Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Aztecs 52, Spartans 7

Posted: November 5, 2017 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

As mentioned during my MWC football preview, San Jose State has a lot to fix.  A lot.  New coaching staffs are usually (with Fresno State the exception) a recipe for a long year.  San Jose State’s 1-9 record is proof.  But, Spartan faithful, your new coaching staff will right the football program.  Patience will pay.  Trust me.

Where to begin?  The Aztecs took the words “run” and “rush” to new definitions.  554 total yards rushing is, as an acquaintance says, “bat shit crazy”.  Indeed.  Rather than lob the usual acclaim at Rashaad  Penny and Juwan Washington, I want to applaud the play of Chase Jasmin (14/86, 5.9 yards per rush), Tyler Wormhoudt (7/45, 6.4 yards per rush) and Chad Woolsey (5/23, 4.2 yards per rush).  This trio rushed for 154 yards combined.  Well done.

Our run game allowed us a shining 11/13 on third down.

We did not punt.  Not once.

SDSU had 31 first downs (SJSU had 8).  Christian Chapman and Ryan Agnew were a combined and meager 6/7, yet averaged 15.7 yards per completion.  Thank you, wide receivers and Nick Bawden (nice catch while wearing a catcher’s glove).

The Aztecs had the ball for 43+ minutes.  In case you forgot, 60 minutes makes a game.

On behalf, of the San Jose State punter, he is a draft pick.  Almost 49 yards per punt.  As often as he punts, I’m guessing he suffers from leg fatigue.  Shame on me.

8-2/4-2.  Go Aztecs.

 

 

28-7, SDSU Over Hawaii

Posted: October 29, 2017 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Back on track.  Pointed in the right direction.  And similar thoughts.

What was encouraging?  The defensive line was camped in the Hawaii offense the entire night.  The rush was deep, the linebackers were quick to fill the rare gap and the defensive backfield was hitting hard.

Proof?

Sure.

0-7-0-0 was Hawaii’s scoring line.  12 first downs (4 were penalty gifts.  That’s 33% for the   math people.  And only 1 was of the rushing variety).  The Hawaii offense was a meager 2/14 on third downs.  The Rainbow Warriors averaged 1.5 yards per run and 35 rushing yards the entire game.  Speaking of the entire game, Hawaii had a total of 195 yards in offense (3.5 yards per play).  Finally, Hawaii suffered 7 three and out offensive series.  Stuff city.  How is that for proof?  I thought so.

A tip of the hat to Dwayne Johnson, Jr who started in place of Parker Baldwin.  Mr. Johnson added a degree of intensity sorely needed after consecutive losses and served as proof that Rocky Long waits for no one to rediscover his passion for the game of football.  Of further note was the first half play of JJ Glass (who entered the game as the fifth and last listed defensive tackle on the almighty depth chart), Anthony Luke, Kyahva Tezino, Ryan Dunn and Andrew Aleki.  Well done.

As for the offense, Rashaad Penny and Juwan Washington returned to form via the offensive line.  Keith Ismael switching to right guard in place of the injured Antonio Rosales and Dominic Gudino moving from the #2 left guard to starting center bodes well for football brains and ability.  Complain and moan all you want about the youth of the line, but I find the future to be compelling and dominant given the overall play of Mr. Ismael and Mr. Gudino as well as Tyler Roemer, Daishawn Dixon, Ryan Pope and Joe Salcedo (none of whom are seniors).

The SDSU offense in a nutshell was featured during the second drive of the first quarter.  First down via a catch, then run, then catch, then run, run again and Juwan Washington finding the end zone.  Pure beauty.

7-2/3-2.  Get the best bowl possible.  Go Aztecs.

 

 

Bulldogs 27, Aztecs 3

Posted: October 23, 2017 in Uncategorized
0

So much for a convincing Aztec comeback from the Boise spanking.  We were as bad as the Boise game.

Fresno State ran the ball up the middle time and again for 6, 8, 10 yards and more.  Our linebackers were slo slow, so slo they could not get to the “w”.  Fresno State’s qb had one killer long toss after another.  Three Bulldog wide receivers had catches of 30, 33 and 48 yards respectively.  Their qb averaged better than 17 yards per completion.  The Aztec defense was present, yet elsewhere.  In the sense of fog and a disappointing attempt to gather much water.

