Aztecs Seek Middle Ground at Stanford : Which Defense Will Hold Up Against Explosive Offenses?

Denny Stolz, San Diego State’s third-year coach, has lost to Stanford in a defensive game. He has lost to the Cardinal in an offensive shootout. Ask him what will happen when the teams meet at 1 p.m. today in Stanford Stadium and he predictably says he expects something in between.

“We tried outscoring them, and we lost (44-40 last season),” Stolz said. “We tried to play it close with them, and we lost (17-10 in 1986). Probably this ballgame is going to be somewhere in the middle.”

The final result might hinge on which team plays better defense, because both already have demonstrated they are just as apt to give up the big play as to make it.

The Cardinal, after holding USC in control for much of the game last Saturday, let the Trojans drive 80 yards for the winning touchdown in the final minutes of a 24-20 loss.

The Aztecs have allowed 95 points and 912 yards in losing to UCLA, 59-6, two weeks ago, and defeating Air Force, 39-36, in their first Western Athletic Conference game Sunday.

But while the teams have struggled defensively, they have been impressive offensively.

The Aztecs were especially strong against the Falcons, gaining 577 yards and scoring the most points against an Air Force team since the Falcons lost, 46-28, to Brigham Young in 1983.

Senior tailback Paul Hewitt carried a school-record 45 times for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Falcons, and quarterback Brad Platt completed 24 of 35 passes for 299 yards in his second major-college game.

“I told our players this is as good an offensive football team as we’ll see,” Stanford Coach John Elway said this week. “They have great versatility with their running. They have a very poised quarterback. And they have excellent receivers. . . . I don’t have any illusions that we’re going to stop them.”

But the Cardinal boasts its own strong pass-run balance with fullback Jon Volpe and quarterback Brian Johnson.

Volpe, a redshirt sophomore, carried 24 times for 97 yards against USC. Last season against the Aztecs in San Diego, he carried 31 times for a career-high 126 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Johnson, a redshirt sophomore who also was the left fielder on Stanford’s two-time NCAA championship baseball team, completed 18 of 28 passes for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Trojans before leaving the game with less than six minutes left after sustaining a mild concussion. He returned to practice at midweek and is expected to start today.

Johnson and Volpe are the key elements of the run-and-shoot offense that Elway revived at Stanford this season after previously using it when he was coached at San Jose State. The run-and-shoot traditionally utilizes only one running back and no tight end.

“That offense might have given Southern Cal a little more trouble than they thought,” Stolz said.

How much of a problem it poses for the Aztecs might depend on the health of a couple of key defensive players. End Milt Wilson is out with a sprained ankle, and injuries are expected to limit the play of inside linebacker Lee Brannon (thigh bruise) and lineman Brad Burton (compound dislocated index finger).

Pio Sagapolutele, a sophomore from Honolulu, is set to make his first start in Wilson’s place; the Aztecs plan to start a completely different defensive line from the one that opened their first two games. Steve Blyth, whom Schmidt said was the team’s most improved player against Air Force, will start at nose tackle. And Brad Burton’s twin brother, Mitch, will take Rob Graff’s place at the other defensive end. That leaves Graff as the only experienced healthy defensive lineman in reserve.

Nose tackle Ropati Picia, a junior walk-on from Grossmont College, and Todd Coomes, who has practiced at end after starting two games at weak outside linebacker, might be counted on to provide depth.

“We’re stretched pretty thin,” said Ed Schmidt, SDSU defensive coordinator. “We can’t afford to lose anyone else. But you know what they say, it only takes 11.”

Elway said he detects a change from the Aztec defense that allowed 341 yards and 44 points to the Cardinal last year, despite its shortage of experienced players and the mixed success in the first two games.

“The defense has a different personality than the one last year,” Elway said. “Last year, they were a blitzing team. They played a whole lot of man-to-man coverage. This year, it is not as aggressive in terms of the movement of the defense and the blitzing. In fact, the defense I see now looks very similar to USC.”

Aztec Notes

Bart Kalbach, the SDSU long-snapper who was paralyzed from the neck down in an automobile accident in May, visited with the team at their hotel Friday and will attend today’s game. The players have dedicated the season to Kalbach and wear a decal with his number 54 on their helmets . . . This is the concluding game of a four-year series with Stanford. The Cardinal has won the past two games after the Aztecs won the first, 41-22, in 1985. . . . Robbie Coffin, a senior from Mira Mesa High School, starts at left tackle for Stanford. Other San Diego County players seeing action for the Cardinal are Tony Trousset, a redshirt freshman from Vista High School, at strong safety, and Barry McKeever, a senior from San Pasqual High School.