Stopping Detmer No Easy Task : Aztecs: SDSU will try to contain BYU quarterback and wait for an opening.

Forget Brigham Young’s No. 4 ranking, and forget the CBS national television audience. That’s what San Diego State football Coach Al Luginbill is asking of the Aztecs today.

And one other thing--ignore the sellout crowd of 65,000-plus that will be awaiting the Aztecs in Cougar Stadium for this afternoon’s 12:13 p.m. (PDT) kickoff.

OK, well and good. But there will be someone lurking on the other side of the line of scrimmage much of today who the Aztecs will not be able to ignore. His name is Ty Detmer, and he is a quarterback capable of doing enough damage this afternoon to haunt the Aztecs for the rest of the season.

They may have to invent a new award in college football this season. The Heisman Trophy? Puh-leeze. This guy is in line for a lifetime achievement award. And he’s only a junior.

He set 11 NCAA records as a sophomore. He is in the middle of building another NCAA record--he has thrown for 300 or more yards in 15 consecutive games. And if you think he’s anywhere near the end of that streak today, consider this: In their first two games, the Aztecs have allowed an average of 355 yards passing.

But what really turned on the nation to Detmer this season are the past two Saturdays:

--When then-No. 1 Miami visited BYU Sept. 8, Detmer--who took six stitches to the chin at halftime--sliced and diced the Hurricanes for 406 yards in a 28-21 victory. He completed 38 of 54 passes, four more completions than the previous record against a Miami defense, set by Boston College’s Doug Flutie.

--Last week, the Cougars trailed Washington State at halftime, 29-7, before Detmer picked them up and carried them to a 50-36 victory. BYU scored 36 points--thanks in part to three Detmer touchdown passes--in the fourth quarter. Detmer finished with 32 completions in 50 attempts for 448 yards.

Detmer leads the nation in passing with an average of 414 yards a game. You may remember his performance in last year’s Holiday Bowl against Penn State, when he dissected a perennially tough Nittany Lion defense for 576 yards passing. That set an NCAA record for bowl games.

And here come the Aztecs.

How do they plan to stop Detmer? They don’t. At least, not completely.

“He’s going to get some yards,” Luginbill said. “We think containing him and making him throw the ball on time (rather than letting him scramble) is something you need to do. You’re not going to stop that offense completely. They’re going to get yards.”

What the Aztecs want to do is stop the big play. If they do that, Luginbill figures, BYU is bound to throw some incompletions, and then drives will grind to a halt.

Detmer’s quick start has tilted the attention toward him, but if SDSU’s Dan McGwire gets hot, this has the potential to be a quarterback matchup to remember. McGwire has been a bit inconsistent this season. He has completed 33 of 64 passes for 458 yards in two games, but he has underthrown several open receivers. Still, he is capable of turning it on at any time, and he completed 14 of 21 passes for 215 yards against BYU a year ago despite missing 22 minutes of the first half with a fractured vertebrae sustained in the game.

But he downplays any talk of this game being a showcase between the two quarterbacks.

“You can’t think that way,” McGwire said. “If you do, you’re going to lose. I can’t think it’s me against Detmer. I have to stay within the confines of our offense and run what I’m asked to run. I have no control over that.

“I just have to go out and execute our offense. When I’m on the sidelines, I won’t be looking at him. I’ll be on the phones to my coaches (in the press box) to see how BYU is running their defense. I can’t let the showcase take over.”

Said Detmer: “I don’t look at that factor. (Miami’s Craig) Erickson came in here, and it wasn’t a concern for me. Every week, there’s a quarterback matchup. My concern is that I’m playing against their defense, not Dan McGwire.”

Detmer has plenty of talented receivers in H-back Matt Bellini (26 catches for 302 yards), tight end Chris Smith (27 for 262), split end Andy Boyce (19 for 263) and wide receiver Brent Nyberg (12 for 133).

“(Boyce) is the guy we feel is really overlooked,” Luginbill said. “You look at them each game, and Boyce is the guy who makes the play when they need it.”

One key for the Aztecs will be if they can force turnovers. In two games, SDSU has get to make an interception. In its first three games, BYU has lost six fumbles and thrown five interceptions. Another will be how well the Cougars’ offense can move the ball. This is the third consecutive week BYU has faced a one-back offense.

Aztec Notes

Curtis Butts will be the starting running back for SDSU today. Tommy Booker has started each of the first two games but sprained an ankle last week against Cal State Long Beach. Booker did not make the trip to Provo. He will receive treatments on his ankle today and Sunday in San Diego. Butts has rushed for 91 yards in 10 attempts this year, including a 71-yard touchdown run last week against Cal State Long Beach. . . . SDSU has never defeated a team ranked in the nation’s top 10. . . . The highest-ranked opponent the Aztecs have defeated was No. 12 Iowa State in 1981, 52-31. . . . Life away from the spotlight: The SDSU cheerleaders made the trip here. They drove in two vans, leaving San Diego at midnight Thursday night and arriving in Provo around mid-afternoon Friday. They paid their hotel bills with money they raised through fund drives, and were scheduled to return home after Saturday’s game and a Saturday night stop in Las Vegas. . . . An omen? Jim Nantz will be doing play-by-play for CBS today. He formerly worked at KSL-TV in Salt Lake City and did play-by-play for BYU in 1984, when the Cougars won the national championship. . . . Really Hard to Believe Dept.: Cougar linebacker Alema Fitisemanu played on BYU’s 1984 national championship team. He was a freshman then, played as a sophomore in 1985, went on a church mission in 1986 and 1987, came back for the 1988 season but was injured and redshirted, then played last season as a junior. He is 24.