Aztecs Will Try to Keep Struggling Lobos Winless

Sometimes, the University of New Mexico’s football team is as difficult to figure out as new tax laws.

The Lobos may rush two men on defense one play and six the next. Their offense may switch from the wishbone to a passing formation on consecutive downs.

In fact, about the only thing one could accurately predict about New Mexico so far is that the Lobos would lose. They are 0-3.

New Mexico will seek its first victory tonight when it plays host to San Diego State in a Western Athletic Conference game. It will be the Lobos’ home opener.

The Lobos have had their moments at home. New Mexico’s most impressive home victory in recent years was a 25-21 win against Brigham Young in 1980 when the Lobos rushed two men and played nine deep.

“Their defense does stunt a lot,” said Robert Awalt, SDSU’s tight end. “They’ll show you things you will never see again. It’s like a sandlot defense. Sometimes, they’ll put two linemen down and have six guys come blitzing. We’ll have to adjust a lot.”

The Aztec defense also will have to do its share of adjusting.

New Mexico, which finished third in the nation in total offense last year, uses a run-and-shoot offense. The Lobos are led by senior quarterback Billy Rucker, who set three school single-game records and two school career records last season.

Ron Mims, SDSU secondary coach, said New Mexico only uses six pass plays. The Lobos attempt to set up their passes by first faking running plays out of what appears to be a wishbone formation.

“They’ll be the first team we’ve played that runs the wishbone,” said Richard Brown, an SDSU linebacker. “They can cause a lot of problems. We’ll have to play a man on their quarterback and a man on their running back. Hopefully, we can get pressure from our front four to stop their passing.”

Joe Lee Dunn, New Mexico’s fourth-year head coach, has been feeling plenty of pressure lately.

Dunn, who has a 13-25 overall record and is 3-19 in the past 22 games, was nearly fired after last season. However, he was given a last-minute reprieve by theschool.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’d love to win for the sake of my players,” Dunn said. “I’m not worried about job security. There was a good move to try to fire me last year. You get the impression that if people tried to fire me last year, they’ll try to fire me this year. You couldn’t very well look at our schedule and tell me how many games we should win. Our schedule is not acclimated to winning football.”

New Mexico has lost to Tennessee (35-21), Brigham Young (31-30) and Texas Tech (14-7).

Dunn isn’t the only Lobo skeptical about what lay ahead.

“If we don’t win a game this week, we might not win a game the whole season,” fullback Kevin Burgess said. “That’s how bad we need this one. Four losses in a row? Attitudes change, guys get down, and it’s hard to go to practice.”

Not surprisingly, SDSU Coach Denny Stolz says New Mexico is better than 0-3. The Lobos played Tennessee even for three quarters, led BYU by 13 points with nine minutes remaining and played their best defensive game at Texas Tech.

“I think New Mexico will be the second best team we have played,” Stolz said. “I think it has a better team than Utah (which lost to SDSU, 37-30). New Mexico played well against Tennessee and Texas Tech. Plus, New Mexico had a two-touchdown lead at Brigham Young. Those are things you go by when you say New Mexico is better than Utah.”

Before the season, Utah was picked second in the WAC and New Mexico was picked seventh. This week, Stolz has emphasized to his team how important the game will be for New Mexico. The Lobos are 0-1 in the WAC, and another loss would all but eliminate them from the race for the conference title.

SDSU is 1-0 in the WAC and 2-1 overall. The Aztecs will attempt to rebound from last week’s 45-14 loss to UCLA.

“We want to get our respect back,” Awalt said. “And we know New Mexico will be desperate. They’ve played hard and physical but have come up empty. That leaves a real sour taste in your mouth. The only way to get rid of that sour taste is with a victory.”

Aztec Notes The Aztecs have dedicated tonight’s game to Ron Santos, the younger brother of SDSU quarterback Todd Santos. Ron was the victim of a hit-and-run accident last week, and suffered a broken arm, broken leg, knee ligament damage and a serious concussion . . . . Offensive tackle Greg Williamson (sprained knee) and defensive tackle Craig Skaggs (sprained knee) were the only Aztec regulars who didn’t make the trip. . . . . SDSU’s next WAC game will be Oct. 18 at Texas El Paso. “I don’t particularly like playing our first three conference games on the road,” Coach Denny Stolz said. However, four of the Aztecs’ final five WAC games are at home. . . . . An unspecified number of New Mexico players have violated the NCAA rule on the distribution of complimentary tickets, Lobo Athletic Director John Bridgers told the Albuquerque Tribune. According to NCAA rules, each player receives four tickets that may be distributed only to family members and fellow students. Bridgers said the school will report the violations to the NCAA. . . . Coach Joe Lee Dunn on New Mexico’s lack of success: “It’s very tough to recruit here. We don’t have any decent facilities. The furthest thing from anybody’s mind here is to help football. I don’t think anything here is a high priority now because our state is not in good financial shape because of (the problems in) the oil and gas industries.” . . . . New Mexico is 62-21-4 in home openers and is 7-3 the last 10 years. . . . . Four Lobos played prep football in San Diego: kicker Joe Bibbo (Marian), defensive end Alex Bolden (Crawford), linebacker Donny Gassoway (Mount Carmel) and defensive back Kerry Maull (Morse).