Aztecs Crash, Burn Against Air Force : Football: Falcons use blocked punt, fumblerooski to spark a 20-17 upset of SDSU.

Coach Al Luginbill guaranteed that people would see a “different” San Diego State football team against Air Force than the last time the Aztecs were on national television.

Of course, he never said the Aztecs would win.

SDSU ran into a blocked punt and a fumblerooski on its march toward the Western Athletic Conference championship Saturday against Air Force and, by the end of it, the Falcons looked more like circling buzzards en route to a 20-17 upset of the Aztecs.

The game certainly was different than the 35-7 spanking by UCLA to which Luginbill referred. This time, the Aztecs at least remained competitive. And, Marshall Faulk did not break a long touchdown run--he was held out of the end zone for only the second time in his 16-game SDSU career.

There was one similarity, though: The Aztecs made mistakes in the clutch.

Trailing, 20-17, the Aztecs got the ball back at their own 27 for a last-ditch effort with 2:41 to play. David Lowery passed nine yards to Faulk on first down but was sacked by defensive end Vergil Simpson for a loss of seven on second.

Lowery passed seven yards to Darnay Scott on third down, setting up a fourth-and-one from the Aztec 36.

And that’s when things became muddied.

Lowery remembers the game clock reading 1:36 and the 30-second play clock reading :14.

“I thought we had a first down (on Scott’s reception),” Lowery said. “We figured out we didn’t and I guess we just got our communication mixed up.”

A running play for Faulk, who would finish with 129 yards, was sent in from the sidelines, and Faulk never had a chance. He was smothered by Simpson for a loss of three, and the Aztecs (3-2-1, 3-1) dropped into a tie with Hawaii for first place.

“I thought it was ‘Left 34,’ ” Lowery said. “Some guys thought it was a ‘Right 34.’ We had about four different things going on. We should have taken a timeout.”

Said Faulk: “We had a miscommunication. I choose not to talk about it. I thought they said one thing. In that situation, we’ve got to handle it better if we want to be a championship team.”

Added Luginbill: “We were not smooth at all on the play, and that comes back to me. We wanted them in the huddle a little longer.”

As Jay Leno might say, the Aztecs came up a few tacos short of a combination plate--and it was that way much of the evening.

The game turned on the outstretched arms of cadet Mike Rodgers, a 5-foot-9 cornerback and special teams player, and the legs of beefy cadet Jim Remsey, a 6-4, 280-pound offensive guard.

“Our coaches told us that they were a big-play team, and teams like that get frustrated if they can’t get one,” said Air Force defensive back Carlton McDonald, the nation’s interception leader. “We limited them tonight.”

Instead, the big plays belonged to Air Force, and they both came in the third quarter.

Rodgers’ figured first, when he blew past Aztec protection to bat down a Scott Oatsvall punt with nine minutes remaining in the third and the Aztecs ahead, 14-6. It was Air Force’s eighth blocked kick of the season.

McDonald picked up the ball at the SDSU 33 and went in for a touchdown. Air Force (6-2, 4-2) missed a two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score 14-12.

“I don’t want to say until I look at the films, but I believe my double-bumper and personal protector went for the outside guy,” Aztec punter Scott Oatsvall said.

Translated, Gary Taylor and Wayne Pittman both blocked McDonald, leaving Rodgers untouched. More miscommunication.

Then, after an Aztec drive stalled and Oatsvall got off a successful punt, the Falcons were at their own 45 when they pulled a play older than George Burns.

On third and 15, center Erik Mitchell snapped the ball against quarterback Jarvis Baker’s hands and then set it down on the ground. Remsey lumbered around, snatched the ball, squeezed it tightly and, as inconspicuously as an offensive lineman can, turned upfield.

“I hadn’t run it in (practice) in a couple of weeks,” Remsey said. “I had them call it twice in the huddle. My eyes got real big. All of a sudden I’m running the football.”

Running in the most loosely translated sense of the word, but he was moving nonetheless. He went wide left and saw a wide-open patch of grass.

“It was incredible,” Remsey said. “I had never done it before. I’m always blocking for the backs. They’re getting all of the touchdowns.”

Alas, Remsey came up short. Darrell Lewis caught up to him 51 yards later, at the Aztec four. The Aztecs nearly got the ball back on the next play when Obasi Onuoha appeared to fumble on a run to the left. Lewis grabbed the ball and started upfield, but officials ruled Onuoha was downed before the ball came loose.

Two plays later, Onuoha went in from the three, and then Baker ran in for a two-point conversion, making it 20-14.

And Remsey was left without that crossing-the-goal-line feeling.

“It would have been great for the record books,” Remsey said. “All I saw was the end zone coming.”

The fumblerooski caught the Aztecs completely off-guard.

“We did not practice it,” Luginbill acknowledged. “We will make sure we do from this point on. They took a real chance there and it worked for them.”

The Aztecs, who were held to two touchdowns, could count their highlights in the time it takes to blink. One was Scott’s 54-yard kick return early in the second quarter, which helped set up a nine-yard touchdown pass from Lowery to Marc Ziegler. Another was a 44-yard Lowery-to-Keith Williams third-quarter touchdown pass.

Andy Trakas’ 33-yard field goal with 11:41 left in the game finished their scoring. Trakas later missed an attempt from 49 yards that would have tied the game.

“If we go out there and don’t make mistakes, we beat them because we have better athletes,” Lowery said. “They weren’t going to make mistakes. They didn’t; we did. That’s what the difference was.”