San Diego State’s DLine Coming in Banged Up
San Diego State’s defensive line was hit with the injury bug over the summer and their bad luck continued in their opening week loss to cal Poly.
The Aztecs, who concluded fall camp already thin across the defensive front, had no fewer than four more defensive linemen sustain at least some sort of injury in Saturday’s season-opening 29-27 loss to Cal Poly.
Junior Tony DeMartinis, who started at defensive end Saturday, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn anterior and medial collateral ligament in his knee. DeMartinis is the second defensive lineman to be lost for the year. Sophomore tackle Neil Spencer (shoulder) is also out for the season after playing in every game last year.
DeMartinis got the start at defensive end when junior Jonathan Soto was moved to tackle because of a lingering knee injury to senior Siaosi Fifita. Though coach Chuck Long is hopeful Fifita can resume practicing tomorrow as the Aztecs begin preparations for Notre Dame, there are others who required medical attention in the wake of Saturday’s loss.
San Diego State gave up 483 yards to Division 1AA Cal Poly – a middle of the road D1AA school – on Saturday and will come into Notre Dame Stadium with even less depth along the defensive line. There is no reason whatsoever that the Irish offense should struggle in this one. This will be the worst defense a Notre Dame offense has faced during the Charlie Weis Era.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
SDSU Wrap. I take back the earlier comment. GaTech would still smoke us today. O-Line still looks weak. Poor footwork, not a lot of strength. Was Charlie just proud of weight gain or was strength part of the offseason work. They still lack leadership. Reasonable grit to come back, but let’s face it, this group of highly touted recruits is still not ready for prime time. Gonna be a long year. Prediction 6 or 7 wins. 7 is stretching it.
FYI: Maybe ND needs to be on a Skip Holtz watch.
I almost wish we were playing Ga Tech again. It would be a better test of the O-Line and fun to see Tenuta on our side against his former team, coached by the guy who broke the 43 year streak ( or whatever it was ).
But it still bears watching. You’ll want to see ND pushing these guys around. No need for long passes. An indication that SDST is breaking by the 2nd quarter. And at least 350-400 ground yards. That’ll will indicate whether the coaches learned their lesson to abandon the NFL style walk thru practices. If so, ND wins 10 games. If not ND wins 5.
I agree 500 yards of total 0 atleast!
I love all of the positive reviews and, yes, I do believe we will be a lot better. BUT, I live in SEC land, and I can tell you that a team without dominating tackles – defensive and offensive – a team can’t win against good opponents. We are looking at a 6 or 7 win season if no one steps up at these positions. I believe they will. Example, look at Alabama, they have had the same guys for a few years – they got MAD – they would not lose. If ND goes into the game with the effort of the past they will not have the dominant tackles. They only happen when the whole team goes crazy – ‘Kill them’. I think they will. Let’s go Irish!! Kick ASS!!!
Obviously after a 3-9 season we just need victories but I will not be happy unless we rack up over 500 yards of total offence. God I can’t wait. Go Irish!!!!!!