Aztecs Put the Wraps on Rainbows : College football: Faulk leads 675-yard offensive effort with 300 yards rushing in San Diego State’s 52-28 victory over Hawaii.

Faced with extinction from the Western Athletic Conference race, San Diego State dug into its bag of tricks Saturday night against Hawaii and came up with . . . an offense that actually found its way to the end zone.

Following Marshall Faulk, who broke loose for 300 yards rushing and four touchdowns, the Aztecs collected 675 yards of total offense to leave them somewhere over the Rainbows, 52-28.

The Aztecs (5-3-1, 5-2 in the WAC) can wrap up the WAC title and a $1.5 million Holiday Bowl berth--to be split between SDSU and conference teams--with a victory at home Saturday over Fresno State.

No. 24 Hawaii (7-2, 5-2) would have clinched the WAC title with a victory, but the Aztecs, after an emotional team meeting Monday, succeeded in a weeklong promise to inject some life into their play.

They were so emotional by the end of it that SDSU Coach Al Luginbill was doing his best to imitate Fonzie from “Happy Days”.

“Being non-emotional is not cool at San Diego State anymore,” Coach Al Luginbill said. “We’re going to play with emotion, enthusiasm, aggressiveness and tenacity. It’s going to be our trademark at San Diego State from now on.”

They don’t need to look much further than jersey No. 28 for a trademark. Faulk, in front of 50,021 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, became only the second player at the Division I level to surpass 3,000 yards in his first two seasons. Georgia’s Herschel Walker did it first in 1980-1981. Faulk now has 3,038 yards.

“I don’t think about that,” Faulk said. “Winning is the most important to me. I didn’t know if I was close (to 3,000). I didn’t know about it.

“It’s not like I’m keeping track of my records.”

The Aztecs had 330 yards rushing and 345 passing. Hawaii, which came into the game ranked third nationally in rushing yards per game, had only 190.

SDSU quarterback David Lowery completed 21 of 31 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns.

“That’s what this offense is about,” Faulk said. “We’re a passing team. If the passing is there, they ain’t going to stop the run.”

Faulk’s 300 yards was the second-best of his career, behind last season’s then-NCAA-record 386 yards against Pacific. The 43 carries were a career high for Faulk, surpassing his previous high of 37, also against Pacific.

Faulk’s only problem was that he won’t be able to figure out how to play Hawaii more than once a season. In two games against Hawaii, he now has 512 yards and nine touchdowns.

This against a team that, after an early-season victory over Texas El Paso, was touting its running back, Travis Sims, for the Heisman Trophy. After that game, several Rainbow players were heard yelling, “Watch out Marshall, Sims for the Heisman!”

Sims, ranked fourth nationally in rushing, was held to 55 yards.

Rainbow players also were fitted recently for WAC championship rings.

The Aztecs, knowing a loss would eliminate them from any bowl, were determined not to let an already disappointing season get worse.

“I left everything on the field, like Coach Luginbill asked us to do,” Faulk said.

Luginbill credited the work of the offensive line, and most of the players credited the six-hour meeting on Monday.

“Definitely,” Lowery said. “I could tell in the offensive linemen’s eyes every time we went up to the ball. They were telling (Faulk), ‘Just follow me--you’ll get a hole.’ ”

Said offensive tackle Tony Nichols: “That’s our glory, too.”

The Aztecs, who had lost two of three, scored more points in the first half--24--than they totaled in any of their previous three games.

And a team having trouble scoring in the inside the opponents’ 20 solved that problem on Saturday simply by not moving into that zone, in most cases, before scoring.

The Aztecs long-distance plan featured Faulk scoring on runs of 68 and 17 yards, Darnay Scott catching a 42-yard touchdown pass from Lowery and redshirt freshman DeAndre Maxwell hauling in scoring passes of 36 and 47 yards from Lowery.

After six lead changes through 2 1/2 quarters, the Aztecs seized control on the back-to-back long scoring passes to Maxwell.

“He’s very talented,” SDSU receivers coach Curtis Johnson said. “If I can get him to line up right all the time and run the right plays, he’ll be a great one.”

Said Hawaii Coach Bob Wagner: “Give SDSU credit for turning it up a notch in the second half. We wanted to slow down the run. Give them credit; they have good skill.”

By the end of it, the Aztecs were cautiously giddy. Asked if they could have played with any team in the country on this evening, Luginbill didn’t hesitate.

“Yes,” he said. “No question.”

And a quick agreement came from the back of the room.

“Yes,” SDSU Athletic Director Fred Miller said. “Yes, yes, yes.”

What they need to be concerned about is playing Fresno State. A victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday clinches a Holiday Bowl berth for SDSU; a loss eliminates them.

“We’re on a high right now,” Nichols said. “But as everyone said going into the locker room, we’ve got to do it next week, too.”

The game would have been tied at halftime had Jason Elam’s 57-yard field-goal attempt not bounced off of the crossbar in the waning seconds of the first half.

As it was, the kick pretty much summarized the half: Long distances and crazy bounces.

There were a combined 323 yards of total offense--in the first quarter.

The Aztecs had 362 yards in total offense--by halftime.

Both teams stepped onto the field ready to go.

The Aztecs moved 55 yards on their first drive before settling for a 29-yard Andy Trakas field goal, then watched Faulk break loose on a career-long 68-yard touchdown run on their next possession.

Then they allowed their momentum to escape like handfuls of water.

Sparked by a 38-yard run by quarterback Michael Carter, Hawaii scored on the ensuing possession when Ivin Jasper capped the 79-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run.

One minute later, Joe Shaw picked off a badly misdirected Lowery pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown, giving Hawaii a 14-10 lead.

The Aztecs weren’t impressed. Four plays later, Lowery threw 42 yards to Scott, who was double-covered in the end zone. Scott went up, split the defenders and came down with the ball, putting the Aztecs back ahead, 17-14.

Hawaii’s Sims went 40 yards on the Rainbows’ next possession to give the Rainbows another short-lived lead, 21-17, before Faulk scampered 17 yards with 11:02 left in the half to put the Aztecs on top, 24-21.

Walker-Faulk Comparison

A comparison of the freshman and sophomore seasons of running backs Herschel Walker and Marshall Faulk, the only sophomores to exceed 3,000 career yards rushing:

HERSCHEL WALKER School, Year G Att Yds Avg TD YPG Georgia, Fr 11 274 1616 5.9 15 146.9 Georgia, Soph 11 385 1891 4.9 20 171.0 Totals 22 659 3507 5.3 35 159.4

MARSHALL FAULK School, Year G Att Yds Avg TD YPG San Diego St., Fr 9 201 1429 7.1 21 158.8 San Diego St., Soph 9 263 1609 6.1 14 178.8 Totals 18 464 3038 6.5 35 168.8