Frequent Flyer Fullerton to Tackle No. 6 LSU

Folks around here like their football about as plain and simple as they like their Cajun cooking spicy.

The Louisiana State Tigers are not a team to spend their time on fancy plays--flea-flickers, fake field goals and such. Heck, they hardly so much as change defenses.

What they do is play plain, hard football, heavy on the speed that epitomizes the Southern-style game.

“They’re big and strong and they come straight after you,” said Cal State Fullerton defensive lineman Jeff Taylor, who with the rest of the Titans will take on sixth-ranked LSU in 78,882-capacity Tiger Stadium today.

“They play a very, very structured game,” said Gene Murphy, Cal State Fullerton coach. “They line up their talent, show them a basic technique and let them play.”

On defense, the Tigers rarely vary from a “50” defense--a five-man line.

“They’ll play that five-man line all over the field,” Murphy said.

That’s Tiger football. The Titans?

“Our guys are a little different breed of cat,” Murphy said.

Indeed. And although Murphy and his Titans--who are given to occasional gadget plays--know they are not of the same football breed as the Tigers, they say--publicly, at least--that they are happy and excited to be playing here.

It will be Fullerton’s first game against a nationally ranked opponent outside the West, and it will be played before the largest crowd to see a Titan game. Before today, the largest was 60,415 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1971, when Grambling beat the Titans, 59-26.

The Titans rolled into town Friday in two unmarked buses, complete with a police escort.

Fullerton, which managed only 100 yards total offense in a 44-0 loss at Hawaii last week, has not exactly struck fear into the hearts of the locals, even though a similar team, Miami (Ohio), upset the Tigers, 21-12, in Baton Rouge last season.

Sam King, the sports editor of the State-Times, took advantage of Fullerton’s seven-game, five time-zone road schedule to joke in a column Friday that Fullerton’s “best rushing is to the next airplane, its best passing game after it leaves the runway.”

So goes the talk of the observers. Those who will participate have been far more circumspect.

First-year coach Mike Archer, who made a successful debut last week when the Tigers defeated Texas A&M;, 17-3, went out of his way to praise Fullerton.

“Obviously, they did not have a real good performance against Hawaii, but I’m sure they will regroup and iron out the kinks to get ready to play us,” said Archer, at 34 the youngest major-college head coach in the country.

Archer went on to praise Titan quarterback Ronnie Barber, who completed 7 of 17 passes for 60 yards against Hawaii.

“Barber, their quarterback, always scares you,” Archer said.

One thing seems certain, and that is that Archer is wary of a team such as Fullerton.

“I bet he showed them that Miami film every day this week,” said Jim Sirois, Titan punter.

“Fullerton’s going to come in here with nothing to lose,” Archer said. “When you’ve been beaten like that the week before . . . I’m sure their pride’s up.

“Against Miami of Ohio, we learned a big lesson last year. We went into that game not mentally prepared. . . . If we’re better than Cal State Fullerton, we should win the ballgame. But we’re going to have to prove it.”

LSU is led by sophomore quarterback Tom Hodson, who completed 175 of 288 passes for 2,261 yards and 19 touchdowns as a freshman last season.

One of his favorite targets is wide receiver Wendell Davis, a second-team All-American who caught 80 passes for 1,244 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.

Tailback Harvey Williams, the Tigers’ leading rusher, will not start the game as punishment for violating an unspecified team rule, but he will play. Williams rushed for 700 yards on 178 carries with 6 touchdowns last year.

For Fullerton, the primary objective is to score. The Titans have never suffered consecutive shutouts in the school’s 16-year football history.

Last week, breakdowns on the offensive line combined with a strong Hawaii defense to limit the Titans to minus-11 yards rushing and 111 yards passing.

Barber, the returning starter who played only the first half at Hawaii, will again start, but backup Carlos Siragusa is likely to get some playing time.

Eric Franklin, the Titans’ No. 1 tailback, should return after missing the Hawaii trip with a sprained ankle. Tracey Pierce, who was the leading rusher with 32 yards last week, also should play, despite a sore arm.

“We’re not that big or fast, but we’ll be as competitive as anybody,” Murphy said. “Our guys are different from others. They know that, and they know why we have to travel (financial reasons). I don’t give a darn what happens down there. We’re going to get that big guarantee check and we’re going to hit some people.”

Titan Notes Linebacker Jeff Hipp (dislocated elbow) did not make the trip. . . . Linebacker Joe Scott rejoins the Titans after missing the Hawaii game because of uncertainty about his academic eligibility. . . . LSU linebacker Darren Malbrough, the Tigers’ leading tackler with 13 in the opener, is listed as doubtful after he twisted his ankle when stumbling on netting near the goal post during practice Wednesday. . . . Baton Rouge is 4,162 miles from Honolulu, the sight of the Titans’ opener.