When you're 3-5 and on the road in the NFL, or a college team that hasn't been to a bowl game in 12 years, style points mean little. "Just win, baby" really means something -- don't care how. That the Chargers and San Diego State held on for victories this weekend means everything.
The Bolts 29-23 victory at Houston puts them just a game under .500 with a bye-week coming up. The next month of the schedule will determine how the season goes, as Denver, Kansas City and Oakland all come to Qualcomm Stadium, with a trip to Indianapolis thrown in. Win all the home games and you're at 7-6 and in the hunt. I see no way the Bolts contend for a wildcard -- unless they get unexpectedly hot -- but the AFC West remains in play.
I've had my disagreements with the way GM AJ Smith has performed, though I think he's done pretty well overall, but I've never been among the inexplicable legions of coach Norv Turner-haters. In fact, I'd go as far as to say the past two weeks have given us a glimpse of Turner's best coaching since he's been with the Chargers. He has lost most of his receivers and his All-Pro tight end, and has been hampered by a rookie running back who has not immediately met expectations, but his team has combined the past two weeks for 62 points and more than 800 yards of offense. That's pretty amazing.
-- That intentional grounding penalty on the Texans QB in the fourth quarter was horrible. Good, but horrible. Texans fans have a right to think they got jobbed.
-- Houston's Arian Foster looks like the man among boys he was at Mission Bay High, not the average back he appeared to be in college at Tennessee.
-- Bad special teams comes because you suck in players 30-53. Evaluation of a general manager's first-round draft pick is so over-hyped that you forget how important it is to have quality depth. That the Bolts have had punts blocked in three straight games is inexcusable.
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The 2010 San Diego State football team is the most resilient I have perhaps ever seen in my thirty-plus years of watching them. No team since 1998 has been quite so gutty, and no coincidence, that was the last year the Aztecs went bowling.
As mistake piled upon misfortune in Saturday night's 24-19 victory over Colorado State, previous editions of SDSU would have folded like fresh laundry. Not this bunch. The defense, which spent about 22 minutes of the first half on the field -- and mostly on their end because of turnovers -- was spectacular in holding the Rams to a pair of field goals. Only one Rams drive, late in the fourth quarter, was productive in the second half -- the other TD was by the Rams defense on a fumble return.
Finally, the offense came together late in the first half and was solid through most of the second 30 minutes.
Sure, other Aztecs teams might have crushed the Rams by three touchdowns, but they would have blown a couple of other games, too. In fact, if you look at Aztec football history, you see more often than not gritty teams that find a way to pull out close games, not pretty boys who dominate.
The '98 Aztecs that went to the Las Vegas Bowl beat New Mexico by 3, Utah by 1 thanks to a missed Ute extra point, UTEP by 5, Tulsa by 10 in a much closer game and Fresno State 10-0.
The '91 Freedom Bowl team beat UTEP by just a touchdown, topped Utah by 3 when their safeties collided while knocking away a last-second Hail Mary pass to the end zone, squeaked by Wyoming by 2, and suffered the infamous 52-52 tie with BYU.
The '86 Holiday Bowl Aztecs beat Utah by a touchdown, New Mexico by 4, UTEP by a 15-10 margin, Colorado State 27-26 on a late Todd Santos touchdown pass, Wyoming by a TD and BYU by a TD at 10-3.
You don't win 'em all by being pretty. You win them by being tough and responding when the other team hits you.
-- Let me be the first to say that SDSU will make a game of it next week against TCU in Fort Worth. If the Horned Frogs come out of that shellacking of Utah without an emotional letdown, then Gary Patterson is Coach of the Year. Besides, the Aztecs have shown they can rise to the occasion against good teams, and they'll be facing a couple of the best the next two weeks.
-- Thank goodness for late-night kickoffs. If any poll voters actually watched the Aztecs Saturday night, no way would they have received enough votes to be 27th in both polls. However, they could beat a lot of those teams ranked close behind them.
-- Ronnie Hillman ranks ninth nationally in rushing at 116 yards per game -- the highest for a freshman -- but the team only ranks 46th running the ball. "Only" really should be in quotes because they've generally ranked among college football's worst on the ground in recent seasons.
-- Safety Brandon Davis is turning into a pretty good kickoff returner, another area the Aztecs have needed to improve.
-- SDSU ranks fifth in tackles for loss with an average of 8 per game.
-- Is it too early to think about MWC honors? Brady Hoke deserves strong consideration for Coach of the Year unless Patterson gets the Frogs into the National Championship Game. Hillman is a lock for the first-team running back based on statistics, as is WR DeMarco Sampson. The very few sacks allowed should give strong consideration to C Trask Iosefa. On defense, LB Miles Burris and CB Leon McFadden should be first-teamers, while DE Ernie Lawson and CB Jose Perez deserve consideration. Meanwhile, and I don't think Aztecs fans realize this, but K Abel Perez is 15-20 on field goals, a total only matched by Ben Deline of CSU. Brian Stahovich should be a lock as the first-team punter.
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