Numbers Down, but Rowe Up : Aztecs: Wide receiver not having as good a season as last year statistically, but he’s excited about SDSU’s success.

Patrick Rowe remembers the pre-season hype.

He was picked as an All-American by Playboy and several other magazines. He was named as the best receiver in the nation by The Sporting News. He received a full-page spread in his own school’s media guide. “All-American Candidate” read the headline.

The red carpet was rolled out and waiting for Rowe to take a stroll. The nation would be watching.

But first came a new quarterback. Then came a bruise to the right shoulder, in the season-opener against Cal State Long Beach.

So he sat out the season’s second game and came back against Air Force. Then came a bruise to the left shoulder.

He played in pain the next week against UCLA. And then came another new quarterback.

The season is now nine games old. Although he needs only 108 more yards to become SDSU’s all-time receiving leader, he has yet to reach his 1991 per-game average of 126 1/2 yards receiving in any game this year. His best was 102 at Texas El Paso Oct. 19.

His touchdowns are down, also--eight a year ago, two so far this season.

“I’m doing the best I can,” Rowe said after practice Tuesday. “It’s not all about numbers. There’s much more to the game than statistics and what you have going personally.”

Although he spoke slowly, he did not complain. And he smiled frequently.

No, this season is no longer about numbers, because Rowe remembers previous Novembers.

“This is the time I’m going to remember most,” he said. “This is great. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t seen the team have a chance to go to a bowl this late. By this time, it’s always already been decided.”

But suddenly, in his senior season, the Aztecs (7-2, 5-1) are unexpectedly in second place in the Western Athletic Conference and are realistically talking bowl talk. If they can get past Colorado State Saturday, they will be staring at a showdown with Brigham Young in San Diego Nov. 16 for the WAC title.

“Things could be very exciting at Jack Murphy Stadium the next couple of weeks,” Rowe said.

Sometime during this stretch, maybe this Saturday, he should get the 108 yards he needs to become SDSU’s all-time leader. When he does, he said, “you might see some emotion on the field. And, hopefully, I can keep the ball.”

Other receivers have captured the nation’s attention. Michigan’s Desmond Howard is a leading Heisman Trophy candidate. Tennessee’s Carl Pickens will make the All-American teams.

When your numbers are down, people tend to move on to the next guy. A year ago, Rowe set an NCAA record with nine consecutive games in which he had 100 or more yards receiving. This year, Pacific’s Aaron Turner is up to 11 and has knocked Rowe out of the record book.

Rowe has 574 yards this season on 42 receptions. He had 71 catches last season but is on pace for only 57 in 1991.

“I think he’s playing real well,” SDSU receivers’ coach Curtis Johnson said. “He may be playing as good or a little better than a year ago.”

The Aztecs have broken in two new quarterbacks this season--Cree Morris and then David Lowery. Because of that and because of an improved running game--Marshall Faulk has stolen a lot of Rowe’s thunder--the Aztecs haven’t thrown as much.

“He’s a victim of being on a young team,” Johnson said. “When you’ve got young quarterbacks at the beginning of the season . . . When you’re young, you’re young. You’ve got to cut down on a lot of things.”

Last season, the Aztecs had 28 touchdowns rushing and 29 passing. So far in 1991, they have 26 rushing and only 12 passing.

But Rowe has contributed in other ways. Johnson said he is perfect on third-down situations--the Aztecs have thrown 14 catchable balls his way in those situations and he has caught all of them.

And Coach Al Luginbill is pleased.

“I think Patrick has had a really good year considering the fact that we were breaking in two quarterbacks and his injury problems,” Luginbill said. “He’s just now getting to where he’s healthy.

“After the ninth game, he’s caught 40-plus passes--I think that’s an excellent year. It’s not like (defenses) don’t know about him. He’s played extremely well under All-American pressure.

“He’s a true All-American.”

Of course, Rowe would have preferred that some other senior class serve as the guinea pig for a new quarterback. He says the situation took something out of the Aztecs early in the season.

“Looking back, I would say definitely,” he said. “The uncertainty of it all . . .”

And he isn’t exactly overjoyed at SDSU’s new emphasis on the running game.

“It takes a little bit of the fun away,” he admitted. “I’d like to see the ball up 50 times a game.

“But things have changed, and changed for the better.”

Personal honors, he figures, will eventually find him. He has already committed to play in the Senior Bowl. And he has been invited to the Hula Bowl, Japan Bowl, East-West Shrine Game and the Blue-Gray Game.

But that will come later.

For now, for the first November in his SDSU career, his team is alive.

“After the Utah game (two weeks ago), we were walking off the field and someone in the stands yelled, ‘Just beat BYU for us,’ ” Rowe recalled. “(Utah) was a great win. It seemed like we won their fans over.

“To hear that . . . it was a great feeling. ‘Beat BYU for us . . . they can’t play with you guys.’ I was just like, whoa.”

Moments like these, Patrick Rowe will remember.

How could he ever forget?