Thursday, September 13, 2007
More than you ever cared to know about: the San Diego State Aztecs
Not to be confused with UC-San Diego or the University of San Diego.
Moving stuff with your mind? That’s just crazy talk.
The Vitals
Name: San Diego State University
Location: San Diego, CA
Established: 1897, as San Diego Normal School
Enrollment: 34,500
Motto: “Minds That Move the World”
Colors: Scarlet and Black
Mascot: Monty (as in Montezuma) the Aztec Warrior
Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium, capacity 54,000
Conference: Mountain West
Considering the school is located on Montezuma Mesa in San Diego, which offers easy access to Mission Beach, the Gaslamp District, Pacific Beach, Tijuana, Stone Brewery, and what is possibly the greatest bar in the history of time(Lahaina’s in P.B.), I don’t know how they get anything done at SDSU. Even the weather is cooperative- the Aztecs have only played two home games in the rain since 1984. It’s no wonder that they received 57,167 admission applications for the upcoming fall semester, a school record and tops in California for 2007. With all of this going for them, they still sit 5th in Playboy’s party school rankings, two spots behind ASU. Bitches. As if all of that wasn't enough, the school has been the setting for Bring It On and Veronica Mars. Oooooo that's teh hotness!!!11!!1!!
Like ASU, SDSU started as a Normal School, then moved up to a Teacher’s College, then to a State College, and then became a State University (1970). In its humble beginnings as a Normal school, what is now SDSU was located upstairs from a downtown drug store. SDSU possesses a branch campus in Calexico, CA, which couldn’t be further from San Diego in terms of culture and nightlife. You know you’re in hell when you apply to SDSU and end up in Calexico. It’s like a smaller, less interesting, dirtier Tucson, which should speak volumes.
Notable Alumni
Julie Kavner, voice of Marge Simpson
Art Linkletter
Tony Gwynn
Mark Grace
Gregory Peck
Marshall Faulk
Vintage hottie Raquel Welch
Apollo motherfucking Creed!
Don “Air” Coryell
John Fox
Joe Gibbs
John Madden
Herm Edwards, seen here flipping the fuck out:
Tradition
People in the 1920s really had a sense of humor. Like many Western schools, SDSU faced naming issues after a school merger so they held a submission contest to solve the problem. Many alumni must be happy that “Aztecs” won out over such submissions as Staters, Professors, Wampus Cats(WTF?), Panthers, Balboans, and Thoroughbreds.
SDSU makes a special effort to play most of their games at night and they traditionally sport all-black home uniforms, but they were doing it way before Nike and the like were marketing to gangstas. The black uni’s were introduced in 1963 by head coach Don Coryell for an intimidation factor. Coryell is also credited with introducing the modern passing game to college football, and after great success with the “Air Coryell” offense at SDSU he was moderately successful with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. Coryell will always be known for SDSU's glory years, where the Aztecs went 55-1-1 in a span between 1965 and 1970, including a 25-game win streak.
Athletics
In addition to Coryell, there’s really only two names to know here: Tony Gwynn and Marshall Faulk. Baseball Hall Of Famer Gwynn played both baseball and basketball for the Aztecs, and since retiring from Major League Baseball he has returned to his alma mater to coach the baseball team. SDSU plays their games at the on-campus Tony Gwynn Stadium, which has to be trippy for Tony. Marshall Faulk burst on to the college football scene in 1991 where, as a freshman, he ran for 386 yards and seven touchdowns IN ONE GAME against The University of the Pacific. He went on to do ok in the NFL, too.
Chuck Long is in his second year as head coach for the Aztecs. He went 3-9 in his first season and he’s a former Hayden Fry assistant. You know who else is? It’s amazing that SDSU has a problem getting a long-term coach considering the coaches they have produced. In addition to Coryell, there are three Aztec alums that have coached in the Super Bowl: John Madden(XI), Joe Gibbs(XVII, XVIII, XXII, XXVI), and John Fox(XXXVIII). Herm Edwards went there too.
