San Diego State defensive coordinator Rocky Long makes his first appearance against his former team, the New Mexico Lobos. San Diego State looks to move to .500 on the year as New Mexico is still searching for its first win of the season. Although the Lobos have yet to win a game this year, the Aztecs are taking them very seriously. Find out why after the jump.
The good news for the Lobos is that today, Coach Hoke has ruled star WR Vincent Brown OUT for the game on Halloween.
Series: SDSU leads 20-15
Time: 4:34 PST
TV: CBS College Sports HD (Yes, I can watch it!)
The Lobos have beaten the Aztecs 8 straight games, including the last 6 at Qualcomm and winning 70-7 last season at New Mexico. In fact, that was the last game the Lobos won.
The Aztecs will be looking to snap a bunch of streaks this week even after they snapped a bunch of streaks last week, where the Aztecs snapped a 10 game road losing streak, not to mention surpassed last year's win total. The Aztecs look to win back to back games for the first time since 2007 and look to reach .500 for the first time since finishing 6-6 in the 2003 season. With Vincent Brown out, the Aztecs will have to rely on Demarco Sampson, Roberto Wallace, Dominique Sandifer, and freshman Preston King. The Aztecs will once again try to get the running game going.
The Lobos will have coach Locksley back for the first game after his suspension, where he had a tough time away from football. They will also have to face former head coach Rocky Long, after he resigned last season. It should be an emotional game for both sides. Rocky Long has said he has not given any special information about his former team in preparation for this game. The Lobos haven't lost at Qualcomm stadium in 14 years and since the WAC days. As you can imagine at 0-7, not much is going right for the Lobos. The will have to stop the weak Aztec running game and force them to go to the air and try to get Ryan Lindley to make mistakes. SDSU has to contain quarterback Donovan Porterie. In the past four games, he’s scored six TDs and completed 60 percent of his passes. The defense of the Aztecs is definitely much weaker than the offense.