Defense Does Turnaround for Aztecs : College football: San Diego State recovers six fumbles in a 48-18 rout of Air Force.

They had listened until they could listen no more, and then they heard it again.

San Diego State was rated 106th in the nation in defense. Dead solid last.

There was no escaping it. Lou Foster and Andy Coviello, two of San Diego State’s starting linebackers, saw it on a television show previewing the day’s college football Saturday. Air Force vs. SDSU, the announcers said. The Aztecs are last in the country in defense, the caption said.

A few hours later, after the Aztecs had recovered six fumbles and dismantled Air Force, 48-18, they felt a little better about things.

Despite the television report.

“That’s what really motivated us,” Foster said. “It was in everybody’s mind. It got me riled up.”

It was a game the Aztecs badly needed, and it turned out to be quite a night in front of 19,104 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. The Aztecs (2-2, 1-1 in the Western Athletic Conference) moved to .500 on the season and turned in a performance that matched any in Coach Al Luginbill’s 16 games at SDSU.

“It’s nice,” Luginbill said. “You know, it’s been a long time coming. . . .

“We played extremely well in our Wyoming game a year ago (a 27-17 SDSU victory), and I’d have to rank this one with that.”

The Aztec offense was explosive--quarterback Dan McGwire completed 19 of 29 passes for 343 yards and a touchdown, the defense was solid and special teams were, well . . .

“A delight,” Luginbill said.

Air Force gained 343 yards rushing, but in most cases, the Aztecs stopped the Falcons when they needed to. One major difference was that SDSU didn’t have to face an opponent with Ty Detmer or Bill Musgrave at quarterback Saturday.

Air Force’s regular quarterback, Ron Gray, was left home with a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament. That left sophomore Jarvis Baker, making his first collegiate start, to direct an offense that had managed only two touchdowns in its past two games.

The inexperience showed. Air Force (2-3, 1-3) lost four fumbles in the first half, and the precision timing needed to make the wishbone work was missing. Baker ran for 80 yards during the first quarter and had 104 at the half, but that was pretty much all the Air Force offense accomplished.

And to think, the Aztec defense that opened the game looked suspiciously like the one that played during their previous three.

That was exactly what Luginbill didn’t want to see. After last week’s debacle at Brigham Young, Luginbill juggled the lineup: junior Tracey Mao made his debut at nickelback Saturday, sophomore Robert Griffith started at dimeback and sophomore community college transfer Damon Pieri made his first start at cornerback.

At first glance, it looked like Luginbill might as well have picked a few people out of the stands and stuck them in the lineup. Air Force took the opening kickoff, fired up its offense at the Falcon 19 and went to work. They hammered away on the ground, with 14 consecutive running plays, and moved all the way to the SDSU 6. They went right, left, and up the middle. It didn’t matter. They moved.

But suddenly, the SDSU defense made the first of four big first-half plays. Baker took the snap, faked right, and started up the middle. He stepped over SDSU defensive end Pio Sagapolutele, who was sprawled on his back. Sagapolutele reached up and grabbed Baker by the legs. Caught, Baker struggled forward--but the ball dropped to the ground at the 6. SDSU nose tackle Eric Duncan fell on it, and the Aztecs were in business.

It took only five plays for SDSU to score. Not to be outdone by the defense’s big play, McGwire found Dennis Arey wide open down the left sideline for a 71-yard touchdown pass play.

The rest of the half played out like a picture album for the Aztecs:

--There was linebacker Andy Coviello smack in the middle of the Air Force backfield a couple of minutes after SDSU’s first touchdown, picking off a pitch-out and going 42 yards, untouched, into the Air Force end zone.

Aztecs, 14-0. Turn the page .

--That was David Cooper, slipping past the Air Force line and blocking a punt. The ball landed at the 1, and SDSU’s Terrill Steen recovered with 6:52 left in the second quarter. One play later, Curtis Butts scored.

Aztecs, 21-0.

Turn the page.

--There was Aztec nickelback Mao recovering an Air Force fumble at the SDSU 19. The Falcons, trailing 21-0, had driven from their own 28 to the Aztec 4 before another wishbone mix-up. Baker rolled left and pitched to Durham. This was the same combination that Coviello busted up earlier for his touchdown. This time, the ball got to Durham, but he juggled and then dropped it. Mao recovered, and the Aztecs prevented an Air Force touchdown.

SDSU then embarked on a 68-yard drive that led to Andy Trakas’ 41-yard field goal.

Aztecs, 24-0.

Close the book.

Air Force finally got on the board as time expired in the first half when Joe Wood converted a 47-yard field goal attempt. But it wasn’t enough to overcome a sputtering offense and a raw quarterback.

SDSU’s offense, meanwhile, continued to click in the second half. Curtis Butts capped the Aztecs’ first possession of the third quarter with a three-yard touchdown run. It came after Johnny Walker ran nine yards for a first down on a fake punt from the SDSU 31.

Then, McGwire threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Rowe and a four-yarder to Arey, and Trakas added a 22-yard field goal.

It was quite a contrast to the Falcon offense, which was so confused that Rob Perez was inserted at quarterback at one point in the first quarter and didn’t even make it through a down. After Baker’s fumble on the initial drive, Air Force Coach Fisher DeBerry had Perez start the Falcons’ next drive, which began at their own 20. Air Force broke its huddle, Perez stepped to the line of scrimmage, took a look and called time. When play resumed, Baker was back in and Perez was on the sidelines.

He reappeared in the third quarter, and Air Force lost a fumble on his first play.

It was that kind of night.

Aztec Notes

Of the 22 players on SDSU’s two-deep defensive depth chart, 10 are either freshmen or sophomores. . . . Quarterback Dan McGwire’s first pass of the game, a 10-yard completion to Dennis Arey, lifted him into fifth place on the all-time SDSU career passing yardage list, ahead of Mark McKay (4,475 yards) and Matt Kofler (4,476). McGwire started the game with 4,471 yards. . . . The Aztecs don’t return to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium until Nov. 3, when Utah is here. SDSU is at Wyoming Oct. 6 and at UCLA Oct. 13 before taking two weeks off. The two-week bye occured when the Aztecs moved the Brigham Young game from Oct. 20 to Sept. 22, at the request of CBS. Oct. 27 was already an open date in SDSU’s schedule . . . Cornerback Clark Moses left the game with a sprained right shoulder, nickelback Tracey Mao suffered a “stinger”--a minor neck injury, and dimeback Robert Griffith suffered a bruised back. Griffith and Mao returned to play after their injuries. . . . It was just the third SDSU victory in 11 games with Air Force.