AZTEC NOTEBOOK / SCOTT MILLER : Performance Lauded by Bowl Scouts

Freedom Bowl and Copper Bowl scouts were impressed with San Diego State’s first-half performance during the Aztecs’ 24-22 victory Saturday over Wyoming, and both representatives said their bowls will be back to scout the Aztecs next week.

SDSU, in second place in the Western Athletic Conference and in the running for the league’s automatic berth in the Holiday Bowl, is one of several teams being considered by the Freedom (Dec. 30 in Anaheim) and the Copper (Dec. 31 in Tucson, Ariz.).

Don Andersen, executive president of the Freedom Bowl, said his bowl intends to scout SDSU on Saturday against Colorado State and Nov. 16 against Brigham Young.

“I’m impressed by their speed,” Andersen said, who said his bowl is considering eight or nine teams. “They have a lot of weapons.”

“If we could get a California Pac-10 school, we’d take one of those right now,” Andersen said. “The second school will in all likelihood come from the (WAC) or the Big Eight.

“It’s not likely that we will get a Nebraska or Oklahoma or Colorado, so the next important thing is that we have a good team that will bring people into the stadium.”

Andersen said he isn’t bothered by SDSU’s traditionally poor attendance.

“We’ve looked at it and theirs, next to BYU’s, is probably as good as anybody else in the league,” he said.

He also said the WAC’s policy of guaranteeing the purchase of one-sixth of the tickets to any bowl involving a WAC team is appealing.

Bob Logan, who formerly coached with USC Coach Larry Smith at Arizona, was on hand from the Copper Bowl and had a reaction similar to Andersen’s.

“San Diego State looks pretty darn good,” Logan said. “I think they’d be a good team for us. It’s only a drive away for San Diego people, and they have a chance to win eight games--and nine with an upset (of Miami).

“An eight- or nine-win team in the Copper Bowl would be a nice feather in our cap.”

Logan said SDSU’s attendance is “kind of a concern” but also pointed to the WAC’s guarantee.

Logan said the Copper Bowl is looking at about 10 teams, including SDSU and Utah in the WAC, Stanford in the Pac-10 and Indiana, Illinois and Ohio State in the Big Ten.

“We’d like to get some Midwest team to come out,” Logan said. “Tucson has a lot of snowbirds--a lot of Midwest people.”

SDSU Notes

Wyoming quarterback Tom Corontzos moved ahead of former SDSU quarterback Dan McGwire into ninth place on the all-time WAC passing list in the second quarter Saturday night. . . . Receiver Robert Rivers, whose 742 receiving yards leads the Cowboys this season, suffered a sprained ankle on the opening kickoff and did not return. Of course, injuries are nothing new to the Cowboys this season--already, 21 Wyoming players have undergone surgeries. . . . SDSU offensive tackle Carlson Leomiti (ankle sprain) and cornerback Gary Taylor (groin strain) each returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Oct. 12. Both players were injured in the SDSU-New Mexico game Oct. 12. . . . SDSU is not the only school concerned with Marshall Faulk’s return. Indiana’s sports information office called SDSU this week wondering if Faulk would be playing against Wyoming. The catch: Indiana’s Vaughn Dunbar is second in the nation in rushing, trailing only Faulk.