There’s Little at Stake as the Titans Play Fresno

There’s nothing quite like the bright lights and excitement of being on television, which is what brings Cal State Fullerton to the hub of the San Joaquin Valley for tonight’s Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game against Fresno State.

This was supposed to be the week of Fullerton’s homecoming game. Instead, ESPN made the Titans an offer they couldn’t refuse, and homecoming became negotiable. The game was moved to Fresno, where the lighting was better and the Titans’ chance of winning was worse.

Of course, that decision was made back in August, when Fullerton had grand visions of this game determining the PCAA championship. But preseason expectations don’t always become realities, as any ESPN executive will tell you.

This was also supposed to be the game Fresno State quarteback Kevin Sweeney could pass former Boston College miracle worker Doug Flutie as the NCAA’s career passing yardage leader. But bruised and battered shoulders have caused Sweeney’s statistics to slip below projections and have brought the marquee value of this game down with them. Sweeney, who, according to coach and father Jim Sweeney, is now healthy, enters tonight’s game needing 653 yards to surpass Flutie and is more likely to close in on the mark next week at Nevada Las Vegas or Nov. 15 at Hawaii.

Sweeney began the season on a pace that would have put him close to the record for this game. He opened with 332 yards against Montana State. He followed that with 328 yards against Oregon State, 281 against Louisiana Tech and 337 in an upset loss to San Jose State.

But a deep shoulder bruise suffered against Louisiana Tech and aggravated against San Jose forced Jim Sweeney to rest his son’s passing arm and put more emphasis on the running game. The younger Sweeney threw for 118 yards against New Mexico State, 107 against the University of the Pacific and 164 last week against Cal State Long Beach. This season, he has completed 105 of 189 passes for 1,667 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has 9,927 career passing yards, placing him third on the NCAA all-time list behind Flutie and Bowling Green’s Brian McClure.

“For a couple of weeks, we were very conservative offensively,” Jim Sweeney said. “We ran the toss sweep the way Marcus Allen would want it run. O.J. would have been proud. But now that Kevin is healed, we’ll be a better multi-dimensional offensive team.”

Injuries have been only part of the Fullerton failure story this season. In August, Titan Coach Gene Murphy was among those who believed the Fresno game could decide the PCAA championship. Jim Sweeney was not.

“I think Murphy is a lot like me . . . the eternal optimist,” he said. “On that Fullerton team last year, there were probably more pro prospects than on any team on the Pacific Coast. Murphy just had too many players to replace.”

Titan Notes

Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney is among contributors of between $100 and $249 to the Titan Athletic Foundation. “I did it because I believe in college athletics and the job (Fullerton Coach) Gene Murphy is doing at Fullerton,” Sweeney said. . . . Free safety Tom Phillips (injured knee) and linebacker George Pritchard (knee) did not make the trip for tonight’s game. Offensive tackle Matt Fitts and defensive tackle Ron McLean both have pinched nerve problems, and Murphy is uncertain how much or how well they will be able to play. . . . Reserve linebacker Greg Williams, who missed the Titans’ trip to Hawaii last week after missing the team bus to the airport, is back with the team. . . . Former Servite High School quarterback Eric Buechele is a redshirt freshman at Fresno State and is listed as the Bulldogs’ No. 2 quarterback. . . . Fresno wide receiver Stephen Baker has earned the nickname “Touchdown Maker.” Six of his 18 receptions this season have been for touchdowns, and he is averaging 28.9 yards per catch. . . . Fullerton needs one win in its last three games to avoid finishing with its worst record ever. The Titans were 2-9 in 1975.