COLLEGE FOOTBALL / GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI : Clock Ticks on Luginbill After Aztecs’ Mediocrity

The Al Luginbill pink-slip vigil is fully functional and counting the moments until Fred Miller, San Diego State’s athletic director, decides whether to pull the plug on his close friend’s Aztec coaching career.

Miller is lying low until after Saturday’s season finale against Wyoming at Jack Murphy Stadium. Only then, Miller said, will he begin to evaluate Luginbill’s performance.

A nutshell review of Luginbill:

Pro--He recruited a once-in-a-career running back, the amazing Marshall Faulk, and got him the ball.

Con--He failed to take full advantage of Faulk. He had his window of opportunity for national exposure and wasted it on a 5-5-1 season last year and a 6-5 record this year.

Pro--He has never had a losing season.

Con--With the exception of 1991, he has never won more than six games, never won a Western Athletic Conference championship, never done better than one Freedom Bowl appearance, which the Aztecs lost to Tulsa. And because one of San Diego State’s victories this season was against a Division I-AA opponent, the Aztecs need to beat Wyoming to qualify for postseason play.

Pro--Attendance, recruiting coups and graduation rates are up since he took the job.

Con--If Faulk goes pro and the Aztecs go belly up, fans and quality recruits will be in short supply.

Pro--His offense is state of the art.

Con--His defense is state of chaos. Since Luginbill’s arrival in 1989, Aztec defenses have gotten worse in three of the five seasons. The average points allowed in 1989--31.5, in 1990--35.1, in 1991--28.10, in 1992--30.7 and in 1993--31.7. Even more telling: The Aztecs have scored 41, 44 and 37 points in their last three games . . . and lost each one.

Pro--He put San Diego State football on the map.

Con--Now you need a Thomas Guide to find it.

Pro--He deserves another chance.

Con--He deserves a discount coupon for Allied Van Lines.

Stay tuned.

BOWL UPDATE

If there are no upsets this week--and the way this season is going, there shouldn’t be more than half a dozen--the bowl lineup is almost ready for delivery.

The probable matchups:

ORANGE--Nebraska vs. Florida State.

The Game . . . for the moment. If Nebraska loses to Oklahoma on Friday at Lincoln, or West Virginia loses to Boston College on Friday, or Florida State loses to Florida at Gainesville on Saturday, there will be new scenarios aplenty.

ROSE--UCLA vs. Ohio State or Wisconsin.

Wisconsin gets the automatic bid if it defeats Michigan State Dec. 4 at Tokyo because of a Big Ten tiebreaker. According to the rules, when teams tie for the title, the team with the most recent Rose Bowl appearance is eliminated. Ohio State was here after the 1984 season, Wisconsin after 1962.

SUGAR--Florida or Alabama vs. Boston College or Notre Dame.

The Gators and Crimson Tide play in the Southeastern Conference championship game Dec. 4 at Birmingham. The winner goes to New Orleans.

COTTON--Texas A&M; or Texas vs. Notre Dame or West Virginia.

Cotton Bowl officials stiffed the bowl coalition by taking the Irish instead of Florida State last season. They defended the move by saying they were against rematches, which is what they would have had if the Seminoles were invited to face Texas A&M.; Instead, Notre Dame received the bid. Well, so much for the Cotton’s aversion to two in a row.

FIESTA--Arizona vs. West Virginia or Miami.

If Arizona loses to Arizona State on Friday, Fiesta Bowl Executive Director John Junker will be looking for unlocked windows on high floors.

GATOR--North Carolina vs. Florida or Alabama.

HANCOCK--Texas Tech vs. USC.

If Arizona beats Arizona State, the Trojans can start packing for enchanting El Paso.

HOLIDAY--Ohio State or Wisconsin vs. Brigham Young, Wyoming or Fresno State.

The Holiday Bowl, which took a bullet for the Big Ten last season and invited Illinois, called in its marker in 1993. According to its deal with the Big Ten, the Holiday is supposed to get the league’s third team and the Citrus Bowl gets the No. 2 team. But apparently there was an “understanding” that if the Citrus had a repeat team--in this case, Ohio State--the Holiday would have the option to choose the Buckeyes. If Wisconsin goes to the Rose Bowl, the Holiday will do exactly that. As for the opponent, Fresno has the inside track, followed by BYU and then Wyoming.

CITRUS--Penn State vs. Tennessee.

How proud the Southeastern Conference must be. It’s possible, if not probable, that the Volunteers will be higher ranked than the teams playing in the SEC championship game. Tennessee is No. 6 in the Associated Press poll, Florida is No. 7, Alabama is No. 17.

HALL OF FAME--Michigan vs. North Carolina State.

PEACH--Kentucky vs. Clemson.

With late-season victories over Virginia and archrival South Carolina, Clemson Coach Ken Hatfield thought he had earned a contract extension. He thought wrong. Clemson said no, so Hatfield resigned Wednesday.

COPPER--Kansas State vs. BYU, Wyoming or Fresno State.

