aztecwilliam
1/30/2007, 04:35 PM
Ouch! And you feel badly remembering that statue of liberty play against Boise!!!! Some may remember that I predicted 7 to 9 wins for SDSU in '06 with 6-6 possible as a worst case scenario.
Actual results, 3-9, the worst San Diego State has done since 1983! And several of the losses were really, really embarrasing. 47-17 against Young Borg University (a common nickname on AztecTalk.com for BYU), 38-7 vs Utah, 52-0 vs TCU, etc.
But there was worse. We lost to Cal Poly (San Louis Obispo), a Division I-AA team. The Mustangs have a good AA program, but there is no way even a poor Division I-A team should have lost to them. (A side note: 7 I-A schools lost to I-AA schools in '06!!) And it appeared to many that unimaginative play calling lost that one and contributed to poor performances in other games as well. "This guy is trying to cram Mid-West football down our throats!!" was more or less the cry of many disgruntled fans.
Furthermore, the defense was really suspect much of the time, even though it returned more or less in tact from the '05 squad.
Now for extenuating circumstances: also know as excuses. :) But seriously, the Aztecs took the biggest hit from injuries of any team I have followed since I started watching football in the early 1950s. There were 17 injuries requiring surgery! Seventeen! And there were other injuries as well. We lost the first two QBs, the team's best RB, best WR, two best TEs, etc., etc.
But I must say that the coaching has to take a lot of the blame. We probably overestimated the team's potential, but still the Aztecs should have beaten Cal Poly and San Jose St., though the Spartans did finish 9-4 with a bowl win, their best season since 1991. There was not much in the way of effective adjustments against TCU. The Frogs passed and passed, while the SDSU game plan was designed to stop the run. No relief in the second half. It was very embarrassing.
We did hold Wisconsin scoreless for two and a half quarters, but could do nothing offensively with an untried QB forced to start. Beat the Air Force, which is always nice; that's the 4th win in five tries against the Falcons. The Aztecs also beat UNLV and Colorado State (in the last game), so we were able to rise above the Bottom 10 list.
All in all, a terrible first year for the Long staff. Recruiting is going fairly well, but one must look at OU and USC and Florida and Ohio St. to see lots of 4 and five star athletes brought on board. We have to do with 2 and 3 star recruits (which, by the way, is similar to what Boise St. gets). I must predict a 5-7 record likely for next year, and plenty of Aztec fans think it will be worse. But, with injuries almost certain to be less a problem, and some important lessons learned by the new coaches, I think the Aztec football team will be much more competitive in '07. If not, Chuck Long will absolutely have to pull a rabbit out of a hat in '08 if he wants to stay in San Diego.
One final note. Chris Ash has been hired as the new DB coach. He comes from Iowa St. He replaces the guy, former DC under Tom Craft, who is now the DC at Tulane under Bob Toledo.
Here is the complete '06 SDSU football schedule.
/31/06 vs. UTEP San Diego, Calif. L, 34-27
09/16/06 at Wisconsin Madison, Wisc. L, 14-0
09/23/06 vs. Utah* San Diego, Calif. L, 38-7
09/30/06 at San Jose State San Jose, Calif. L, 31-10
10/07/06 at Brigham Young* Provo, Utah L, 47-17
10/21/06 vs. Air Force* San Diego, Calif. W, 19-12
10/28/06 vs. Cal Poly San Diego, Calif. L, 16-14
11/04/06 at Wyoming* Laramie, Wyo. L, 27-24
11/11/06 vs. UNLV* San Diego, Calif. W, 21-7
11/18/06 at TCU* Fort Worth, Texas L, 52-0
11/25/06 at New Mexico* Albuquerque, N.M. L, 41-14
12/02/06 vs. Colorado State* San Diego, Calif. W, 17-6
AztecWilliam
Actual results, 3-9, the worst San Diego State has done since 1983! And several of the losses were really, really embarrasing. 47-17 against Young Borg University (a common nickname on AztecTalk.com for BYU), 38-7 vs Utah, 52-0 vs TCU, etc.
But there was worse. We lost to Cal Poly (San Louis Obispo), a Division I-AA team. The Mustangs have a good AA program, but there is no way even a poor Division I-A team should have lost to them. (A side note: 7 I-A schools lost to I-AA schools in '06!!) And it appeared to many that unimaginative play calling lost that one and contributed to poor performances in other games as well. "This guy is trying to cram Mid-West football down our throats!!" was more or less the cry of many disgruntled fans.
Furthermore, the defense was really suspect much of the time, even though it returned more or less in tact from the '05 squad.
Now for extenuating circumstances: also know as excuses. :) But seriously, the Aztecs took the biggest hit from injuries of any team I have followed since I started watching football in the early 1950s. There were 17 injuries requiring surgery! Seventeen! And there were other injuries as well. We lost the first two QBs, the team's best RB, best WR, two best TEs, etc., etc.
But I must say that the coaching has to take a lot of the blame. We probably overestimated the team's potential, but still the Aztecs should have beaten Cal Poly and San Jose St., though the Spartans did finish 9-4 with a bowl win, their best season since 1991. There was not much in the way of effective adjustments against TCU. The Frogs passed and passed, while the SDSU game plan was designed to stop the run. No relief in the second half. It was very embarrassing.
We did hold Wisconsin scoreless for two and a half quarters, but could do nothing offensively with an untried QB forced to start. Beat the Air Force, which is always nice; that's the 4th win in five tries against the Falcons. The Aztecs also beat UNLV and Colorado State (in the last game), so we were able to rise above the Bottom 10 list.
All in all, a terrible first year for the Long staff. Recruiting is going fairly well, but one must look at OU and USC and Florida and Ohio St. to see lots of 4 and five star athletes brought on board. We have to do with 2 and 3 star recruits (which, by the way, is similar to what Boise St. gets). I must predict a 5-7 record likely for next year, and plenty of Aztec fans think it will be worse. But, with injuries almost certain to be less a problem, and some important lessons learned by the new coaches, I think the Aztec football team will be much more competitive in '07. If not, Chuck Long will absolutely have to pull a rabbit out of a hat in '08 if he wants to stay in San Diego.
One final note. Chris Ash has been hired as the new DB coach. He comes from Iowa St. He replaces the guy, former DC under Tom Craft, who is now the DC at Tulane under Bob Toledo.
Here is the complete '06 SDSU football schedule.
/31/06 vs. UTEP San Diego, Calif. L, 34-27
09/16/06 at Wisconsin Madison, Wisc. L, 14-0
09/23/06 vs. Utah* San Diego, Calif. L, 38-7
09/30/06 at San Jose State San Jose, Calif. L, 31-10
10/07/06 at Brigham Young* Provo, Utah L, 47-17
10/21/06 vs. Air Force* San Diego, Calif. W, 19-12
10/28/06 vs. Cal Poly San Diego, Calif. L, 16-14
11/04/06 at Wyoming* Laramie, Wyo. L, 27-24
11/11/06 vs. UNLV* San Diego, Calif. W, 21-7
11/18/06 at TCU* Fort Worth, Texas L, 52-0
11/25/06 at New Mexico* Albuquerque, N.M. L, 41-14
12/02/06 vs. Colorado State* San Diego, Calif. W, 17-6
AztecWilliam