Season’s Back in Session: SDSU Rips Utes

Looking as rested and vibrant as a man returning from vacation, San Diego State turned three weeks of frustration into 60 minutes of fury Saturday night in a 66-14 Western Athletic Conference rout of Utah.

It was a homecoming in more ways than one for the Aztecs in front of 25,504 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. SDSU had not played a game since Oct. 13, and not one at home since Sept. 29.

And nobody, including their coach, knew how the Aztecs (3-4, 2-2) would react to nothing but three weeks of practice in the middle of the season. Would the offense be rusty? Would the defense improve?

The trouble with the break was that it came after two consecutive losses, so there was no immediate chance for redemption.

But there was no time to worry. About the only thing Coach Al Luginbill knew for sure was that each of SDSU’s four remaining WAC games were must-wins. If the Aztecs accomplished that, they would be assured of their second consecutive winning season no matter what happens here Dec. 1 against eighth-ranked Miami.

So they took the field Saturday, finally, like kids just let loose from a long day at school. Football? They finally were getting to play football?

They sure were. The 66 points were the most for the Aztecs since they scored 68 against Southern Mississippi in 1968, and the sixth-highest in school history. Quarterback Dan McGwire moved into second-place on the SDSU career-passing list, completing 22 of 33 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns before resting most of the fourth quarter. Andy Trakas became SDSU’s all-time leading kick scorer. The defense didn’t break down, and Johnny Walker even got two interceptions as the Aztecs became the last Division I team in the nation to get a pick-off.

“Believe me, I had no idea this was coming,” Luginbill said.

It began with McGwire. He dropped passes into his receivers’ hands like coins into a vending machine. Smoothly, effortlessly, with a rhythm all his own.

He needed 135 yards to move into second on the SDSU career passing list, and he got that two minutes into the second quarter. It came on a 35-yard pass to Dennis Arey, and McGwire moved ahead of Brian Sipe, who finished with 5,707 yards passing as an Aztec before moving on to the Cleveland Browns. McGwire now trails only Todd Santos, who finished with 11,425 yards.

Second-place all-time at SDSU, and the guy hasn’t even completed his second full season. The Utah game was his 19th at SDSU after transferring from Iowa.

That isn’t the only chart McGwire is climbing these days. He moved into third on the SDSU career completion list ahead of Mark Halda when he completed his 15th pass of the evening with about two minutes left in the first half.

With about 11 minutes still to play in the second quarter, this is what McGwire had accomplished: 13 completions in 15 attempts, for 181 yards. The Aztecs led 28-7, a cushion that would grow to 42-7 at halftime.

But isn’t that what McGwire has done all season? That’s why, this week alone, scouts from the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets have walked the sidelines at SDSU practices, intently scribbling away in their notebooks.

McGwire entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in passing efficiency (144.8) and fifth in total offense (300 yards a game), and he certainly will at least keep those places when all of Saturday’s college football numbers are crunched today.

Maybe the true measure of McGwire isn’t even found in those numbers, but in his touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio. After Saturday’s game, he had thrown 21 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

Dennis Arey and Patrick Rowe continue to play as if they know some kind of secret. They glide, they gallop, they somehow always seem to get open. And it’s not as if nobody has heard of them. Rowe has spent the past three weeks leading the nation’s receivers with an average of 120.5 yards per game, and Arey--who spent a week in the spot earlier--was third with 106.7.

Rowe finished with 120 yards and became the fifth player in SDSU history to go over 100 yards in five consecutive games. Arey had 102 yards. Each caught seven passes, and each caught two touchdown passes.

And doesn’t it figure that, on a night the defense finally played well throughout the game, the offense would steal the thunder? The SDSU defense, rated last in the nation among Division I schools, held Utah to 147 yards passing and a meek 53 yards rushing.

“I’m extremely pleased for our defensive coaches,” Luginbill said. “Obviously, they’ve been under a lot of heat. We’re certainly not where we want to be on defense yet, but we’re a lot further than we were three weeks ago.”

They are, in several ways.

The Aztecs scored on each of their first four possessions, punted on their fifth, and then scored twice more. They scored by land and by air, shredding the Utah defense. Curtis Butts scored twice on runs of one-yard each. McGwire passed 27 and 14 yards to Rowe and 12 and 19 yards to Arey.

They slowed some in the second half, but not much. Tommy Booker scored on a 12-yard touchdown run, Trakas kicked a 47-yard field goal and then Kipp Jefferies scored on a seven-yard run.

Nearly everyone got into the game at some point for SDSU. It was that kind of night.

Aztec Notes

Redshirt freshman Carlson Leomiti started at strong guard instead of Derek Sang, who has a cervical sprain. . . . Utah started sophomore Jason Woods at quarterback rather than junior Mike Richmond, who had passed for 359 yards last week against Air Force. Utah Coach Ron McBride felt Woods had a better week of practice. . . . Entering Saturday’s game, the combined record of SDSU’s first six opponents was 29-12--a winning percentage of about 71% and an average record of 5-2. . . . Also entering Saturday’s game, six different SDSU receivers had caught touchdown passes and five SDSU running backs had rushed for 1,013 yards on 199 carries. . . . SDSU Coach Al Luginbill earned his first victory at SDSU a year ago in the Aztecs’ 38-27 victory over Utah.