Rivalries
They don’t seem to really have any, at least as far as football goes. Out of all of their opponents they’ve faced Fresno State the most (50 times, 26-20-4 all-time) but the two teams haven’t seen each other since 2002. It seems that since SDSC converted to a University in 1970, they left their small college rivals (26-8-1 against UC-Santa Barbara) behind for larger schools with better programs. The Aztecs are 0-20-1 against UCLA, so at least you know they hate somebody with a bloody passion.
Head to Head
The last time ASU played against San Diego State, they went down 22-0 to the Aztecs early in the first half when head coach Dirk Koetter pulled starting quarterback Chad Christensen for the relatively unknown Andrew Walter. A-Dub threw four touchdowns in the Sun Devils’ 39-28 victory, including TD’s on each of his first two passes en route to the school record for career passing yards and touchdowns. Arizona State leads the all-time series 9-0-1 outscoring the Aztecs 352-88, however SDSU gave the Devils a big scare in the 2000 season opener but shanked a field goal in the waning moments allowing ASU to escape with a 10-7 win. Thanks for shaving years off of my life, Jeff Krohn!
Phil Steele Says…
The Aztecs have had a bad run of things. They lost 32 starts due to injury in Chuck Long’s first year as coach, including their top two quarterbacks, but they have nine starters returning on offense. They lost 3 games by a total of 12 points, and they didn’t have their top quarterback or running back for most of the year, leading to a weak-ass 16.3 points per game in 2006. They’re usually talented since they’re located in a great recruiting area but the whole never seems to equal the sum of the parts. (sound familiar?) Even though they’ll be better, they probably won’t be in contention for a bowl until 2008.
I Say…
After watching some youtube highlights, SDSU looks like they have some playmaking wideouts that could cause fits for the weak Sun Devil secondary. The Aztecs only have four returning defensive starters from a 3-9 team, which gives me confidence should a shootout occur. The three close games the Aztecs lost last year were to relative creampuffs and they rolled over against the tough teams they played. As long as ASU doesn’t look ahead to Oregon State, they shouldn’t have any problems with SDSU. The Aztecs have played one game so far, where they received a 45-17 thumping at the hands of Washington State.
Related Websites
The University’s official website
SDSU’s official athletics site
The Wikipedia page
The College Football Data Warehouse Page
Moving stuff with your mind? That’s just crazy talk.
The VitalsName: San Diego State University
Location: San Diego, CA
Established: 1897, as San Diego Normal School
Enrollment: 34,500
Motto: “Minds That Move the World”
Colors: Scarlet and Black
Mascot: Monty (as in Montezuma) the Aztec Warrior
Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium, capacity 54,000
Conference: Mountain West
Considering the school is located on Montezuma Mesa in San Diego, which offers easy access to Mission Beach, the Gaslamp District, Pacific Beach, Tijuana, Stone Brewery, and what is possibly the greatest bar in the history of time(Lahaina’s in P.B.), I don’t know how they get anything done at SDSU. Even the weather is cooperative- the Aztecs have only played two home games in the rain since 1984. It’s no wonder that they received 57,167 admission applications for the upcoming fall semester, a school record and tops in California for 2007. With all of this going for them, they still sit 5th in Playboy’s party school rankings, two spots behind ASU. Bitches. As if all of that wasn't enough, the school has been the setting for Bring It On and Veronica Mars. Oooooo that's teh hotness!!!11!!1!!
Like ASU, SDSU started as a Normal School, then moved up to a Teacher’s College, then to a State College, and then became a State University (1970). In its humble beginnings as a Normal school, what is now SDSU was located upstairs from a downtown drug store. SDSU possesses a branch campus in Calexico, CA, which couldn’t be further from San Diego in terms of culture and nightlife. You know you’re in hell when you apply to SDSU and end up in Calexico. It’s like a smaller, less interesting, dirtier Tucson, which should speak volumes.
Notable Alumni
Julie Kavner, voice of Marge Simpson
Art Linkletter
Tony Gwynn
Mark Grace
Gregory Peck
Marshall Faulk
Vintage hottie Raquel Welch
Apollo motherfucking Creed!
