SAN DIEGO STATE FOOTBALL : If Winning Record Is Aztec Consolation, the Prize Is Right

This game is not for the Western Athletic Conference championship or a bid to the Independence Bowl. It does not come wrapped in hopes and dreams.

This one is about pride.

San Diego State plays host to Texas El Paso at 7:05 tonight in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium after a roller-coaster season and a heady week of bowl talk. The Aztecs (5-4, 4-2 in the WAC), in the running for the Independence Bowl until a Maryland-Louisiana Tech matchup was announced Wednesday, will try not to look ahead to next week’s nationally televised game with No. 2 Miami as they finish WAC play with two goals in mind:

--Clinching a winning record, which would give them two consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1981-82.

--Finishing in a second-place tie in the WAC. This will happen if the Aztecs win tonight and Colorado State loses at Hawaii.

After starting 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the WAC, accomplishing these tasks would be cause enough for the Aztecs to break into Handel’s hallelujah chorus rather than the school fight song.

“A lot of very positive things could happen with a win (today),” Coach Al Luginbill said. “No. 1, we’ll finish 5-2 (in the WAC) and improve our conference standing. And we have the opportunity, if Hawaii beats Colorado State, to tie for second place.

“From where we were five weeks ago, that’s a tremendous accomplishment. Having a winning season is enough to play for--at least for me,” he said. “This game will establish ourselves as a team to be contended with each year.”

The only problem is, the Aztecs aren’t sure exactly what they will face.

“They’ve changed everything (from game to game) this year, from a run-and-shoot offense to a throw-it-up-50-times-a-ballgame,” Luginbill said. “I don’t know which offense we’re going to face Saturday.”

This is the final game for UTEP (3-7, 1-6), which will be playing to avoid the cellar. The Miners are tied with New Mexico (1-6) for last-place in the WAC. New Mexico’s season is over.

But here’s the catch: UTEP quarterback Howard Gasser is back from a knee injury suffered in the season opener against Brigham Young. He made his second start of the season last week against Air Force and although the Miners lost, 14-13, Gasser completed 32 of 48 passes for 364 yards.

“They’re sort of like New Mexico,” SDSU defensive end Pio Sagapolutele said. “They’re big up front. They’re good run blockers, but their pass (blocking) is kind of doubtful. We’ll be going into this game blitzing more.”

Also back is receiver Reggie Barrett, who has missed time this season with an assortment of nagging injuries. Barrett still leads the team with 35 receptions for 593 yards and three touchdowns, and he is one of the WAC’s all-time leading receivers. He is 15th on the all-time WAC list with 145 receptions and 10th with 2,441 yards.

“It took until the end of the season for us to feel very good about ourselves,” UTEP Coach David Lee said.

Gasser and Barrett will pump some life into the UTEP offense, ranked 100th in the nation in scoring (16 points a game). Of course, they will be going against SDSU’s defense, ranked 100th (463 yards and 36 points a game).

UTEP is more concerned with its offense than SDSU’s defense, though.

“When you’re 100th in the nation in scoring offense, everybody you line up against looks like the New York Giants,” Lee said.

Giants? The shadow SDSU quarterback Dan McGwire (6-foot-8) casts over opposing defenses continues to get bigger. He passed for a career-high 530 yards and two touchdowns last week against New Mexico, and he seems to get better each week.

“He’s been awesome,” Lee said. “He stands up and throws the ball right over the top of people. He’s got the easiest, smoothest delivery I’ve ever seen. He’s got great touch. He’s a great prospect. He’s a pro quarterback playing behind a very good offensive line. And gosh darn, (Dennis) Arey and (Patrick) Rowe are fantastic. . . . You’ve gotta be perfect on every down to stop these guys.”

Rowe is ranked first in the nation with 125.44 yards receiving per game, and Arey, at 101.33, is fourth. Rowe has 1,129 yards receiving this season, and Arey, at 915, is 85 yards from the 1,000-yard mark. SDSU likely will become only the second team in NCAA history with two receivers over 1,000 yards in a season. The first was Houston in 1988, when James Dixon and Jason Phillips both surpassed the 1,000-yard mark.

This all adds up to an average of 41 points a game.

“We will continue to fight and play hard this year as we have all week,” Lee said. “It’s our last one. We’re coming to the coast where the girls don’t wear a lot of clothes and they’re all suntanned and bronze. We have a lot of young kids, and I’m concerned about that. I don’t want a blowout ending this season going into next season.”

Aztec Notes

A crowd of only 18,000 is expected. . . . Injury update: SDSU reports no serious injuries. For UTEP, fullback Kevin Bogan (knee) is out. Redshirt freshman Patrick Bailey will start in his place. Bailey has played in two games this season, gaining 48 yards on 16 attempts . . . Any chance the Aztecs will be looking past UTEP toward Miami next Saturday? “There is so much riding on this game, I would hope we’re past that,” SDSU Coach Al Luginbill said. . . . SDSU won at UTEP last year, 34-31. Quarterback Dan McGwire passed for 282 yards in that game but threw a career-high six interceptions.