Will Real Aztecs Appear? : College football: Luginbill guarantees SDSU will look better this time for TV audience. Aztecs play Air Force at 4:30.

Alone in first place for the first time since the end of the 1986 season, the stakes have been set tonight for San Diego State.

Coach Al Luginbill has guaranteed the Aztecs will play better against Air Force than the last time they were on national television, a 35-7 embarrassment Sept. 26 at UCLA. The Aztecs and Falcons kick off at 4:30 p.m. today in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in a game being broadcast nationally on ESPN.

“He’s basically on track,” receiver Keith Williams said of Luginbill’s guarantee. “We don’t want to look bad on national TV again. We’re going to be concentrating from the first play of the first quarter to the last play of the fourth quarter.

“(Luginbill) told us that we should prove to the country that we’re not as bad as the Aztecs were the last time we were on TV.”

Said quarterback David Lowery: “I sure hope so. If we are anything like we were the last time, we’re going to get our butts kicked.”

The Aztecs (3-1-1, 3-0) are off to their first 3-0 Western Athletic Conference start since 1986. Since joining the WAC in 1978, the Aztecs have never started 4-0.

However, their one loss continues to haunt them. After tying USC and defeating Brigham Young, the Aztecs landed in the Associated Press top 25 for the first time since 1977--and promptly went out and self-destructed against the Bruins.

The Aztecs have not appeared in the top 25 since. As a result, redemption has been at the forefront of Luginbill’s mind.

“I’m so excited and looking forward so much to Saturday’s game because it is on national TV,” Luginbill said on Sunday, less than 24 hours after SDSU steamrolled Texas El Paso, 49-27. “I guarantee you as we sit here that you will see a different football team than the one that played on national TV the last time out.

“I usually don’t guarantee anything.”

Television is playing a bigger role than ever before at SDSU. Largely because of Marshall Faulk’s run for the Heisman Trophy, the Aztecs have been hypersensitive to the tube. Luginbill criticized ESPN commentators who moved Georgia’s Garrison Hearst into Faulk’s company last weekend, citing a Georgia schedule that includes weak Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern and Cal State Fullerton.

Vanderbilt is ranked 36th nationally in total defense. Air Force (5-2, 3-2) is second in the WAC in that category but 70th nationally.

As usual, the Aztecs will need a big game from Faulk today, although there is some debate as to what constitutes a big game from him anymore. UTEP, often putting eight and nine men on the line of scrimmage, held Faulk to 156 yards. Although Miner Coach David Lee was pleased, Luginbill bristled at those who suggested UTEP contained Faulk.

Faulk, who needs 198 yards to set an all-time SDSU rushing record, acknowledges he is in a no-win situation now that the Aztecs are finished with USC and UCLA and are in the WAC portion of their schedule.

“That’s starting to happen to me a lot,” said Faulk, who also needs only two more touchdowns to set another school record. “Whatever happens, they’re finding an excuse for whatever I do.

“If I have 250-some yards this week, it’s not going to be because the offensive line blocked good and we played well. It will be because Air Force didn’t play a good game.

“It’s just the way people look at things. I’m hearing about it every day.”

Part of the reason Luginbill guaranteed an excellent performance tonight is because the Aztec offense has started clicking after an inconsistent start. It has gained 1,191 yards and scored 98 points in the past two weeks.

Lowery’s strained back is almost healed, center Mike Alexander, who has basically missed the past three games, will return tonight, and a crop of young receivers has gained enough experience so that they and Lowery are beginning to think alike.

“The quarterback has really played well the last couple of weeks,” said Bret Ingalls, SDSU offensive coordinator. “He’s come back off of that injury and is more confident and more aggressive in what he is doing. Before, I think he was hesitant.”

A key matchup tonight will be Darnay Scott and other Aztec receivers against Air Force cornerback Carlton McDonald. Scott set a WAC record with 274 yards receiving last week; McDonald leads the nation with seven interceptions.

Another key area is special teams, where Air Force already has blocked seven kicks this season.

“They have taken special teams to a new level,” Luginbill said. “They will be the best special-teams team we have played, and that includes Miami. It will be a great challenge for our kids.

“We’ve just got to come out of it breaking even with special teams and I will feel comfortable in that area.”

Now that they are in first place--a position none of them are familiar with--the Aztecs should continue their education. As kings of the hill, every opponent will be gunning for them.

SDSU players, though, say that being in first place will not swell their heads as did the top-25 ranking last month.

“I don’t think of that,” Lowery said. “We still have to go win games. If we don’t, we won’t win the championship. It doesn’t matter what place we’re in.”

Added Williams: “It will be weird to win the championship. I’ll feel weird when we do that. But I don’t feel weird in first place.”

Luginbill, meanwhile, continues to search for that perfect game.

“I still do not believe we’ve come close to playing our best game,” Luginbill said. “Offensively, defensively, special teams or as a team.

“I’d like to think we’re focusing on putting a group of games together back-to-back toward winning this conference.”

Aztec Notes

The Aztecs are expecting a crowd of about 41,000 tonight. . . . The Falcons lead the WAC in rushing and are sixth nationally at 266.7 yards per game. Quarterback Jarvis Baker ranks 11th in the WAC in total offense at 121.3 yards per game. . . . The Falcons are not expected to play eight- and nine-man defensive fronts to stop Marshall Faulk. “We’re going to play our base defense,” Air Force Coach Fisher DeBerry said. “I don’t think you can go into a game and change everything to stop one guy.” . . . Air Force, in third place in the WAC, has won nine of the 12 games played between the two teams--including last season’s game in Colorado Springs, 21-20. . . . In addition to a live broadcast on ESPN, today’s game will be shown on Prime Ticket at 2 p.m. Sunday. . . . Defensive lineman Tyrone Morrison’s reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament went as well as expected, trainer Brian Barry said. He will begin his rehabilitation on Sunday under the guidance of Teresa Jones and Russ Romano.