SDSU Coach Revisits Scene of Nightmare : College football: Luginbill remembers his Aztec debut at Air Force, a 52-36 setback. Two years later, coach wants to show progress program has made.

He has thought of this day often during the past 24 months. Late at night, when he is alone, or maybe when he is lost in his thoughts behind the wheel of his Cadillac.

Al Luginbill, San Diego State football coach, remembers the pain and the humiliation of what happened here two years ago.

He remembers how he looked forward his entire life to the day when he would get his first Division I football coaching job and, when that day finally came, how the game to which he has devoted his life reared up and kicked him.

When San Diego State (2-0) takes the field today to play Air Force (3-0) at 11 a.m. PDT, Luginbill will think of his SDSU debut here in 1989. It was a day on which Air Force pounded the Aztecs, 52-36, and then-Falcon quarterback Dee Dowis set a Western Athletic Conference record with six rushing touchdowns.

This morning, he returns to where it all began for him at SDSU.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day for two years,” Luginbill said. “First of all, I like competing against (Air Force).

“Second of all, I don’t ever remember being more embarrassed about a football game than I was that day. Especially defensively.

“We haven’t had many shining moments defensively here, but that ranks at the bottom. We were totally inept.”

In addition to the half-dozen touchdowns, Dowis rushed for 249 yards that day, and Air Force had 559. That still ranks as the most prolific day any team has had rushing against SDSU. After the game, Luginbill called Dowis’ performance “the best performance I have ever seen by an individual player, ever.”

By the time it was over, there was nothing to do but sort through the wreckage. SDSU nose tackle Eric Duncan, then an inexperienced sophomore, remembers the postgame locker room scene clearly.

As Luginbill addressed the Aztecs, he did his best to fight back the tears. They came anyway.

“He was very emotional,” Duncan said. “He shed a few tears. He assured us that he would be behind us no matter what happened the rest of the year.

“He had to take his glasses off.”

And wipe his eyes. But he hasn’t been able to wipe away the experience.

“It’s not a blur,” Luginbill said. “I remember everything vividly. We started out with a 7-0 lead on a pitch-sweep that Ron Slack took about 60 yards (actually, 68 yards).

“Then we held them and took the ball down to the 3 and we kicked a field goal and missed.”

Next thing he knew, it was 28-7, Air Force, and he was on his way to a nightmare he would never forget.

“You would have thought he would have been more critical (after the game), rather than comforting,” Duncan said. “It was sort of shocking to see him really break down and hold our hands, so to speak.”

Not much will change today, and yet everything is different. Air Force continues to run the wishbone, an offense they have run for the past decade. The Falcons will have the home-field advantage--SDSU hasn’t won here since 1980, losing six in a row and being outscored the past two trips, 101-43.

But Luginbill, with a career record of 14-10-1 at SDSU, is in his third year leading the Aztecs. He has learned a few things since his first game--particularly that, against the wishbone, defenses cannot open up seams.

“My feeling is, we’ve progressed tremendously since that day,” Luginbill said. “We’ll find out how far come (game time). I feel much, much more comfortable taking this team.”

Indeed, the Aztecs seem to be improved. But today, they will face their sternest test yet.

It comes at an interesting time. After freshman Marshall Faulk carried for an NCAA record 386 yards last Saturday against Pacific, the Aztecs have grabbed perhaps more of their community’s attention than at any time in the past several years. T.C. Wright will start at tailback today, but Faulk will figure heavily in the rotation.

With a 2-0 record and UCLA coming up Thursday in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, a victory would give SDSU a dose of much-needed momentum. A loss, and there will be whispers about “the same old Aztecs.”

Air Force already has won at Colorado State and Utah. But the Falcons yielded 31 points to Weber State in their season opener.

It is Homecoming and Parents’ Weekend at Air Force and a crowd of more than 50,000 is expected.

“If you can’t get excited to play the game in that stadium, you can’t get excited,” Luginbill said. “The blood will be pumping.

“And they have some arrogance to them, which gets the blood churning, too. I’m a supporter of the military, but the military has an arrogance.”

And for all the thoughts, and all of the anticipation, Luginbill’s wait is over. His day has arrived.

“I’m a dreamer,” he said. “I dream of going into Air Force and kicking their tail in that stadium where they got us two years ago.

“I dream about that. I can’t tell you I don’t.”

Aztec Notes

Marshall Faulk’s seven rushing touchdowns last week set a new WAC record, surpassing Dee Dowis’ six against SDSU in 1989. “That’s good,” SDSU Coach Al Luginbill said. “‘We put Dee in the record book and then took him out.” . . . SDSU’s plane was delayed an hour in San Diego and, as a result, the Aztecs didn’t arrive in Colorado Springs in time to do their normal Friday walk-through in the stadium. . . . SDSU receiver Patrick Rowe (right shoulder bruise), running back T.C. Wright (left thigh bruise), linebacker Andy Coviello (left knee tendinitis) and free safety Damon Pieri (groin strain) have been cleared to play today. . . . Air Force senior fullback Jason Jones (105 yards a game) and senior quarterback Rob Perez (103) are averaging more than 100 yards rushing. . . . Air Force leads the series with SDSU, 8-3. The Falcons are 5-1 in Falcon Stadium.