For SDSU: New season, Old result

Lindley Started Fast, But Then Faded Against UCLA (AP Photo)

I’m an Aztec, have been ever since I went to school at SDSU in the early 80’s. Furthermore, I’m the radio color commentator for Aztec football. I know a lot of the kids, and like all the ones that I know.

I’ve met Brady Hoke, and hung out with the new Aztec football coach. Like him a lot (and I’m pretty sure you’d like him a lot, too). Al Borges, the new offensive coordinator, and Rocky Long, the new defensive coordinator, are both solid guys.

I root for the Red And Black. I bleed red (and black). Every fall a new season comes along, and with it comes a ray of hope. This year, with Hoke and his crack staff in place, even more hope than usual.

And then…the season actually begins. And though a lot seems new and exciting, the results are old and predictable. Here we go again.

Actually, there were a lot of things to like Saturday evening when San Diego State opened its 2009 football season at the Rose Bowl against UCLA. We’ll get to those things in a moment.

But the bottom line is, even though the Aztecs made a couple of big plays early and played tough in stretches, they lost. And, I don’t know about you, but when the final tally is 33-14 in favor of the Bruins, well…let’s just say I don’t see a whole lot to be happy about.

SDSU, which vowed to the run the ball more often and far better than it did last year, ran into a brick wall of baby blue and gold Saturday evening: 18 rushes for just 39 yards. The longest running play of the night was eight yards. Borges, who said it was imperative for his offense to be an equal balance of pass and run, instead had to pass it 45 times out of 63 snaps.

The offense, which blazed its way to touchdowns on its first two drives of the game for a 14-3 lead, collapsed almost completely after that, gaining just 127 yards total on its final 13 possessions. The drive chart for SDSU was: TD, TD, punt, interception (on a razzle-dazzle play that fizzled), punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt (that’s six in a row), blocked field goal, punt, turnover on downs, interception, interception. 

Quarterback Ryan Lindley, who connected on 7 of his first 12 throws, went 11-for-33 after that (with three interceptions). UCLA rushed only four all game long, dropped seven into coverage and took away his passing lanes. All in all, for the sophomore, it was a rather pedestrian evening at best.

The special teams could have only hoped for a pedestrian performance. Instead they were only a half-step or so above awful. In a fashion that Aztec fans have become all too familiar with over the years, two monumental breakdowns turned the tide of the game completely.

First, after SDSU took a 14-3 lead on Lindley’s sensational 78-yard rainbow for a TD to Vincent Brown, Aztec kicker Bryan Shields shanked his kickoff (only happens to the Aztecs) and wobbled a soft line-drive which was fielded by UCLA’s Terrance Austin at his own 22. Before the coverage team could even arrive, Austin had sped past the Aztecs for a 66-yard return down to the SDSU 12. It was 14-10 one play after that as Bruin freshman running back Johnathon Franklin bolted in for a score.

Late in the third quarter it was still a ballgame when Lane Yoshida lined up for a chip-shot 35-yard field goal that would bring the Aztecs to within nine. However, the SDSU front wall opened wide allowing Jerry Siemenski to wander through and block the kick without even leaping. Alterraun Verner picked up the loose ball in stride and eased 70 yards the other way for a touchdown.

Instead of 26-17 UCLA, it was 33-14. Game over. Hoke had said before the game that big special teams plays were something that had concerned him. In this particular game, big special teams plays beat him.

On defense, the Aztecs played very well. They allowed just two touchdown drives (and another of 12 yards) and two 50-yard field goals. Long’s 3-3-5 setup didn’t get enough pressure throughout the game, but it did yield three sacks, three turnovers, and three more forced fumbles that (unfortunately) UCLA recovered.

The defense’s performance was good enough to win a lot of games. Just not this one. And so it is that another Aztec season has begun with a loss. The more things change, the more they stay the same. SDSU has now lost 22 consecutive games to BCS conference schools.

Perhaps, as this ‘09 season goes along, some of the flashes of improvement shown by the Red and Black in the opener will sustain themselves long enough to produce a few more victories than SDSU teams of  recent vintage.

But for now at least, the results on the field seem all too familiar.

– Ello

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Tagged as: Ap Photo, Aztec Football, Aztecs, Baby Blue, Brady Hoke, Brick Wall, Bruins, Color Commentator, Defensive Coordinator, Football Coach, Football Season, Offensive Coordinator, Photo Caption, Ray Of Hope, Rose Bowl, Running Play, Rushes, Saturday Evening, SDSU, Whole Lot