Aztecs Ranked 23rd, Set Their Sights Higher : College football: Tie with USC, victory over BYU gets them in the Associated Press poll. Luginbill says more hard work is needed to stay there and move up.

The San Diego State Aztecs, who never could beat a top-25 team, did so Thursday and now have joined that illustrious group.

The Aztecs are ranked 23rd in the Associated Press college football poll.

Time for celebration, right? Wrong, said Coach Al Luginbill.

Time for the Aztecs to recognize they quickly have become a top team and a target for eager, upset-minded teams. In addition Marshall Faulk has become a favorite in the race for the Heisman Trophy.

“This is my 25th year in athletics,” Luginbill said. “I think it’s a little soon to get overly excited about it. We’ve got to work our tail off to stay where we are now. We’re going to take everybody’s best shot from here on.”

This is what happens after a team opens by tying USC (31-31) and beating BYU (45-38).

If being in the top 25 means added pressure, David Lowery, the Aztecs’ fiery quarterback, says bring it on.

“I don’t think we want to get caught up in this ranking stuff, because we are ranked only 23rd,” said Lowery. “I want to be a little bit higher than that, and if we go out and win a couple more games, we will be. That’s what we need to do.”

The Aztecs (1-0-1) couldn’t hold onto a big lead in their big game with BYU last year and had to settle for a tie, 52-52. After a disappointing tie with USC, the Aztecs may have reached a new level with their victory over the Cougars.

“It feels good. People are finally starting to recognize our school,” said Lowery. “But we’ve still got a long season to go and hopefully we’ll get higher.

“We finally got a break (against BYU, a fumble recovery in the final moments that might have rescued the Aztecs from yet another tie). We haven’t really got a lot of breaks over the past couple years. We’ve got a good football team. Maybe it’ll make us want to play harder and win more . . . I know we should have beat USC . . .”

“We’re there,” said Luginbill. “Now the challenge is to stay there, to stay focused on each individual game, because we’ve got the schedule. The key is where we end up in November. To be in there is crucial to us. To stay there is even more crucial.”

Which brings up two immediate concerns: SDSU’s defense and its next opponent, 15th-ranked UCLA.

The Aztecs never have beaten the Bruins, whom they play Sept. 26 in the Rose Bowl. Despite losing quarterbacks Tommy Maddox (to the NFL) and Wayne Cook (to a knee injury), UCLA figures to be another tough test for the Aztecs defense, which has given up 658 passing yards, nine passing touchdowns and 1,004 total net yards to the opposition in eight quarters.

Although the Aztecs are ranked for the first time since 1977, when they were ranked No. 16, one thing hasn’t changed. Their defense is ranked 102nd out of 107 teams in Division I. Only San Jose State, Minnesota, Navy and Northwestern have worse statistics. The Aztecs defense finished 1991 ranked 103rd out of 106.

“Playing the people we have, we deserve the ranking, but it really doesn’t mean a whole lot right now,” said secondary coach Ron Mims, an SDSU assistant since 1986. “This is a long season and we’ve got a lot to get done yet.”

In 1977, the Aztecs finished 10-1 and beat the likes of Arizona (21-14) and Florida State (41-16).