Aztecs Plan to Play Off Emotions : College football: Holiday Bowl is on the line when San Diego State plays host to Fresno State.

Linebacker Tracey Mao has no idea what he is going to say. A few thoughts have crossed his mind, but he doesn’t like to prepare anything formally.

In moments such as these, he figures, it is best to let emotion take charge.

So the SDSU coaches will leave their locker room a few minutes before the Aztecs take the field for today’s 12:30 p.m. Western Athletic Conference game against Fresno State, and the players will be left alone.

One by one, the seniors will get up to offer a few words. The ritual started last week, before the Hawaii game, after a four-hour team meeting called to inject enthusiasm back into the team.

“It’s our time to get fired up,” Mao explained.

They shouldn’t need to say much. The stakes are clear: If the Aztecs (5-3-1, 5-2) win, they are WAC champions and will earn the conference’s $1.5-million Holiday Bowl berth. If they lose, they will not be invited to any bowl.

A year after their 52-52 debacle with Brigham Young, which knocked them out of last year’s Holiday Bowl, two months after a 35-7 embarrassment at UCLA and two weeks after an inexcusable 17-6 loss at Wyoming, the resilient Aztecs have a copyright on the phrase that only a handful of teams can utter in late November:

They control their destiny.

For the first time in its 31-year history, the WAC champion will have two conference losses, but the unranked Aztecs ain’t too proud to beg.

“Championships are won in November,” SDSU Coach Al Luginbill said. “We’re here. We’re not here the way people wanted us to be, but we’re here.”

And as the Aztecs remained in contention, there became an increasing feeling among team members that good things are meant to be.

At least, that’s the way the team’s six fifth-year seniors feel about it.

“I don’t think in my past years we’ve had an opportunity like we’ve been given this year,” Mao said. “We were alone on top of the WAC. Then we lost to Air Force but we could still go (to the Holiday Bowl). Then we had two losses but could still go.

“Somebody wants us to win this thing.”

Barbara Bush showed Hillary Clinton around the White House this week; the Aztecs hope to show Fresno State (6-4, 4-2) a few things about WAC football as the Bulldogs finish their debut conference season.

“We’re just going to do the same ol’ thing we do to everyone else,” offensive lineman Carlson Leomiti said. “There ain’t no particular thing they’re weak or strong on. They’re just there.”

Said quarterback David Lowery: “Basically, it comes down to our receivers separating from their defensive backs and me throwing the ball accurately. They play in-your-face defense, five or six guys coming all the time. I’m going to be getting hit.

“Our receivers are going to have someone in their faces. They have to get good separation and stay on their feet and catch the ball.”

The Bulldogs, though, might be able to match SDSU step-for-step. Hopefully, Aztec athletic officials thought to take out extra health insurance on today’s scoreboard operator and statisticians:

* Fresno State is first in the WAC and fourth nationally in total offense at 473.4 yards per game; the Aztecs are third in the WAC and 11th nationally at 446.8.

* Fresno State is first nationally and in the conference in scoring offense at 39.8 points per game; the Aztecs are third in the conference and 12th nationally at 30.7 points per game.

So it figures that, despite Lowery and Marshall Faulk and Co., this game could come down to an Aztec defensive unit that has been playing its best football in Luginbill’s four years at the helm.

The Aztec defense has held each of its past six opponents to three or fewer touchdowns, but today’s game will be its biggest test since the UCLA game. Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer is second in the WAC in passing efficiency and running backs Lorenzo Neal, Ron Rivers and Anthony Daigle and receivers Malcolm Seabron, Tydus Winens and Michael Ross are all dangerous.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons, they’re big and they use a lot of formations to try to screw you up,” said SDSU linebacker Shawn Smith. “They’re so unorthodox. They remind me of the Washington Redskins with all their shifts.

“They try to get you worrying about other things than what you’re supposed to be doing. If you’re not playing your game, they will blow you out.”

In fact, the Fresno State offense has the Aztecs mumbling phrases usually reserved for those opposing SDSU.

“I’d love to tell you we’re going to shut them out but it’s more of a containment and keeping them out of the end zone,” Luginbill said.

And the containment will start with the defensive line.

“You can’t let (Dilfer) sit in there,” Luginbill said. “He’s too good to let him sit in there and have his way. . . .

“They spread it around so well. They have a lot of good wideouts, not just one or two. We’re going to have to stay fresh at cornerback.”

Luginbill is also wary of Fresno State trickery. The Aztecs have gotten burned two of three times opponents have tried the fumblerooski play this season.

“They’ll do something early in the game that they haven’t done before to get the ball downfield and trick you,” Luginbill said. “They do it to everybody. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Maybe Mao will talk about trick plays before the game, tell his teammates to concentrate and do what they’ve done in practice all week. Maybe he will talk about the Holiday Bowl and the WAC title.

And maybe the Aztecs will remember last year’s BYU game, when they had a four-touchdown lead, were on their way to the Holiday Bowl . . . and fumbled it all away.

They have learned, they say.

“Last year was more of a childish excitement, not being in that position before,” Lowery said. “Now, it’s a serious excitement. We’ve been there before.

“Hopefully it won’t be such a both-sided shootout. Maybe it will be one-sided, for us.

Aztec Notes

SDSU is expecting a crowd of about 46,000 for today’s game. . . . The Aztecs are undecided whether Sam Williford or John McCartney will start at strong safety today. . . . Defensive lineman Ramondo Stallings (ankle) and linebacker Terrill Steen (knee) are both expected to play today, and a decision will be made on defensive lineman Turaj Smith (dislocated toe) before game time. . . .

ABC will televise today’s game at 12:30 with Steve Zabriskie and Bo Schembechler announcing. These are the two that announced the SDSU-Wyoming game and were blatantly unprepared. Zabriskie caught site of SDSU mascot Monty Montezuma and said he was Wyoming’s mascot--part of that rich Wyoming cowboy heritage, Zabriskie said. Huh? As for Schembechler, he continually misidentified players or identified them by their numbers only. This is the guy who was president of the Detroit Tigers when they fired Ernie Harwell, a Hall of Fame broadcaster, and a national network lets him behind a microphone?