The other side was equally bad.  For consecutive games our offensive line was inept.  No idea what to do or who to block.

“I was supposed to take the linebacker?”

“Oh, that’s what coach Schmidt means by ‘good feet’?”

“Who am I?”

Rashaad Penny returning kickoffs was a picture of a man gazing at a menu for twenty minutes and then “Ahh.  I’m not sure.  I can’t decide.” the fourth time the waiter asks if he’s ready to order.  Stutter stepping out of the end-zone is an ineffective method to develop a meaningful stride.  If you doubt my wisdom, recall average field positions of 20, 24 and 22 yards in three of four quarters.

Again, Christian Chapman in the pocket is a disaster.  Christian must be on the run parallel to the line of scrimmage at all times.  When he stands still for more than three seconds expect a sack (4 if you were counting) or a gain of a yard.

In a word, AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

6-2/2-2.

 

Boise 31, Aztecs 14

Posted: October 15, 2017 in Uncategorized
0

Ugly.  Butt ugly.

Boise’s defensive line dominated the Aztec offensive line.

And, the Boise offensive line toyed with the Aztec defensive line.

They ran over us both ways.  Speaking of running, we could not establish any offensive momentum.  Sure, Christian Chapman threw for 240 yards on 12 completions, but that was the only bright spot.

Every punt and kickoff seemed to land at the 10-yard line.  The Aztecs were laying down looking up most of the night.  Getting clobbered will necessitate that posture.

Time to get well against Fresno State.  I anticipate a motivated, focused Aztec football team in a bad mood next Saturday night at the Murph.

6-1/2-1.  Go Aztecs.

 

 

Aztecs 41, UNLV 10

Posted: October 8, 2017 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
0

We remain undefeated.  We remain in first place in the West division.  Yet, I feel the need to complain, nay, bitch.

Why?

Because I’m spoiled by all the winning?  I don’t know.  All I do is pace in front of the tube as the game unfolds.  I scowl.  I frown.  I utter “Come on” quite often during the game.  I seem unreasonable.

Yet, I believe we could play a perfect game.  The Aztecs have the defensive talent to keep 0 on the board for all four quarters (just as the boys did during the third and fourth quarters against the Rebels).  Perhaps a shutout will shut me up.

As for the game, Quest Truxton actually returned punts.  He gained 54 yards on the 5 he returned.  A pleasant return to last year.  Run, Quest, run.  Speaking of running, Rashaad Penny (27/170), Juwan Washington (10/95) and Chase Jasmin (introducing himself during the fourth quarter with 5/29 and his first Aztec touchdown) proved the offensive line is getting better.

Mikah Holder had his best game to date with 9 catches for 144 yards and a whole lot of running after catching  the football.

Of note was Isaac Lessard starting in place of Nick Bawden at fullback.  Did Nick have a bad week of practice?  Joe Salcedo also started for the first time this year.  Let us color this development as “depth”.

Noble Hall, Sergio Phillips, Myles Cheatum, Dakota Turner and Damon Moore are cycling well through the three defensive linemen spots.  Not a bit of drop off among those five.  Well done.

I was pleased to see Jeff Horton insert second and third depth chart guys with 4:27 remaining.  Nothing beats road experience.

Bowl eligible already.  Who knew?

6-0/2-0.  Go, Aztecs.

 

 

Aztecs 28, Air Force 24

Posted: September 26, 2017 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , ,
0

And the heavens opened.

Rain, lightning, wind, pestilence.  I’m exaggerating about the pestilence.  A raging storm framing a slippery, fall down football game that started badly for San Diego State.  What did not go wrong?

Air Force ran straight at the Aztec defense.  Eight yards, six yards, nine yards.  Ugly.

The Aztec offense felt the need to contribute.  We offered, and Air Force gladly accepted, the following time of possession during our first four “drives”:

2:03.

1:51.

2:36.

1:56.

We registered zero first downs during the first quarter.  Zero.  The number between negative one and positive one.  Zero.

There was enough standing water on the field to attract several flocks of various fowl.  Sadly, ducks, geese, swans and coots could not stick the landing due to the high winds.

Just for fun, lightning strikes at 7:56.  And twice more resulting in a total delay of 88 or 89 or 90 minutes depending upon the source.

Upon resuming the game, lo and behold, the Aztecs, who prefer dry weather on cool nights, decided to play football while staring at a 9-0 shutout.  More people were on the field playing football than in the stands watching football.

