AZTEC NOTEBOOK / SCOTT MILLER : Faulk’s Numbers Game Still Drawing a Crowd

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. â€”  The Marshall Faulk phenomenon even has the San Diego State coaching staff tracking his numbers.

With about nine minutes to play in SDSU’s 49-21 victory over New Mexico on Saturday, Aztec receivers coach Curtis Johnson wandered from the coaches’ box down the hall to the press box and asked how many yards Faulk had.

The answer was 199.

A few minutes later, Faulk, who had been on the bench, came back in and carried three times: Up the middle for two yards. Right end for minus-three. Draw play for two.

Then, with 200 yards, Faulk left for good with seven minutes remaining.

Aztec Coach Al Luginbill said he was unaware on the bench of where Faulk stood in relation to 200 yards.

“He came up to me and asked if he could go back in,� Luginbill said. “It was only fair to him.�

Faulk, though, said he had no idea how many yards he had. His reason for wanting to go back in?

“I just wanted to go in for a couple of plays and tell a guy I know something,� he said.

The guy was New Mexico cornerback Herbert McKinley.

What did Faulk want to say?

“It’s personal,� Faulk said, grinning.

There was some jawing going on between Faulk and Lobo defenders. Faulk and Lobo free safety Ray Wilson exchanged words after Wilson knocked Faulk out of bounds on his first carry of the evening.

“A couple of guys felt I wasn’t good enough to be getting attention,� Faulk said. “You’re going to say something back. That’s football. It’s a man’s game. You can’t be frail out there.�

*

The scene surrounding Faulk gets more unusual each game. For the first time John Rosenthal’s memory, the SDSU sports information director had to recruit security guards to escort Faulk to the Aztec buses after the game because of the number of fans wanting autographs.

Faulk was late coming into the SDSU locker room after the game because he stopped to sign autographs, and he appeared for post-game interviews wearing sunglasses.

“My eyes are red,� he explained.

Someone asked him if he is beginning to feel like a movie star.

“I wouldn’t say a movie star,� he said. “It feels great, though.�

*

It was against New Mexico last year that Faulk ran into the most difficulty of his young career. In the second quarter, Faulk fractured three ribs and suffered a punctured lung when he was tackled by Lobo linebacker Jesse Becton.

Faulk already had 153 yards by then but he missed the entire second half plus the next three games, against Texas El Paso, Utah and Wyoming.

Faulk said the injury and the opponent never entered his mind this week.

“Not at all,� Faulk said. “They’re just another opponent I’ve got to face. I don’t look at it as the game I got hurt in. I’ve forgotten about it.�

*

Faulk’s back-up, Wayne Pittman, finally got an opportunity. By the end of the evening, he had given New Mexico a reason to remember him.

Pittman, in his first extended action of the season, gained 93 yards on 12 carries, including a 38-yard touchdown run on a fake punt.

“Man, I’ve been waiting for them to call that since the USC game,� Pittman said. “It was wide open.�

Pittman produces when called upon. He rushed for more than 150 yards in each of three games last season when Faulk was injured.

“Me and Wayne switching off and on . . . when you use two backs, it’s kind of hard to stop them,� Faulk said.

*

Another Aztec who stepped out of the shadows was DeAndre Maxwell, a redshirt freshman from Fresno who caught his first touchdown pass as an Aztec in the second quarter. It was a 22-yarder to increase SDSU’s lead to 21-0.

“It was a good experience,� Maxwell said. “I’ve been working hard in practice waiting for this moment to come. It finally came together.�

*

The Aztec defense, ranked 106th in the nation and yielding 491.7 yards per game, held the Lobos to 259.

“We just got upfield,� said defensive end Jamal Duff. “That’s what we were aiming for. I think we got the job done.�

And they did it without Turaj Smith (sprained ankle) and Tyrone Morrison (knee), two regulars among the defensive line.

“This just proves we have a lot of depth,� Duff said.

Game Notes

Before last week’s first-quarter fumble against UCLA, Marshall Faulk had carried the ball 254 consecutive times without a fumble. . . . SDSU is now 12-3-1 in games after a loss to UCLA. . . . This was SDSU’s third consecutive road game. After a bye next Saturday, the Aztecs play host to Texas El Paso on Oct. 17 and Air Force on Oct. 24. . . . Former Lobo quarterback Marcus Goodloe is now a backup wide receiver and a political activist. Goodloe spoke before presidential candidate Bill Clinton on the New Mexico campus on Sept. 18.