Luginbill Orders SDSU to Snap to Attention : Midseason Report: Sloppy, uninspired play during the season’s first half forces coach to make discipline a part of the Aztecs’ daily diet.

Halfway through his first season as San Diego State football coach, Al Luginbill says he is perplexed. He wonders why the same Aztec team that played UCLA to a virtual draw one week played Cal State Fullerton to a literal draw the next.

Frustrated by his players’ inconsistent play, Luginbill turned this week to the one method left at his disposal.

He cracked down.

He closed the players’ lounge. He made players run extra wind sprints. He announced a new code of discipline: If one guy makes a mistake, everyone pays the penalty. He turned what had been a tough practice regimen into a tougher one.

“I’m not going to be a nice guy anymore,” Luginbill said. “Those days are over.”

The first test of that new policy comes tonight at 7:05 when the Aztecs (2-3-1) play Pacific (1-6) in a nonconference homecoming game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Pacific is the kind of team SDSU should beat handily.

The Tigers have not had a winning season since 1977. Injuries have knocked out their top two running backs. A former tight end is their leading rusher. Their only victory was over Cal State Long Beach (26-25), a team the Aztecs defeated last week, 30-26. And the Tigers earned the victory with the help of three missed extra points by the 49ers.

The problem, Luginbill says, is that the less threatening the opponent, the less inspired his team has played.

“It is time we handily beat a team we’re supposed to beat,” Luginbill said. “This group just plays to the level of the competition.”

Overcoming this tendency, Luginbill said, has been the most frustrating task he has faced in his first six games as SDSU coach. Luginbill said that attitude is the root of most of what is wrong with his team. He considers his sterner approach a last effort to turn the Aztecs in the direction he has set.

“If this doesn’t work, we are in serious trouble until I can (recruit) 25 more athletes into this program to go along with the 25 we brought in this year,” Luginbill said.

Luginbill is frustrated with his inability to turn the Aztecs around quickly. Yet for all of his disappointments, there are signs of improvement.

By almost every statistical measure, the Aztecs are a better team than they were last year. The record is improved, the offense is scoring more points and the defense is allowing fewer. Outside of a 52-36 opening-game loss at Air Force, they have avoided the kind of lopsided defeats that hastened the end of Denny Stolz’s tenure.

Much of the credit for the improvement should go to junior quarterback Dan McGwire, freshman running back Darrin Wagner and senior wide receiver Robert Claiborne. All three redshirted last year. This year, they are causing trouble for the opposition.

McGwire has 2,082 passing yards and is on pace to break the school season record of 3,932 yards set by Todd Santos in 1987. Wagner is second on the team in rushing yards (424) and leads in touchdowns (10) despite being suspended from last week’s game against Long Beach for disciplinary reasons. And Claiborne is second on the team in receptions with 31 for 532 yards and three touchdowns.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I figure we would be averaging 500-plus yards offensively,” Luginbill said.”And the scary part is we can get much better.”

But while the improvement on offense has been dramatic, the defense continues to struggle. It did not benefit from the same kind of infusion of ready-to-play talent. The new player who was expected to help the most, cornerback Marlon Andrews, has been slowed by injuries.

The defense continues to have problems stopping teams late. Only once--against Air Force in a game in which the Falcons did not need to score--has an opponent failed to score in the final 2:39.

UCLA beat the Aztecs, 28-25, with a touchdown with 2:39 remaining. Fullerton tied them, 41-41, the next week with a field goal on the last play. Hawaii defeated them, 31-24, two weeks later on a touchdown with 29 seconds left. Utah and Long Beach also scored touchdowns in the final two minutes.

“I don’t like that,” Luginbill said. “Our defense has got to understand that whether we are up or down, that shouldn’t happen. “

But there is some reason for optimism. The Aztecs’ three losses have been by an average of 8.7 points, compared with an average of 25 points in the five losses in their first six games last year.

“As far as effort and playing hard, we have improved drastically in our defense,” Luginbill said. “You look at our last three ballgames--Utah, Hawaii and Long Beach--and our defense has kept us in the football game until the offense got going.”

But statistics without context can be misleading.

The Aztecs have faced a much softer schedule this year. Last year’s first six opponents had a combined record of 13-2 when they played the Aztecs. This year, opponents are 9-12 at the time they played the Aztecs and only one team, Hawaii (4-1 two weeks ago), had a winning record.

There have been other areas of concern.

Special teams have disappointed Luginbill, especially because he said they would be a priority.

The field goal kicking of freshman Andy Trakas has been inconsistent. Trakas missed six of his first 10 attempts before making his last three against Long Beach last week, including a career-best 49-yarder. Kickoff coverage has been spotty. Long snapping has had problems. A bad snap against Long Beach prevented the Aztecs from getting a punt off deep in their own territory and another against Hawaii cost them an extra point.