Christian Chapman first play post-lightning was a strike to Kahale Warring.  We are stirring.  Rashaad Penny scores.  No more shutout.

Yet, the kind-hearted nature of the Aztecs continued to shine.  We refuse to take away a minimum of three Air Force fumbles.  Guests are never rude.  John Barron misses a field goal!  Christian Chapman loses a fumble (as preferred in the general scheme of football). Brandon Heicklen has a punt blocked, but runs down the naughty cadet before he can score.  That was big.

Rashaad Penny’s second score followed by David Wells td pass get the fourth quarter off to a great start until Air Force scores to go ahead, 24-21 with 6:16 remaining.  However, just as the David Wells td pass was a fine case of “right back at ya”, so too was Mr. Penny’s third touchdown with 5:39 left.

Trey Lomax seals the game with his interception at the :58 second mark.  Done.  28-24.  All without halftime.  If you watched/listened, quarters second, third and fourth were consecutive without a break.

Interesting numbers:  Air Force’s total yardage was 253.  Average gain per play 3.8.  Swamp Aztec defense was good enough.  Air Force was a combined 6/17 on third and fourth downs.

4-0/1-0.  Go Aztecs.  Swim Aztecs.  Row Aztecs.

20-17 Over Stanford or Lights Out

Posted: September 17, 2017 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

A defensive gem.  This game was worthy of mud, broken teeth and twisted fingers.  The Aztec defense was exceptional.  Consider:

Stanford’s first three possessions were three and out.

The tree throws for a mere 64 yards on a bad 9/20 with 2 interceptions (thank you, Ron Smith and Kameron Kelly).

Stanford’s total offense at the end of the first quarter:  3 yards.

Stanford’s time of possession in the first quarter:  2:19.  Yeah, I know you can credit the Aztec offense as well.

Total tree offense at the half:  88 yards.

The Aztec defense stops Stanford inside the ten resulting in three points as opposed to seven at the end of the third quarter.

And, of course, the Kameron Kelly pick with 54 seconds remaining.

Final total yardage for Stanford:  238.

Proof enough.

Now for the Aztec offense.  First, Christian Chapman throwing in the pocket is as effective as using bare hands to remove a hot dish from the oven.  Christian needs to move to be successful.  No more pocket stuff.  21/29/0 and one touchdown was a solid performance.  Mikah Holder had his best game of the season.  7 catches for 85 yards and besting his twin brother makes for a fine evening.  Rashaad Penny running against a quality defense for 175 yards (5.5 yards per carry) is testament to his place as a top-ten running back.  The final drive post-electrical collapse is further proof of a team on course to have another fine year.  David Wells insisting on the end-zone and game winning touchdown will be a 2017 season favorite.

John Barron misses a field goal.  Who knew?

Brandon Heicklen needs to be much more consistent with his punts.  To date, his effort is as scattered as his punting.  Also, the offensive line struggled against the Stanford defense.  Mr. Chapman was often on the run on behalf of his own safety.  Clean up that mess now.

Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed Hunkie Cooper yelling at David Shaw for touching Aztec players as the two teams were leaving the field at the half.  Don’t touch Hunkie’s kids.  Speaking of kids, great to see the student section storm the field at game’s end.

As a side note to the city of San Diego, what more proof do you need to maintain the stadium other than the lights going off for 25 minutes?  Game interruption on national television is not helpful to either SDSU or the city of San Diego.  Seems minor league.  Invest in something new and spiffy while keeping the lights on.

3-0.  Go Aztecs.

 

 

 

Aztecs Beat ASU at Tempe, 30-20

Posted: September 10, 2017 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

A solid game with a spectacular performance by Rashaad Penny.  He does everything except drive the team bus to the stadium.  Mr. Penny will continue to play football after his senior year.

I applaud Jeff Horton’s insistence on running a majority of first-half plays to the left side, thus demanding Tyler Roemer, Daishawn Dixon and Keith Ismael become division one offensive linemen now rather than sometime in the future.  If those three do not perform to expectation, then we would have suffered the dread “three and out” disease.  Thankfully, not so.

The penalty parade must stop.  Now.  12 for 95, including two negated touchdowns in the first half, is ridiculous and beneath the quality of Aztec football.  No more offside calls on the defense.  As Graham Chapman said, “Wait for it.”

