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P R E G A M E R E P O R T S A N D I E G O S T A T E @ P E N N S T A T E 3 : 3 0 P . M . , S E P T . 2 6 B T N SAN DIEGO STATE FACTS COACH Rocky Long (New Mex- ico, '74) COACH'S RECORD 33-22 in five season as head coach; career record: 98-91 in 15 seasons 2015 RECORD 1-2 RECORD VS. PSU This is the first meeting between Penn State and San Diego State. GOOD NEWS While the Aztecs have been in- consistent on both sides of the ball, their special teams have got- ten off to a terrific start. They are third nationally in team efficiency according to ESPN's rankings, due in large part to their nation-lead- ing 83.3 percent success rate in field goals. BAD NEWS San Diego State is looking to re- bound from a tough loss last weekend to South Alabama. The Aztecs were up by two touch- downs in the second quarter and led by a field goal with just over two minutes to play in the game. But the Jaguars tied the score with a field goal in the final sec- onds and went on to win in over- time, breaking San Diego State's nine-game home winning streak. DID YOU KNOW? Since they began competing at the Division I level in 1969, the Aztecs have only played 14 games in the Eastern time zone. They have won only two of those games, defeating Kent State in 1972 and Army in 2011. This will be the third consecutive year that they have trekked east, having lost at Ohio State in 2013 and at North Carolina last season. T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 1 GROUND FORCES Pumphrey has been the Aztecs' breakout offen- sive star the past two seasons, fin- ishing fourth in the country in rushing as a sophomore. He rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown last week against South Alabama, his first 100-yard game of the sea- son. Photo by Ernie Ander- son/SDSU Ath- letics GOING  THE  DISTANCE SDSU travels far as it looks to rebound from a slow start Tennessee and Oregon currently get Rocky Long's vote. But he's never been to Penn State. Discussing the two loudest college football stadiums that he's heard, the two- time Mountain West Coach of the Year points to Neyland Stadium and Autzen Stadium and out-of-conference trips to Knoxville and Eugene. ACer visiting Beaver Stadium, it might be safe to assume that Long will have a third on that list Saturday evening. "I'm excited about going to a place I've never been," said the veteran coach, now in his sixth season at San Diego State aCer 11 seasons with New Mexico. "It's always a great experience to play in a stadium like they have, in an atmos- phere like they have – that's really fun. That's really fun for coaches. That's re- ally fun for competitors. Now the bad part of it is that they're a pretty good football team. They've got a couple first-round draC choices on defense, and they've got a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback." Long hasn't been to State College before. Based on the Heisman comments, maybe he

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