Aztec Fans, It’s a Long Way to USC

Nick Canepa in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Geographically, San Diego State and the University of Southern California are separated by two hours’ worth of freeway.

“As far as football programs go, when you consider tradition, heritage, expectations, pressures and wherewithal, I don’t know exactly how far apart they are. I have a call in to Captain Kirk for the answer. I can say this much: To get there from here, you start with light-years and multiply.

“It’s no great shame. It’s just the way things are. The way things have been. And the way things are going to be. For some time to come.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the Pacific 10 Conference record for longest run by a quarterback?

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Miracle worker? After a 16-game losing streak, Nevada Las Vegas has a 2-0 record this season under new Coach John Robinson. So Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle wondered how the former USC coach reacts to people coming up to him and claiming he has some kind of magic.

“I just smile and nod,” Robinson said.

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Easy, Dan, easy: Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald writing why Miami can beat Penn State today: “This [Penn State] team, for all its hype, hasn’t seen a team with Miami’s speed and talent, hasn’t seen a city with Miami’s heat and humidity, hasn’t seen a road crowd with this kind of electricity and volume.

“The Penn State team, for all its hype, hasn’t proven a thing. In fact, Miami, by beating Ohio State, has proven more.”

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Interpretation: Seattle Manager Lou Piniella insinuated that Boston pitcher John Wasdin was altering baseballs with his belt buckle.

Said Wasdin: “He kept saying, ‘His belt, his belt.’ Maybe he liked my belt. I got it at Nordstrom’s. It was on sale.”

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Promising rookie: Former Buffalo Bill coach Marv Levy made his debut Sunday on Fox Sports Net’s “NFL This Morning” and called the Jets overrated even before Vinny Testaverde was lost for the season.

Said Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune: “At 74, the kid just might have a future in television.”

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Trivia answer: Mark Malone of Arizona State, 98 yards for a touchdown against Utah State in 1979. That is also tied with Bill Powell of California against Oregon State in 1951 for longest run, regardless of position.

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And finally: Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times writing on Michael Jordan’s obsession with golf: “Just how much golf does [Jordan] play? His wife, Juanita, when asked what he does with his life now, recently launched into a golf swing in the middle of a downtown restaurant.

“If golf was his escapist passion throughout his basketball career, it has become his full-blown, 24-7 obsession, complete with shot visualization techniques.”