San Diego State Aztecs
Mountain West
With all of the publicity going towards Boise State and TCU, San Diego State quietly had a very solid 2011 campaign. The Aztecs have a couple future NFL players in quarterback Ryan Lindley and running back Ronnie Hillman, but many expected the Aztecs to struggle with a new coach coming in and a defense that needed to replace a slew of contributors. Yet, Coach Rocky Long pretty much picked up where Brady Hoke left off.
2011 Record: 8-4, 4-3
Last Bowl Appearance: 2010 Poinsettia Bowl vs. Navy (W 35-14)
Big Wins: 10/13 at Air Force (41-27), 12/3 Fresno State (35-28)
Bad Losses: 10/8 TCU (14-27), 10/29 Wyoming (27-30)
Coach: Rocky Long (8-4 at San Diego State, 73-73 overall)
Bowl Record: 0-0 at San Diego State, 1-4 overall
Offensive Coordinator: Andy Ludwig
Defensive Coordinator: Rocky Long
Strengths:
Win the turnover battle and you always have a chance to win the game. That has worked quite well for the Aztecs this year. The offense has kept the turnovers down thanks to their two superstars and the defense will force a ton of turnovers. Lindley has not put up huge numbers this year, but that is partly due to the absence of his top three receivers from a year ago. Lindley is good, but the receiving corps is inexperienced, even after playing for an entire season. However, Colin Lockett, Dylan Denso and Gavin Escobar are decent receivers at this point in their career. They might not be anywhere near the level of Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson and it shows, but those two spoiled Aztec fans. But the true strength of the offense is in the running game. Hillman is one of the best around and rushed for over 1,500 yards for his second consecutive season. With players like Hillman and Lindley, it is tough to stop the SDSU offense. The opposition can either try and stop the pass and get beat by Hillman or stop the run and let Lindley pick apart the secondary.
Weaknesses:
The defense, at least part of it, has done pretty well considering the inexperience they had coming into the season. Few teams have had much success trying to throw against San Diego State. Corners Larry Parker and Leon McFadden are two of the best in the conference and when they are not intercepting passes, they are at least breaking them up. When those two are blanketing receivers, the opposition has little choice but to throw short and occasionally heave the deep ball downfield to keep SDSU honest. The rush defense has some issues though. Miles Burris is a great pass rushing linebacker and Jerome Long is a very talented defensive tackle who can push the line and get into the backfield, but much of the defense lacks the horizontal speed to chase down rushers and that can be a big problem for a 3-4 defense.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Ronnie Hillman, RB, 1,656 yards
Passing: Ryan Lindley, QB, 2,740 yards
Receiving: Colin Lockett, WR, 885 yards
Tackles: Miles Burris, LB, 72
Sacks: Miles Burris, LB, 8.0
Interceptions: Larry Parker, CB, 7
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 192.27 (31st in nation, 3rd in conference)
Passing Offense: 224.00 (66, 3)
Total Offense: 416.27 (40, 4)
Scoring Offense: 29.27 (53, 4)
Rushing Defense: 189.09 (95, 3)
Pass Defense: 186.73 (16, 3)
Total Defense: 375.82 (57, 3)
Scoring Defense: 24.09 (50, 3)
Turnover Margin: .91 (13, 2)
Sacks: 2.27 (30, 1)
Sacks Allowed: .73 (7, 2)
