San Diego State Notebook : Two Victories--UCLA’s and Their Own--Lift Aztecs’ Spirit

A couple of ballgames last weekend proved to be just the tonic the San Diego State football team needed to soothe a wounded ego.

One of the games, of course, was the Aztecs’ 39-36 upset of Air Force Sunday evening. But that victory may be attributed in part to another game--one that was at the heart of several discussions at the Aztecs’ practice Monday.

UCLA thrashed Nebraska Saturday, 41-28, and the Aztecs liked what they saw. Nebraska entered the game ranked No. 2. UCLA was No. 5. Suddenly, after SDSU’s season-opening 59-6 loss to the Bruins, things didn’t seem quite as bad.

“The UCLA game was the single, biggest confidence booster,” Ed Schmidt, SDSU defensive coordinator, said. “When our guys got to the hotel for pregame Saturday night, everyone had a smile on their face. You could just feel the confidence. It was like, ‘I’m OK, you’re OK.’

“My wife said, ‘It’s a good thing you guys played on Sunday and had a chance to watch the UCLA game.”

Said SDSU wide receiver Alfred Jackson: “It gave us a lot of confidence. We were driving on UCLA. Nebraska wasn’t driving on them that well. It was a motivator.”

SDSU Coach Denny Stolz was also feeling much better.

“I have never played against an offensive team that good,” Stolz said. “From what I’ve seen of UCLA, I think they’re one of the premier teams in the United States. I think they’ve gone into another echelon in college football. We haven’t closed the gap on them because they’ve jumped.”

Despite surrendering an average of 47.5 points, the Aztecs are 1-1. But Stolz points to the exceptionally strong UCLA offense and Air Force’s wishbone as the reasons.

“We’ll face more of a conventional offense in our next two games (Saturday against Stanford and Oct. 1 against Oregon),” Stolz said. “We’ll be able to better evaluate our defense after them.”

Running back Paul Hewitt was named offensive player of the week by the Western Athletic Conference for his performance against Air Force.

Hewitt rushed for 259 yards and four touchdowns in a school-record 45 carries. It was the second-best performance ever by an SDSU running back, ranking only behind Jim Allison’s 271 yards against San Francisco State in 1964. It is the most yards recorded by an SDSU player against a major college team.

Hewitt’s 45 carries also broke the record of 40 by Derrick Harvey against Wyoming in 1982.

Hewitt skipped practice Monday to ice a mildly sprained right ankle and a bruised left shoulder. He may miss more practice time this week, but is expected to play Saturday at Stanford.

Aztec Notes

The injury report: Defensive end Milt Wilson (ankle) is questionable for the Stanford game. Otherwise, the Aztecs are in good shape. “After two pretty tough games, I’d say we’re in great shape,” Don Kaverman, SDSU trainer, said. . . . Stanford quarterback Brian Johnson, who was knocked out of the Cardinal’s near-upset of USC Saturday with a concussion, is expected to start Saturday. The rest of the Stanford injury report for Saturday: wide receiver Ed McCaffrey (thigh), backup wide receiver Spencer Cotten (groin) and freshman running back Tommy Vardell (broken foot) are all questionable. . . . Denny Stolz praised the blocking of fullback Jim Jennings in the Air Force game. “I told Paul Hewitt to take him out for dinner,” Stolz said. . . . Hewitt has played in 14 SDSU games and has scored three touchdowns in seven of them. . . . H-back Monty Gilbreath has caught a pass in 16 consecutive games. . . . Gilbreath and Alfred Jackson each had a career-high seven catches against Air Force.