a national power.”