ALOHA--Oklahoma vs. San Diego State, Fresno State or Hawaii.

ABC, which is doing the game, might pressure the Aloha to take the Aztecs because of Faulk. First, though, San Diego State has to beat Wyoming, or it isn’t going anywhere.

LIBERTY--Michigan State vs. Louisville.

CARQUEST (formerly Blockbuster)--Louisiana State or Virginia vs. Boston College or Miami.

LSU is in if it beats Arkansas Saturday.

ALAMO--Iowa vs. Arizona State or California.

FREEDOM--USC, Cal or Arizona State vs. Utah, Wyoming, Fresno State or San Diego State.

We’re as confused as Trojan Athletic Director Mike Garrett.

LAS VEGAS--Ball State vs. Utah State.

WHO’S NO. 1?

Unlike West Virginia’s Don Nehlen, who has all but purchased a soap box for his weekly “We-Don’t-Get-Respect” lecture series, Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne has taken the high road when it comes to the polls.

Typical Nehlen: “Well, like I say, I’m of the opinion that anytime you don’t lose is a hell of a lot better than anytime you do lose.”

Typical Osborne: “The important thing is for us to finish out the season well and play against Oklahoma. The only thing the polls mean to me is that it gives us a chance to end up pretty good nationally. And I guess if you are in athletics, that is all you ask for, is a chance.”

Typical Nehlen: “We’re just as deserving (for No. 1 consideration) as anyone else, that’s for dang-gum sure. I don’t know who that anyone else is, but I know we’re 10-0.”

Typical Osborne: “I think many times people will try to count their eggs before they hatch a little bit and look ahead, and I think that would be a real mistake, particularly for coaches and players.”

Osborne was talking about his team, which plays No. 16 Oklahoma on Friday, but it wouldn’t hurt if Nehlen saw those remarks. The Mountaineers travel to Boston College, which means the Eagles could ruin two undefeated seasons in as many weeks. Last Saturday it was Notre Dame. bhis week, maybe West Virginia.

And for what it’s worth, Miami wide receiver Chris T. Jones offered his appraisal of West Virginia and the Mountaineers’ quest for recognition and the No. 1 ranking: “They’re a good football team, but they’re not on the caliber of Florida State.”

THE REST

--If Auburn, which is serving time in the NCAA big house and thus is ineligible for postseason play, were the only undefeated team Jan. 2, the Tigers could expect to receive at least one vote as No. 1. The voter? Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, whose son, Terry, led the Tigers to an 11-0 record as a rookie coach.

“Yes, but I’m prejudiced,” Bobby Bowden said, adding, “He’s the only son I’ve got who can’t go anywhere but down.”

--A gracious Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz made no excuses for the Irish’s loss against Boston College. Then again, how could he? Notre Dame gave up 41 points at home, blew a last-minute lead and dropped what would have been a game-saving interception. By doing so, the Irish skidded to No. 5 in the coalition poll and probably lost a chance at a national championship.

“I always thought Notre Dame drops a little more than normal,” he said. Holtz might be right. Still, he hasn’t given up hope for a minor miracle. “We could be lucky,” he said. “All we need is two of those three teams (Nebraska, Florida State or West Virginia) to lose.”

--Grotto-cam lives! NBC, which televises Notre Dame’s home games, outdid itself during the waning moments of last Saturday’s thriller. Viewers, some of them actually Catholic, were treated to a shot of votive candles burning at the Notre Dame grotto, as well as a close-up of the gold cross atop Sacred Heart church on campus. Next year’s possibilities: Nuns gripping rosary beads.

--Before dismissing Faulk’s junior season at San Diego State as sub-par, consider this: His all-purpose yardage (181 per game) is actually higher than that of either his freshman or sophomore season. Earlier this week, Faulk said he would wait until the end of the season before deciding whether to go pro. As for Darnay Scott, the Aztecs’ star receiver said he definitely will return for his senior year.

--Tinkering with the bowl coalition agreement continues. If the Fiesta Bowl’s Junker has his way, an adjustment will be made concerning teams on probation. Because Auburn is ineligible for the USA Today/CNN coaches’ poll, the Tigers’ AP points are doubled and used for the coalition standings. In the future, programs on probation might be discarded from the coalition poll mix.

Meanwhile, Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese now says he wants the bowl alliance to devise its own poll system to determine postseason matchups. Tranghese is miffed that West Virginia, a Big East member, might be frozen out of the national championship race. Funny, you didn’t hear a peep from Tranghese last year when Miami, another Big East entry, played Alabama for the national title.

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski

No. Team Record 1. Florida State 10-1 2. Nebraska 10-0 3. Notre Dame 10-1 4. Auburn 11-0 5. West Virginia 10-0 6. Tennessee 8-1-1 7. Florida 9-1 8. Texas A&M; 9-1 9. Wisconsin 8-1-1 10. Boston College 8-2

Waiting list: Miami (8-2), North Carolina (9-2), Ohio State (9-1-1), Penn State (8-2), UCLA (8-3).