Huskies Won’t Overlook Aztecs Even With Nebraska On Deck And A No. 3 Ranking In Hand, Lambright Says UW Will Be Focused On San Diego State
FROM SPORTS REPLAYS (Thursday, September 11, 1997): Replay San Diego State University football player Darryl Jones transferred from Washington State University, not the University of Washington. It was incorrectly reported in Tuesday’s editions.
The Washington Huskies moved up to No. 3 in The Associated Press college football poll released Sunday. It was on the TV sportscasts. It was on the front pages of Monday sports sections here. Quarterback Brock Huard didn’t know about it until Monday afternoon, during UW’s weekly media session.
“I’m really not thinking about that,” he said.
Given that Huard isn’t eyeballing the rankings, it’s unlikely he will overlook San Diego State, the Huskies’ home-opening assignment on Saturday. Not even with No. 6 Nebraska visiting UW the following Saturday.
“They were 10-2 last year and 1-0 this year,” said Huard, being overly generous since San Diego State was 8-3 in ‘96. “That gets your attention.”
Coach Jim Lambright, still bubbly over the Huskies’ 42-20 road win over Brigham Young on Saturday, is guarding against a potential letdown with strict words. He plans stringent practices this week.
“There is going to be an awful lot of complimentary things said about how good we are nationally, and all the syrup (San Diego State coach) Ted Tollner just threw out. … I’ve heard that from good coaches before and gotten into a real ugly fight come game time,” Lamb right said.
Tollner, who spoke via teleconference before Lambright, heaped praise on the Huskies.
San Diego State (1-0) will play six of its next eight games on the road. The Aztecs were scheduled to play Idaho State this Saturday, but the Bengals asked out of the game.
“I get credit for this one,” Tollner said. “I thought it would be a good experience for our team. I’m questioning my intelligence now.”
Asked about the Nebraska game, Lambright said, “That’s week three. That has nothing to do with this game.”
Foot follies
About the biggest gripe Lambright could muster in light of UW’s domination of BYU centered on the field-goal unit. Kicker Randy Jones, from Spokane’s Ferris High, had one field goal blocked and missed attempts from 22 and 32 yards.
“The snap was bad on the first one, but we should have put the second one through,” Lambright said. “We need to pick up that part of the game.”
Husky Aztecs
San Diego State quarterback Kevin McKechnie sprained his ankle in Saturday’s 45-31 win over Navy. Tollner said McKechnie had three of his four touchdown passes after the injury. McKechnie is expected to play Saturday. If he’s unable, the starter becomes former Husky Mike Smith.
Smith was lost on the depth chart behind Huard and then-Husky Shane Fortney in ‘93 and ‘94. He transferred to San Diego State in 1995 and sat out under transfer rules. He didn’t play last season. Smith’s last game action was in high school in 1992.
“He’s a big, strong guy and was highly recruited out of high school,” Tollner said. “But he just hasn’t had any playing time.”
Aztecs’ defensive tackle Darryl Jones is another ex-Husky. “He played about 25 snaps vs. Navy, but he’ll play more in the Washington game,” Tollner said.
On line
All-American offensive guard Benji Olson played roughly half of the BYU game and tired quickly. He had off-season surgery on his back and missed spring football and most of conditioning program. Olson can expect lots of running at practice, Lambright said.
In contrast, tackle Tony Coats’ performance and enthusiasm pleased Lambright. “I love watching film and seeing which (lineman) is first to get to the end zone to congratulate a wide receiver after a long pass,” Lambright said. Coats was the first. “That’s a pretty good run for a 300-pound guy. It shows he did his work during the summer.”
, DataTimes