Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - 2007 SEASON IN REVIEW: A former runner-up for the Heisman Trophy while playing quarterback at Iowa more than two decades earlier, San Diego State head coach Chuck Long knows full well that in order to earn some respect in the college game a team has to go out and challenge tough competition. That's exactly what the Aztecs did to begin the 2007 campaign, although it didn't work in the team's favor.

Not only was SDSU slated to play back-to-back games against Pac-10 opponents (Washington State and Arizona State) to begin the season, the squad was having to do so on the road and that was by far easier said than done. After those first two games the Aztecs had been outscored 79-30, which is perhaps why they took out their vengeance on Portland State at home with a 52-17 thumping. However, the next week it was again a tough non-conference foe and this time a nationally-ranked one as the Cincinnati Bearcats secured a 52-23 decision at Qualcomm Stadium which left San Diego State 1-3 with October on the horizon. The MWC opener against Colorado State provided the Aztecs with a victory, however narrow it may have been at 24-20, but then a week later SDSU failed to produce an offense on its own home turf in a 23-7 setback to Utah. Close decisions against New Mexico (loss), Wyoming (win) and UNLV (win) were followed by double-digit losses to Air Force (55-23), TCU (45-33) and BYU (48-27), bringing an end to the college career of quarterback Kevin O'Connell after leading the team in rushing (408 yards, 11 TDs) and passing (more than 3,000 yards) as a senior.

However, offense was not as much an issue for the Aztecs as was the defense, a unit that placed second-to-last in the FBS with 241.5 ypg allowed on the ground. The squad was 115th in terms of total yards permitted (498.2 ypg) and was last in the MWC in points allowed (34.4 ppg).

2008 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: Strangely enough for the Aztecs, the only player on the roster who has ever started a college game at quarterback is Darren Mougey, and he's going to be a wide receiver for the program yet again this season. Overall Mougey, now a senior, is one of only four returning starters on offense from a year ago, which doesn't bode well for whomever is going to try and step in at quarterback for the squad. Coach Long seems to be leaning towards handing the ball to freshman Ryan Lindley, who should he make the start versus Cal Poly in late August. He will become just the second freshman in school history to start a season at the position (the other being All-American Todd Santos). Drew Westling, a transfer from Southwestern College, sits behind Lindley on the depth chart, followed by Kelsey Sokoloski who has seen some limited time under center as a backup to O'Connell.

"We put the ball in Kevin's hands last year just because of his ability to run with the ball as well as throw it, you counter that, offset that this year...we don't have as much mobility at quarterback so we want to give it to our running backs more." That has been the way that coach Long has tried to deflect questions about the team finding a new signal-caller.

In addition to Mougey on the outside, sophomore receiver Vincent Brown is also back for another turn after catching 31 passes for 349 yards and a pair of scores in his first year with SDSU. O'Connell had the Aztecs passing attack ranked second in the MWC and 28th in the nation, but quite often the bulk of those 272.7 ypg came only after the team was struggling to remain competitive. While that could also happen this season as well, getting an inexperienced QB to handle the pressure might be asking quite a bit.

Long feels good about the team's depth at running back, but that doesn't translate into confidence in whomever the starter might be from week to week. Brandon Sullivan could bring a wide-range of offensive opportunities to the mix as the top returning ground gainer (220 yards, two TDs) who also collected 18 receptions for an additional 119 yards coming out of the backfield.

The road will be long and hard for this offense, one that placed last in the MWC and 105th nationally in rushing (103.9 ypg), especially since there are just two returning starters on the offensive line (Mike Schmidt and Trask Iosefa) and they'll have their hands full trying to teaches teammates the ropes and keep the quarterback standing upright. "To offset a brand new quarterback, a young quarterback, with less mobility at that position," coach Long recognizes, "we want to give it to the guys that need to carry the football and that's our running backs."

DEFENSE: On a positive note, the Aztecs return as many as eight starters on the defensive side of the ball, although the front line will be almost entirely new except for Jonathan Soto who was among the team leaders a year ago with his three sacks. Getting into the opponent's backfield was a huge challenge for the Aztecs in 2007, the team ranking second-to-last in the conference and 116th in the country with a mere four and a half tackles for loss per outing. With just 1.25 sacks per game, SDSU ranked last in the Mountain West and 107th in the nation in that department as well. Other players with prior experience who will see time in the trenches will be Siaosi Fifita, Neil Spencer and B.J. Williams.

Getting most of the attention for the Aztecs this season are linebackers Russell Allen and Luke Laolagi, the former an honorable mention All-MWC selection in 2007 who is the only player from SDSU named on this year's Preseason All-MWC squad. Russell led the program in total tackles a year ago (119) and was first in the MWC in terms of tackles per conference game with nearly 11 per contest. Against one of the toughest opponents in the league last season, Russell came up with a school-record 22 tackles versus Utah, which means he can do the job against just about anyone. Laolagi placed third on the team with 94 total tackles and will get plenty of support on the field from fellow linebacker Andrew Preston (72 stops), despite the latter heading into just his season with the program.

The pass defense for the unit was lax last year, ranking last in the MWC and 94th in the country with 256.7 ypg allowed, which means returning starters like Vonnie Holmes, Aaron Moore and Corey Boudreaux will be under the microscope in the secondary. "We've done a good job...of getting our hands on the ball more defensively," is one of coach Long's responses when trying to skirt the new quarterback issue again. "We want to continue that trend, create more turnovers on defense and give our offense more chances and give our new and young quarterback more chances."

SPECIAL TEAMS: Despite all the action Michael Hughes saw as a punter in 2007 (72 kicks), the Aztecs performed well enough in transition to rank second in the conference and 17th in the nation with a net of 37.6 yards per punt. Breaking in someone new at the position may drop that number down somewhat, especially if that replacement is a true freshman like Brian Stahovich. If sticking Stahovich in the mix were not enough, the Aztecs also have to replace their long snapper as well and again the team is leaning towards a true freshman in Aaron Brewer. Handling the place-kicking duties will likely be redshirt sophomore Bryan Shields. As far as punt returns is concerned, the team had a mere 13 opportunities last season, compared to 32 for the opposition, which means the squad is still rather raw in that department, although Mekell Wesley and Vincent Brown are available to make a difference, Wesley will also be the lead man on kickoff returns as well, with Davon Brown supporting.

OUTLOOK: Considering both San Jose State and Idaho from over in the Western Athletic Conference are not supposed to put up much of a fight this season, those are two meetings that the Aztecs could possibly put in the win column. The season opener against Cal Poly might look like a gimme, but assuming nothing in this case. With a new quarterback working his way into the system this might be the first of many rebuilding years for coach Long, that is, if he's allowed to stick around.