 "Photo: Glenn Connelly / Assistant Photo Editor")
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 "Photo: Glenn Connelly / Assistant Photo Editor")
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At A Glance
Who: SDSU vs. Utah
What: The Aztecs will face a top-25 ranked team for the second time in seven days when they take on No. 7 Utah at home.
Where: Qualcomm Stadium
When: 5 p.m., Saturday
TV: The Mtn.
Radio: AM 600 Kogo (San Diego)
Live in-game blog: www.thedailyaztec.com
The Big Issue
As 28-point underdogs, the prognosticators are already predicting a Utah blowout this Saturday. However, don’t write off the 1-9 San Diego State football team just yet. Playing with nothing to lose this weekend, SDSU might just have a chance against the No. 8 Utes.
“It's a great opportunity (to play them) and very rare (since) they are top 10 coming in,” head coach Chuck Long said. “In our locker room after the (BYU) game, our guys were anxious to get started for this week. We're ready to go.”
Despite suffering a 41-12 thumping in Provo, Utah, last weekend against BYU, the Aztecs still feel like they’re an improved team. Senior linebacker Russell Allen said the defensive line “played really well” and that “things will be alright” heading into the final two games of the season.
Still, undefeated Utah is on course to play in a BCS Bowl game this season and defeating a team of that caliber will be no easy task for an Aztec squad that has yet to win a Mountain West Conference game this year.
“We've never beaten a top-10 team before in Division I history,” Long said. “Utah is seventh (ranked) coming in and anytime you're in the top 10 it's an incredible feat. It's very difficult to be there and to stay there. They've done it and maintained it.”
Key Matchups
When the Aztecs have the ball: Despite giving up a costly fourth-quarter fumble to BYU this past Saturday, Aztec wideout Darren Mougey has remained the one constant on a struggling SDSU offense. The senior is second on the team in receiving yards (327), catches (26) and receiving touchdowns (3) this season. But maybe Mougey’s biggest asset to the team is what he means to redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley. When things get messy in the pocket, Mougey has been Lindley’s go-to guy.
That means Mougey might see a lot of passes this Saturday as Utah’s sack leader, Paul Kruger, promises to be in the Aztec backfield often. The Utes defensive end has compiled 7.5 sacks this year and leads the team in tackles for a loss with 15.5. Kruger has been one of the main reasons the Utes are giving up just 281.2 yards per game this season.
“They definitely have some playmakers in their secondary and some guys on the (defensive) line,” Lindley said. “They are a great team and are ranked, but you have to go in there and take it as a challenge.”
When the Utes have the ball: When describing the Ute offense, Long used a very fitting word: explosive. Led by quarterback Brian Johnson, Utah is averaging 33.8 points and nearly 400 total yards per game this season. Johnson, who leads the team with 2,050 passing yards, has scored 16 total touchdowns and is third in the Mountain West Conference with a 139.68 quarterback rating.
“Their quarterback is a really good player and runs (the offense) well,” Long said of Johnson. “They do a lot of unbalanced stuff and try to confuse you with the way they line up. All of a sudden, you get out of one gap and you're in trouble.”
When playing teams with mobile quarterbacks – see Air Force, Cal Poly, TCU, and San Jose State – the Aztecs have struggled mightily. In the four games SDSU has played a running quarterback, it has given up an average of 335 yards on the ground. If the Aztecs have any chance of winning Saturday, Russell Allen and the rest of the defense will have to make consistent tackles to prevent big plays.
| SDSU | Utah | |
| Record | 1-9, 0-6 MWC | 10-0, 6-0 MWC |
| Pass yards per game | 223.7 | 221.3 |
| Rush yards per game | 71.3 | 171 |
| Total yards per game | 295 | 392.3 |
| Pass yards against per game | 192.1 | 184.1 |
| Rush yards against per game | 273.9 | 97.1 |
| Total yards against per game | 466 | 281.2 |
Aztec injury report:
Defensive Tackle Neil Spencer: Shoulder (Out)
Left Tackle Mike Matamua: Foot (Out)
Center Tommie Draheim: Shoulder (Out)
Defensive End Tony DeMartinis: Knee (Out)
Defensive Tackle Ryan Williams: Head (Out)
Defensive Tackle Ernie Lawson: Ankle (Questionable)
Running Back Davon Brown: Shoulder (Questionable)
Defensive Tackle J.J. Autele: Knee (Questionable)
Running Back Brandon Sullivan: Foot (Doubtful)
Forecasting the mountain
Editor’s note: Each week, The Daily Aztec will pick the winners of every Mountain West Conference game.
Thursday Nov. 13
Wyoming at UNLV
Saturday, Nov. 15
San Diego State vs. No. 7 Utah, New Mexico at Colorado State, No. 17 BYU at Air Force
Name: Edward Lewis (47–17)
Title: Sports Editor
Prediction: Utah, Wyoming, Colorado State, BYU
Quotable: “The real question is, if the Aztecs somehow win, will the six people watching in Qualcomm Stadium storm the field?”
Name: David Pope (48–16)
Title: Assistant Sports Editor
Prediction: BYU, Utah, Air Force, New Mexico, Tennessee
Quotable: “My record is irrelevant. What’s important is that The Daily Azkickers are 1-0 in intramural dodgeball.”
Name: Eric Shannon (49–15)
Title: Managing Editor
Prediction: Utah, Wyoming, Colorado State, BYU
Quotable: “They’re still playing football? Who cares, basketball starts Saturday.”
Name: Glenn Connelly (41–23)
Title: Assistant Photo Editor
Prediction: Utah, , Air Force, New Mexico, Tennessee
Quotable: “SDSU beating BYU in Provo would be the only thing to make this season not a complete and utter failure ... so basically failure is looking pretty good right about now.”
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