Aztecs Should Find Out Tonight if They’re in the Race to Stay

Now comes the time to find out whether San Diego State is for real or soon to be forgotten.

So far, the Aztecs have accomplished everything that could be asked. They have won three Western Athletic Conference games on the road against non-contenders.

SDSU plays its first conference home game tonight, but that doesn’t mean things are getting easier. The opponent is the Air Force Academy, which is second in the WAC with a 4-1 record.

“This is the first crucial game we’ve had, since it’s the first game against a contender,” Coach Denny Stolz said. “Anytime you win and create momentum, it helps build confidence. That’s what has happened here a little. It’s a lot easier to build confidence when you are 3-0 rather than 0-3.”

Although SDSU has built confidence and momentum, its schedule will become increasingly difficult. Four of the Aztecs’ remaining five opponents are still contending for the WAC championship.

Winning the first three conference games has not even been easy. The Aztecs beat Utah (37-30), New Mexico (38-34) and Texas El Paso (15-10).

“Sometimes, we have to back up and talk of how championships are won,” Stolz said. “My philosophy of going full bore is a little more than my team’s. Our team is not necessarily used to being on a bowl or championship track. I’ll tell you one thing, they like it.”

The Aztecs don’t enjoy playing against wishbone offenses, but that is the task tonight. Air Force, which leads the WAC in rushing, is the conference’s only pure wishbone team.

New Mexico runs the wishbone and run-and-shoot offenses. SDSU shut down New Mexico’s wishbone early, causing the Lobos to use their passing-oriented, run-and-shoot attack. New Mexico passed for a school-record 490 yards.

If the Aztecs stop Air Force’s running game, they should succeed defensively. The Falcons are last in passing in the WAC.

“If everybody does what they are assigned to do, we should be able to stop the wishbone,” SDSU defensive tackle Levi Esene said. “We have two people to stop the dive play, the quarterback and the pitch man. If we stop them, the wishbone will never work.”

The Falcons’ wishbone worked well in a 31-10 victory over SDSU last year. Fullback Pat Evans rushed for 52 yards on their first play, and Kelly Pittman, who has graduated, ran for a three-yard touchdown the next play. On the afternoon, Air Force rushed for 292 yards in 51 carries.

“The wishbone is a real problem for anybody because it’s different,” Stolz said. “It’s hard to demonstrate the wishbone in practice when you have a bunch of young kids trying to run it. Our defense won’t fully understand the wishbone until it gets out on the field.”

Air Force has scored in 72 straight games, tying a school record. However, the Falcons were held without a touchdown for the first time in three years under Coach Fisher DeBerry last Saturday in a 31-3 loss to Notre Dame.

Air Force has missed graduated quarterback Bart Weiss, the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Year in 1985. Troy Calhoun was quarterback for the first three games this season and James Tomallo has taken over since.

Evans, who rushed for 1,015 yards in 1984, leads the Falcons in rushing with 514 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was slowed by a knee injury last season.

“We’ll try to intimidate him,” Esene said. “We want to hit him so hard that he won’t want to come close to scrimmage. If you hit the guy in the head every time, he’ll get soft.”

Said Evans: “That’s something you come to expect when you play a position like this. Every week is real physical for me. I expect to get hit, but I like it. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t having fun.”

The Aztecs have averaged 256.8 yards passing a game. Quarterback Todd Santos, who passed for 183 yards last week at UTEP despite a healing broken wrist, will start tonight. Stolz said the Aztecs may pass 45 to 50 times.

“Santos has a great eye for finding the open receiver,” Air Force cornerback Tom Rotello said. “If his first receiver is covered, he definitely can find the second one. We’ll have to do a lot of disguising to make it difficult for him to read our defense.”

Last year, Santos passed for 224 yards against Air Force but was intercepted four times. Former SDSU receiver Vince Warren was open deep on one play only to have the wind hold up Santos’ pass. The ball was intercepted.

“Vince got open deep a couple of times on them,” SDSU receiver Brett Blanchard said. “And it looked like Notre Dame’s receivers got open deep a couple of times last week. It lets you know it can be done.”

Aztec Notes

SDSU plays four of its final five games at home. The road game is next week against Colorado State. . . . A crowd of 30,000 to 40,000 is expected for tonight’s homecoming game. The Aztecs are 28-14-2 in homecoming games. . . . Tight end Robert Awalt didn’t practice until Thursday because of a bruised breastbone, but he is expected to start. Offensive tackle Greg Williamson (sprained knee) is the only SDSU regular not expected to play. . . . Chris Hardy needs 30 yards to move into third place on SDSU’s all-time rushing list. He has 1,882 yards. “Hardy really impresses ne,” Air Force linebacker Terry Maki said. “He’s not the type of person you can run down or tackle one-on-one.” . . . Maki has 402 tackles in his career and needs 69 to set an Air Force record. . . . Air Force Coach Fisher DeBerry on SDSU: “I know it has taken Denny (Stolz) time to get his program ingrained. They’re certainly playing well now. It will take one of our best games of the year, if not our best, to beat them.” . . . . Air Force has won five straight games against SDSU and leads the series, 5-1.