Aztecs’ Quarterback Situation Is Up in Air : College football: Coach Al Luginbill can’t see a clear starter after watching the film of the UCLA game.

There is no “take two” on game films.

What you see is what you get. And what the San Diego State football team has this weekend, after Thursday’s 37-12 loss to UCLA, is a gaping opening at quarterback.

Coach Al Luginbill said during a film review session with reporters Friday that he hasn’t decided who will be the Aztecs’ starting quarterback at Hawaii Saturday--Cree Morris or David Lowery.

“Oh, yes, it’s up in the air,” Luginbill said. “No question about that.”

Sound familiar? The Aztecs (2-2) have returned to the same point they were the week before the season started.

Maybe running back T.C. Wright should be thrown into contention--he completed a tailback option pass for 13 yards Thursday, giving him a completion rate of 100%.

Luginbill, though, was not in the mood for jokes Friday. He will sit down with his coaches this weekend and review the offense, which has struggled throughout the season’s first four games.

He is not happy with the production at either the quarterback or wide receiver spots and will evaluate personnel in the next two days.

“Yeah, we’re going to evaluate personnel; you’re darn right,” Luginbill said.

“I feel we need to sit down and decide which direction we’re going to go offensively. We’ve either got to simplify the offense to get production or figure out where our strengths are and zero in on them.”

Luginbill said he will decide Saturday’s quarterback Sunday or Monday. Morris, who has started all four SDSU games, completed eight of 23 passes for 98 yards Thursday. Two of his passes were intercepted. Lowery completed four of 13 for 71 yards and a touchdown in relief of Morris.

“One of them has got to step forward and be our quarterback,” Luginbill said. “We’ve got eight games to play. I think there is enough talent to win. I truly believe that.

“If I’m wrong on that, the guy to blame is me. We brought them here.”

But what concerns Luginbill and the Aztec offensive coaches is that the problem cuts deeper than one position.

“The protection throughout the first four games has been enough to be productive in a passing game,” Luginbill said. “I do not think the wide receivers or quarterback played well as a group. We dropped balls, ran incorrect routes, the quarterback is not getting the ball there. . . .

“To say that all is going to be corrected by changing the quarterback, I think, is fooling yourself. You may get some help there, but a quarterback needs to have help, too.”

The offense has been sporadic at best this year but, since the second half of last week’s Air Force game, has taken several steps backward.

The Aztecs managed only 48 yards of offense in the second half at Air Force, and Morris completed only two of 10 passes during that time. Against UCLA Thursday, the Aztecs couldn’t even score until the fourth quarter.

“The areas we have to zero in on are the receivers and quarterback,” Luginbill said. “That’s what we will do in the next two days.”

Luginbill hopes some answers come to him during this time because he and the offensive coaches are becoming increasingly exasperated. They say they need between 200 and 250 passing yards to run their offense successfully. But Morris passed for only 94 yards at Air Force and 98 before being removed in the third quarter of the UCLA game.

Asked if he thought waiting until less than a week before the start of the season to name a quarterback hurt the Aztec offense, Luginbill shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think so. It’s all conjecture. I don’t have an answer for that.

“I’ve heard it (would have been better) if I named it after spring ball. Who’s to say?”

Regarding Morris’ failure to move the ball, Luginbill said it is a matter of physically not getting the ball there.

“His decision-making is fine,” Luginbill said. “That’s not what’s killing us. It’s production.

“Maybe he’s trying to be too perfect, I don’t know.”

There is a lot right now that the Aztec coaches don’t know. But by the end of the weekend, odds are that Lowery will be in position to make his first collegiate start.

SDSU’s problems weren’t all offensive Thursday. Some were defensive.

UCLA doubled SDSU’s total yardage, 644 to 322.

“They just tried to play smash-mouth football and it worked,” free safety Damon Pieri said. “I was kind of embarrassed to be out there. You try to make the game as close as you can, and they just kept coming. It’s not the game plan. I guess we just didn’t rise to the occasion.

“Everything the coaches said they were going to run, they ran. I guess we just weren’t strong enough.”

Linebacker Andy Coviello said the problem was that SDSU didn’t play as a team.

“We need to make plays. Football players make football plays,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “Twenty-two players have to make football plays. When 22 players don’t make football plays, we’re not going to be successful.”