Aztec Update : Journey Home Was Even Longer for SDSU

DENVER —  As if losing to Wyoming was not enough, San Diego State’s football team also had a miserable trip home Saturday night.

The Aztecs arrived at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field two hours late following their 41-20 loss.

After the game, SDSU took a 75-minute bus ride from Laramie to Cheyenne for a scheduled nonstop flight home. But because of strong head winds, the team’s chartered airplane did not have enough fuel to make the trip.

So, the plane made an unscheduled stop at Denver’s overcrowded Stapleton Airport. Because of storms, however, flights were an hour late, and the Aztecs were grounded longer than expected.

“It’s always this way when you lose,” Coach Doug Scovil said. “You never have delays when you win.”

With or without the delays, Scovil said he would have had a sleepless Saturday night. He said he was preoccupied all night, trying to figure out why the Aztecs (3-6) have lost five straight games.

“I thought about what was causing this and what I or we were doing wrong,” Scovil said. “I have talked to a lot of coaches individually and leaders on the team, asking them what I or we can do differently. Nobody has any answers. It’s just turnovers.”

SDSU committed six turnovers Saturday. Wyoming had none. The Aztecs have committed 32 turnovers this season, 21 more than the opposition.

“I don’t know why it happens in rashes like this,” Scovil said. “Sometimes, if you put too much pressure on the kids or make too big of a deal out of it, things get worse instead of better.”

The Aztecs, who once had Holiday Bowl aspirations, must win their final three games to finish at .500.

“I would have thought we would be better than that,” Scovil said. “We have to struggle to make .500.”

Wide receiver Webster Slaughter: “I never thought we would struggle this much. I thought we’d have two or three losses at the most now. This has been a surprise to all of us.”

After Saturday’s game, defensive coordinator Burnie Miller said he thought the defense might have lost intensity after the first 18 minutes. Scovil said the coaches changed their minds after watching game films.

“From what we saw in the films, nobody gave up,” Scovil said. “We might have eased up, but we didn’t quit. That fumble on the 1 might have taken a little bit out of the defense.”

Slaughter fumbled away a third-quarter punt at the Aztec 1 when they trailed, 20-13. Wyoming took a two-touchdown lead on the next play.

The SDSU basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the Western Athletic Conference by coaches and media at a conference in Denver Sunday.

The coaches’ selections, in order, were Texas El Paso, Utah, New Mexico, SDSU, Wyoming, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Air Force and Hawaii. The media selections were Texas El Paso, New Mexico, Utah, SDSU, Wyoming, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Hawaii and Air Force.

“I think that’s not a bad pick right now,” Aztec guard Anthony Watson said. “We lost our front line and have a lot of young players.”

Coach Smokey Gaines was asked why his team plays its first five games on the road.

“We want to give ourselves a tough preseason schedule to get ready for the WAC,” he said. “I would never have made that decision if I didn’t get a new four-year contract.”

Most WAC coaches spent Sunday talking about how their conference is underrated and overlooked.

“Villanova won 18 (regular-season) games last year and won the NCAA championship,” UTEP’s Don Haskins said. “If they had been in the WAC, they wouldn’t have even been in the tournament.”

Frank Arnold, Hawaii’s new coach, certainly did not overrate his team.

“The only time I remember the coaches poll being right was when the team they picked to finished first five years ago did finish first,” said Arnold, who formerly coached at BYU. “They’ll probably be accurate this year by picking us last.”