Hot passing game has yet to pay off

By Mick McGrane
STAFF WRITER

September 11, 2008

Come forward, all of you clamoring for the return of Coryell. Step right up, all you fanatics of the forward pass.

You want it, you got it.

If there has been a common complaint among those fallen-away fans of San Diego State football, it's that a program whose glory days were predicated on the pass has seen fit to part with its past.

EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune Freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley has thrown the ball 104 times in the past two games. He threw 59 times in last week's loss to Notre Dame.

What once was an aerial circus was viewed as having become as blasé as bouillon, which, when ladled over a lengthy span of losing seasons, was hardly a recipe for success.

Boring is bad. Boring and bad will leave you trying to sell tickets to Red Grange's galloping ghost.

After two games this season, Aztecs redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley has thrown the ball 104 times. Only two other Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the nation – Houston and Texas Tech – have thrown it as much, and none has thrown it more.

In two games, SDSU's Ryan Lindley has attempted 104 passes. At his current pace, he would finish the 12-game season with 624 attempts. But more passes does not equal more wins, as evidenced by the list of the top five passing seasons in SDSU history: SEASON | ATT. | RECORD 2002   584   4-9 1987   509   5-7 1990   485   6-5 1993   465   6-6 2007   458   4-8 Note: The school record for an individual is 492, set by Todd Santos in 1987.

In last week's 21-13 loss at Notre Dame, Lindley, who has already established SDSU single-game records for a freshman in the categories of attempts, completions and touchdowns, threw 59 times. To provide perspective, the school record for attempts is 60, a mark established by Todd Santos in 1987 and matched by Adam Hall in 2002.

The highest number of passes attempted by a Don Coryell-coached quarterback in a single game at SDSU was 53, by Brian Sipe in 1971. On the Aztecs' career attempts list, Sipe's effort ranks no better than a tie for 10th.

It's nothing new for Lindley, who in his senior season at El Capitan High two years ago threw 385 times.

“I always tell the coaches that my arm is like rubber; it never feels tired,” Lindley said after the Notre Dame game. “It's kind of exciting throwing the ball that many times.”

Although it may rekindle the interest of Aztecs fans who have long since parted ways with the program, airing it out does not always culminate in cashing in.

Of the top 10 passing teams in the nation last year, only five had winning records. Conversely, BYU, whose prodigious passing attack has routinely ranked among the most efficient in the country, finished 11-2 last year while posting its second straight undefeated season in Mountain West Conference play.

With current Aztecs coach Chuck Long serving as its offensive coordinator, Oklahoma went undefeated and won a national championship in 2000 when it averaged 37.6 passes per game. In finishing 11-2 the following year, the Sooners averaged 40.9 pass attempts.

“A lot of the passes we threw (at Notre Dame) were short passes, and when you complete short passes it's just as good as a run because it keeps the clock moving and allows you to move the ball,” Long said. “You can win throwing the ball; it's been proven. Now, if you're throwing it 59 times a game and 35 of them are (deep passes), you're probably going to get a lot of incompletions. It's what you do with the passing game that counts.”

Not to be discounted, of course, is the necessity of a running game. SDSU, which is 0-2 entering Saturday's game at San Jose State, has run the ball 38 times for an average of 2.6 yards. Only two Football Bowl Subdivision teams – SMU and UCLA – have averaged fewer rushing yards.

“The way the game unfolded for us last week, we came out throwing the football and in the second half we were able to start generating a run game,” said Long, whose team rushed for 61 yards over the final two quarters. “We just felt that as much as they were going to blitz us that there were going to be some holes in the secondary that would allow us to take some shots.”

In San Jose State, the Aztecs will be facing a team that is allowing an average of just 80 yards on the ground but 204.5 through the air. In two games, opponents have thrown just two fewer passes against the Spartans than Lindley did against Notre Dame.

“I think we moved the ball real well last week,” said Lindley, who was sacked once. “We got stuck in a rut once in a while, but I think that's just part of correcting things that need to be worked out. But we definitely put ourselves in position to win the ballgame, and (the passing game) is working for us right now. I think we just need to keep rolling with it.”

Extra points

Starting strong safety T.J. McKay, who was sporting a protective boot after suffering a strained Achilles' tendon at Notre Dame, returned to practice. . . . Defensive tackle Siaosi Fifita (knee), who has not participated in workouts for nearly a month, practiced in a limited capacity but is not expected to play Saturday. Fifita's injury and a rash of other injuries across the defensive front have forced SDSU to move end Jonathan Soto to tackle. As such, Russell Allen, normally the starting strong-side linebacker, will likely make his second straight start at defensive end. . . . Defensive end Ryan Williams, who suffered a concussion in the season opener against Cal Poly, is unlikely to play against San Jose State.

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Mick McGrane: (619) 293-1850; mick.mcgrane@uniontrib.com

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