Quarterback Battle Again Winds Up With Aztecs Losing

For the second time in three weeks, San Diego State quarterback Dan McGwire got hooked up in a scoring duel with an opposing quarterback, only this Saturday, the other quarterback’s name wasn’t Ty Detmer.

No, it was the University of Wyoming’s Tom Corontzos, a relatively obscure quarterback when cast against Detmer or McGwire. But it didn’t matter. The Aztec defense wouldn’t have covered its shadow on this day, and Wyoming (6-0, 3-0) came out with a wild Western Athletic Conference victory, 52-51, before 16,713 in War Memorial Stadium.

The Aztecs (2-3, 1-2) had a chance to win with 2:10 to play. That’s when they scored the last of their six touchdowns, pulling to within a point, 52-51, and Coach Al Luginbill decided to go for the two-point conversion. McGwire faded back to pass, Wyoming defensive end Mitch Donahue bore down on him, SDSU receiver Jimmy Raye broke for the right side of the end zone, and Wyoming linebacker Pete Gosar was able to stay in front of Raye. McGwire launched his pass, and it went back, back . . . and over Raye’s head.

Game.

SDSU tried an onside kick, but Wyoming recovered and, for all intents and purposes, ran out the clock. The Cowboys punted on the last play of the game, but there was no return.

The two teams combined for 13 touchdowns and four field goals. Wyoming had 648 yards of total offense; SDSU had 615. The 103 combined points scored was the most scored in a game at Laramie.

And the game came down to two at the end.

“There was only one place to put the ball, and that was over the top,” McGwire said. “It just didn’t work.”

Luginbill said he had no reservations about going for the two-point conversion.

“I’m not going to come all the way up here to play a tie,” Luginbill said. “That’s insane. How could I look those kids in the eye? Those kids played their tails off.”

By the time it was finished, the Aztecs were stunned. Some of them were uttering ridiculous statements like this one:

“We just didn’t put enough points on the board.”

The speaker was McGwire, but any time you score six touchdowns and 51 points, you needn’tsay things like that. McGwire was impressive, completing 27 of 42 passes for a season-high 415 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception.

Three weeks ago against BYU, McGwire passed for 362 yards and three touchdowns, but SDSU was defeated, 62-34.

Saturday, he just didn’t complete the final two-point conversion attempt.

As if it should have even come down to that . . .

Wyoming roasted the Aztec defense, averaging 10 yards per play . Snap, first down. Snap, first down. As though it was choreographed.

Two of their touchdown drives--one that went 80 yards and another that went 48--took one play .

Corontzos completed 20 of 32 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns. The 421 yards were a career-high for Corontzos and it ranked as the second-best passing day in school history.

“It was a hectic game,” Corontzos said. “We pretty much knew we had to score every time when we went out in the second half.”

Corontzos isn’t known as a dominating passer, but the Aztecs sometimes have a way of turning opposing quarterbacks into the second coming of Andre Ware.

Shawn Wiggins caught eight of Corontzos’ passes for 166 yards and one touchdown. Robert Rivers added 117 yards on four receptions.

“Those were not blown coverages,” Luginbill said. “Let’s get that straight. We did not make the plays. We had people there, and they either got beat or they didn’t make the plays.”

Already this season, Oregon, Brigham Young and Wyoming have entered the SDSU record book for yards passing in a game. The Aztecs watched Brigham Young (514 yards) pass for more yards against them than anyone in history, they watched Oregon (443) slip into second place and Wyoming (421) place sixth.

As for total offense, Wyoming’s 648 yards ranks third in SDSU history. The Aztecs’ 615 ranks ninth in school history, and is their 1990 season-best.

The Aztecs built a 27-14 lead in the third quarter but blew a chance to take command by failing to stop Wyoming on third and 13 from the Cowboy 17. Corontzos and Wiggins hooked up for a 30-yard pass play even though Wiggins was double-covered by Robert Griffith and Johnny Walker. Inconceivably, though, neither of them turned to look for the ball and Wiggins was able to make the catch.

Four plays later, Corontzos passed 25 yards to Wiggins for a touchdown, bringing Wyoming to within six, 27-21. From that point, the race was on.

“We’re up, 27-14, and we’ve got Wiggins double-covered and we don’t make the play,” Luginbill said, exasperated.

That wasn’t the end of the Aztec problems. Three miscues on second-half kickoffs cost them as well:

The Drop: Merten Harris did this on the opening kickoff of the second half. He dropped the ball at the SDSU 11, picked it up, retreated to the 8 and was tackled. An SDSU clip pushed the Aztecs back to the 4.

The Slip: Harris did this later in the third quarter, fielding a kick at the SDSU 1 and slipping, giving the Aztecs possession inside their 1.

I don’t want it; You can have it: Patrick Rowe and Dennis Arey miscommunicated in the fourth quarter and fumbled, giving Wyoming possession at the 17. Two plays later, the Cowboys scored to go ahead, 45-38.

“It’s my personal opinion that our special teams play lost the game for us,” Luginbill said. “Our special teams cost us a minimum of 14 and possibly 20 points. I have a difficult time with that.”

Wyoming Coach Paul Roach had a difficult time believing almost everything the entire afternoon.

“I’m almost speechless,” he said. “I never thought we could win a game like this. There is something about this team. The defense had trouble this week, so the offense responded. Tom obviously had his best day. I’m flabbergasted, but we’re sitting here 6-0.”

The man who best summed up SDSU’s afternoon was Rowe.

“I don’t know,” Rowe said. “I just don’t know what to say right now.”

It should have been one of Rowe’s better days. He caught 10 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown. Arey caught eight for 171 yards and three touchdowns. It was Arey’s fourth consecutive game of more than 100 yards receiving, becoming only the third receiver in SDSU history to do so.

But all of those accomplishments were like dust in a wind kicked up by the Wyoming offense.

“I’ve said on a couple of occasions I didn’t think you’d see that much scoring in college football this year, generally,” Roach said. “I’m sorry I bothered to talk about that in view of what occurred today.”

* AZTEC NOTEBOOK

Dan McGwire beat a Wyoming blitz to throw for a TD that could have been the game’s turning point--had the Aztecs won. C17A