USD to Meet Improved UC Santa Barbara

When the University of San Diego football team defeated Claremont-Mudd College, 23-7, last Saturday, it clinched its first winning season ever under its fifth-year coach, Brian Fogarty.

Fogarty, who had directed his teams to 5-5 records in both 1983 and ‘85, is 5-1-1 this season with three games remaining.

But challenges remain.

Such as today’s 1:30 p.m. game at Goleta, where UC Santa Barbara fields a team that has improved as much as USD has this season. The Toreros were 4-6 a year ago. UCSB was 4-5 in 1986 but is 6-1 this year, only its second season at the Division III level.

UC Santa Barbara is led by its quarterback duo of freshman Mike Curtius and junior transfer Steve Armstrong. In two games, Curtius has thrown for 345 yards and 6 touchdowns and Armstrong has thrown for 423 yards and 4 touchdowns. The duo replaced Paul Wright, who led the Gauchos to four victories in five games before he separated his shoulder three weeks ago. Sean Russell, a transfer from San Diego State, is UCSB’s top receiver with 39 catches and 8 touchdowns.

USD has relied on a stingy defense and a balanced offense. The Toreros limited Claremont-Mudd to 220 yards of total offense and has only once allowed more than one touchdown in a game this season.