Five sacks of the ASU qb for a total of 35 yards placed a great deal of doubt on the Sun Devil offense.  Noble Hall, Sergio Phillips and Myles Cheatum may be the best defensive line in the MWC.  Nice to see Chibu Onyuekwu and Damon Moore receive playing time and contribute to the discomfort of the ASU running game (a mere 1.4 yards per carry and 44 yards total rushing).

John Barron was perfect from 29, 27 and 32 yards.  Change nothing.

2-0.

Go, Aztecs.

 

38-17, Aztecs over UC Davis

Posted: September 4, 2017 in Uncategorized
0

The score should have been 38-10, but that’s me in whiny mode.

The offensive line received a four-quarter work out.  Those five need all the snaps they can get prior to Arizona State next Saturday (may the game time temperature be less than 100 degrees).  Second and third level Aztecs (less the aforementioned linemen) received valuable game time experience in the fourth quarter.

On one hand, our youth is pause for concern, yet once this bevy of freshmen and redshirt freshmen learn the proverbial ropes, they may well create a bright future quickly.  But, I must admit that patience will be difficult.

Christian Chapman, Rashaad Penny and Kahale Warring were the highlights of the game.  By the way, Mr. Chapman’s end of the first half interception does not count given the Hail Mary circumstance resulting in said pick.

46,000+ in the seats is a nice start to the season.  Hopefully, the legion of former Charger fans will migrate to the Q (or whatever the structure is called) on a regular basis.

I find the Facebook broadcast interesting.  Another crack in the walls of satellite/cable providers.  How many students and less-than-30-year-old-people who enjoy SDSU football watched?  No fee potentially attracts those shut out from ESPN/C-CBS broadcasts of the past.  A development worth watching (no pun intended).

1-0.

 

 

2017 Preview of SDSU Aztec Football

Posted: July 31, 2017 in Uncategorized
Tags:
0

Can we top 2016’s 11-3 (especially that dominating Las Vegas Bowl win over Houston)?

Probably not.  But, we will be the best team in the west division of the Mountain West despite having lost a substantial amount of defensive talent and face the always challenging task of replacing starting offensive linemen.

Offense

Let us begin with the aforementioned offensive line.  Antonio Rosales (sr., right guard), Ryan Pope (jr., right tackle) and Nick Gerhard (so., center) do bring experience.  And, yes, since the experience entering summer (I struggle to use the common term “fall” since August in San Diego is nothing like “fall”) camp is found on the right side, look for most of the offensive action to at least begin to the right side of scrimmage.  The left side is another story.  Tyler Roemer (redshirt fr.) and Keith Ismael (redshirt fr.) are the favorites to start at left tackle and left guard respectively.  The struggle for offensive line coach Mike Schmidt lies in teaching Mr. Roemer and Mr. Ishmael to embrace the radical change in game speed they are soon to receive.  I hope UC Davis is a perfect introduction to the change from practice pace to game pace.  However, Arizona State and Stanford will offer a true, and hopefully not too painful, introduction to the role of starting offensive linemen in division one football.  Joe Salcedo, returning from a missed 2016, currently shows as #3 on the depth chart at right tackle, may move to the other side of the line to provide experience.  What is both blessing and curse is of the fifteen players listed on the post-spring offensive line depth chart, seven are redshirt freshmen or true freshmen.  The blessing is a freshman starter is likely a four-year starter.  The curse lies in the learning.

The tight end position will be a position of strength.  David Wells (sr.) starts and will pair with a combination of Parker Houston (so.), Kahale Warring (so) and Darryl Richardson (sr.),

Mikah Holder and Quest Truxton return as starting seniors at the two wide receiver slots.  Mr. Holder offers the curious yet promising 2016 line of a mere 27 catches coupled with an eye-popping 21.5 yards per catch.  Last year’s game average of 44.7 yards hopefully doubles this year.  Mr. Truxton offers glue for hands and will enjoy most of the short routes.  Fred Trevillon is the only other experienced wide receiver on the depth chart.  Much like the offensive line, this group is heavy to freshmen and redshirt freshmen (four of the listed ten).  However, given the intensity of coach Hunkie Cooper, effort will never be a concern.