Luginbill said he will put his secondary on the kickoff coverage team tonight in hopes of improvement.

“We’re making it a challenge to them,” Luginbill said. “We’ve worked hard, but we have to work harder.”

That philosophy is a big part of Luginbill’s coaching style. He has exacting requirements and demanding practices. That has not suited everyone.

Since he took over as coach last November, 21 scholarship players have left the team. Most quit, one had a career-ending injury, and others were removed by Luginbill for disciplinary or academic reasons.

The majority of the players who left were expected to see little playing time. Luginbill does not mourn their departure.

“If I have to start all over again, so be it,” Luginbill said. “If we don’t have the type of football players who care about their teammates, who care about being the best they can possibly be, then I don’t think we can win football games.”

While Luginbill, 42, tries to instill in the Aztecs a winner’s personality, his own game-day style has been evident.

He waves his arms. He shouts. He greets players on the bench. Once, at Utah, he was slapped with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after walking on the field to argue an official’s decision.

“I don’t try to be a circus out there,” Luginbill said. “I am an enthusiastic guy. I do the same thing in practice. I get after our guys in a positive way. I have always been that way. That’s the only way I know how to coach. I’m not (Brigham Young’s) LaVell Edwards. I’m not going to stand there with my arms folded. That’s not me. That never will be me.”

Also, he has developed a reputation as a gambler. If it is fourth-and-short, expect Luginbill to go for the first down, no matter the field position, the score, or the time remaining.

Results have been mixed. Some of his gambles have worked, such as a fake punt that went for a touchdown against UCLA. Others have failed, leaving opponents with good field position. Regardless, Luginbill says he will continue to take risks.

But he said his plans for improvement hinge on inspiring his players to eliminate selfishness.

To make his point, Luginbill cited an example from last Saturday’s game against Long Beach.

“I had a player come off the field the other night who had just caught a nice 18-yard out route,” Luginbill said. “Before he goes back to the coach he is supposed to be with, he sits around the 50-yard line and watches the instant replay (on the stadium scoreboard). That is what I am talking about. If I catch any of them watching instant replay, they can walk off the field, through the gate and out the door because I’m not putting up with that.

“I don’t know what creates it, but I know good football teams don’t have it. If I inherited it, then so be it. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. The way you correct it is they either do it your way or you get someone who does it your way. I know that sounds harsh. But that is also reality.”

Halfway through his first season, that is life for Luginbill and the Aztecs.

Aztec Notes

San Diego State tight end Mitch Burton (lower abdominal strain) will be available but likely will not play, Coach Al Luginbill said. Freshman linebacker Eric Thompson, who made his first start last week against Cal State Long Beach, should play despite a bruised shoulder. . . . Holiday Bowl officials will scout six teams today. The bowl will look at Washington State (6-1), Arizona (4-2), Michigan State (2-3), Illinois (4-1), Ohio State (3-2) and West Virginia (4-1-1).

SDSU HALFWAY

1988 SCORES (1-5)

at UCLA 59, SDSU 6

at SDSU 39, Air Force 36

at Stanford 31, SDSU 10

Oregon 34, at SDSU 13

Wyoming 55, at SDSU 27

Hawaii 32, at SDSU 30

1989 SCORES (2-3-1)

at Air Force 52, SDSU 36

UCLA 28, at SDSU 25

CS Fullerton 41, at SDSU 41

SDSU 38, at Utah 27

at Hawaii 31, SDSU 24

at SDSU 30, CS Long Beach 26

THE NUMBERS: National rankings in selected categories (through six games) out of 104 Division I-A schools in 1988 and 106 in 1989.

FOR AZTECS

Category 1988 1989 Net Yds. Rush 577 976 Rush Yds./Game 96.2 162.7 Ranking 100th 51st Passing Yds. 1418 2082 Pass Yds./Game 236.3 347 Ranking 22nd 3rd Total Off./Game 332.5 509.7 Ranking 68th 6th Points/Game 20.8 32.3 Ranking 67th 13th Penalties/Yds. 40/324 49/439 Turnovers 15 12

AGAINST AZTECS

Category 1988 1989 Net Yds. Rush 1735 1333 Rush Yds./Game 289.2 222.2 Ranking 102nd 91st Passing Yds. 991 1424 Pass Yds./Game 165.2 237.3 Ranking 33rd 91st Total Off./Game 454.3 459.5 Ranking 93rd 101st Points/Game 41.2 34.2 Ranking 101st 97nd Penalties/Yds. 34/273 33/262 Turnovers 13 8