Don “Air” Coryell
John Fox
Joe Gibbs
John Madden
Herm Edwards, seen here flipping the fuck out:
Tradition
People in the 1920s really had a sense of humor. Like many Western schools, SDSU faced naming issues after a school merger so they held a submission contest to solve the problem. Many alumni must be happy that “Aztecs” won out over such submissions as Staters, Professors, Wampus Cats(WTF?), Panthers, Balboans, and Thoroughbreds.
SDSU makes a special effort to play most of their games at night and they traditionally sport all-black home uniforms, but they were doing it way before Nike and the like were marketing to gangstas. The black uni’s were introduced in 1963 by head coach Don Coryell for an intimidation factor. Coryell is also credited with introducing the modern passing game to college football, and after great success with the “Air Coryell” offense at SDSU he was moderately successful with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. Coryell will always be known for SDSU's glory years, where the Aztecs went 55-1-1 in a span between 1965 and 1970, including a 25-game win streak.Athletics
In addition to Coryell, there’s really only two names to know here: Tony Gwynn and Marshall Faulk. Baseball Hall Of Famer Gwynn played both baseball and basketball for the Aztecs, and since retiring from Major League Baseball he has returned to his alma mater to coach the baseball team. SDSU plays their games at the on-campus Tony Gwynn Stadium, which has to be trippy for Tony. Marshall Faulk burst on to the college football scene in 1991 where, as a freshman, he ran for 386 yards and seven touchdowns IN ONE GAME against The University of the Pacific. He went on to do ok in the NFL, too.
Chuck Long is in his second year as head coach for the Aztecs. He went 3-9 in his first season and he’s a former Hayden Fry assistant. You know who else is? It’s amazing that SDSU has a problem getting a long-term coach considering the coaches they have produced. In addition to Coryell, there are three Aztec alums that have coached in the Super Bowl: John Madden(XI), Joe Gibbs(XVII, XVIII, XXII, XXVI), and John Fox(XXXVIII). Herm Edwards went there too.
Rivalries
They don’t seem to really have any, at least as far as football goes. Out of all of their opponents they’ve faced Fresno State the most (50 times, 26-20-4 all-time) but the two teams haven’t seen each other since 2002. It seems that since SDSC converted to a University in 1970, they left their small college rivals (26-8-1 against UC-Santa Barbara) behind for larger schools with better programs. The Aztecs are 0-20-1 against UCLA, so at least you know they hate somebody with a bloody passion.
Head to Head
The last time ASU played against San Diego State, they went down 22-0 to the Aztecs early in the first half when head coach Dirk Koetter pulled starting quarterback Chad Christensen for the relatively unknown Andrew Walter. A-Dub threw four touchdowns in the Sun Devils’ 39-28 victory, including TD’s on each of his first two passes en route to the school record for career passing yards and touchdowns. Arizona State leads the all-time series 9-0-1 outscoring the Aztecs 352-88, however SDSU gave the Devils a big scare in the 2000 season opener but shanked a field goal in the waning moments allowing ASU to escape with a 10-7 win. Thanks for shaving years off of my life, Jeff Krohn!
Phil Steele Says…
The Aztecs have had a bad run of things. They lost 32 starts due to injury in Chuck Long’s first year as coach, including their top two quarterbacks, but they have nine starters returning on offense. They lost 3 games by a total of 12 points, and they didn’t have their top quarterback or running back for most of the year, leading to a weak-ass 16.3 points per game in 2006. They’re usually talented since they’re located in a great recruiting area but the whole never seems to equal the sum of the parts. (sound familiar?) Even though they’ll be better, they probably won’t be in contention for a bowl until 2008.
I Say…
After watching some youtube highlights, SDSU looks like they have some playmaking wideouts that could cause fits for the weak Sun Devil secondary. The Aztecs only have four returning defensive starters from a 3-9 team, which gives me confidence should a shootout occur. The three close games the Aztecs lost last year were to relative creampuffs and they rolled over against the tough teams they played. As long as ASU doesn’t look ahead to Oregon State, they shouldn’t have any problems with SDSU. The Aztecs have played one game so far, where they received a 45-17 thumping at the hands of Washington State.
Related Websites
The University’s official website
SDSU’s official athletics site
The Wikipedia page
The College Football Data Warehouse Page
Labels: opponent previews