Rashaad’s Penny’s moment in the sun as the primary running back has at last arrived.  Watching Mr. Penny do the “excuse me, pardon me” through a group of defenders is a delight.  Given last year’s success (1,018 yards and 7.5 ypc) as the #2 running back, he may well surprise the unprepared.  I expect Mr. Penny to average well over 100 yards per game.  Juwan Washington (so.) ran for 490 yards (8.0 ypc) as the #3 running back and invites the obvious comparison to Donnel Pumphrey given size and ferocity.  This will be his year-in-waiting as the #2 back.  Chad Woolsey (so.), Tyler Wormhoudt (sr.) and Chase Jasmin (redshirt fr.) will compete for the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

When Nick Bawden played quarterback, I would wince.  When Nick Bawden plays fullback, I smile.  Mr. Bawden is a man who enjoys contact.  He also can catch a football coming out of the backfield.  Isaac Lessard (so.) will be the #2 fullback and brings game experience.

Most quarterbacks who have a 61% completion ratio and 20 touchdowns compared to a measly 6 interceptions usually generate more than 2,000 yards, but Christian Chapman (jr.) fell 6 yards shy.  If he can keep the 5:2 td/pick ratio, 2017 should be a very productive year.  Offensive coordinator Jeff Horton and quarterbacks coach Blaine Morgan will encourage Mr. Chapman to stretch the field especially given Mikah Holder’s ability to depart quickly with football in hand.  Ryan Agnew (so.) and Chris Laviano (sr. transfer) provide back up.

John Barron (jr.) returns from an impressive 2016 performance (21/23 field goals).   If and when he misses a three-point opportunity, I’ll be stunned.  Color me spoiled.

Defense

Noble Hall (jr.) and Dakota Turner (sr.) will start at the defensive end spots while Sergio Phillips (sr.) moves to the nose guard/lone defensive tackle position.  This trio brings experience and a total of 108 tackles from 2016.  However, the second and third guys on the depth chart do not bring much game time exposure.  The front three is the one place where injury could wreak havoc on the remaining eight.

Ryan Dunn (sr.), Jay Henderson (sr.) and Ronley Lakalaka (jr) bring the same game time smarts to the linebacker spot as present at the defensive line.  Tyler Morris (sr.), Randy Ricks (sr.), Kyahva Trezino (so.) and Troy Cassidy (so.) make for a deep and talented group.

The back five complete a defense that benefits from prior success.  Ron Smith (so.), Trenton Thompson (so.), Parker Baldwin (jr.), Trey Lomax (sr.) and Kameron Kelly (sr.) will make opposing quarterbacks sweaty, clammy and uncomfortable.  Mr. Kelly, Mr. Smith and Mr. Baldwin shared 10 interceptions last year.  Increasing that number in 2017 is to be expected.  Kyree Woods (so.), Israel Cabrera (so.), Dwayne Parchment (so.) and Jeff Clay (so.) are capable substitutes.

Brandon Heicklen (so.) is a welcome late addition as punter.  He boomed the ball at Santa Monica C.C. two years ago averaging almost 44 yards per punt.  Last year he red shirted to “get better”.  Here’s to 45 yards per punt.

Schedule Results

Non-conference worst case is 2-2 with wins over UC Davis and Northern Illinois (both home games).  The Arizona State game is, thankfully, at night, so heat stroke becomes less likely.  Beating the Sun Devils is more likely than upsetting Stanford (truly a good football team and program).  Best case is 3-1.

The MWC schedule begins with Air Force at Colorado Springs in between the Stanford and Northern Illinois games.  Arriving unprepared to play Air Force is a sure loss.  Arrive prepared.  At UNLV is a win, though UNLV is much improved.  Boise returns to the Aztec schedule.  Playing Boise at the Q will be the game of the year.  Fresno State follows with a brand new coaching staff and defense that gave up 31 points per game last year.  At Hawaii follows.  Much like UNLV, Hawaii is a much better football team than two years ago.  Nonetheless, another SDSU win.  San Jose State at San Jose is another Aztec win featuring a new Spartan coaching staff.  Speaking of new coaching staffs, Nevada visits the Q following the first bye week for SDSU.  New Mexico arrives on November 24th to end MWC play.  Best MWC case 7-1.  Worst case 5-3.

Look forward to another MWC championship game, bowl game, exceptional football and larger crowds at the Q.

 

 

Older Entries
Newer Entries