CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK : Murphy Cries Foul, but Fresno State Coach Says That’s a Familiar Sound

Gene Murphy asked his secretary to hold all calls Monday morning, closed his door and sat down with a projector and the reels of film that were to give him the answers he wanted.

The play-by-play says Cal State Fullerton shot itself in the foot against Fresno State Saturday. Murphy says the referees pulled the trigger.

The film says his complaints have some merit.

The dispute involves three plays that sustained a fourth-quarter Fresno State drive that ended in a touchdown, turning a seven-point lead into 14 and turning Fullerton’s hopes of an upset into anger.

Murphy complained after the game, and he was still complaining Monday, even though by doing so publicly he is courting a private reprimand from Big West Commissioner Jim Haney, even though nothing will change the outcome of the game--a 33-19 Fresno State victory.

“It does sound like sour grapes,” Murphy said. “We lost the damn game. They beat us. . . . We lost the game in the first half. Period. Officials don’t lose games for you, but they have something to do with the outcome. They certainly did in the fourth quarter.”

But Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney says it’s “the same old, same old.”

“They were going out of here moaning and crying about the officiating,” Sweeney said. “Every time we beat them, every single time we beat them, it’s officiating.”

Here are the critical plays, what the coaches say and what the film says:

Roughing the Kicker: On fourth and three at its 47 with 5:28 left to play, Fresno State sent Lance Oberparleiter in to punt. The films show Fullerton’s Darrell Bruce coming across from the left in an attempt to block the kick. Oberparleiter gets the kick off, but as he comes down his kicking foot brushes Bruce’s back, and he falls, twisting to the right. A late flag signals the penalty--15 yards and a first down. Coupled with a five-yard penalty called on Nuygen Pendleton’s reception, Fresno State has a first down at the Fullerton 33.

“It was not roughing the punter,” Murphy said. “(Bruce’s) body was past him.”

An alternative call would have been running into the kicker, which penalizes contact that is not blatant and carries a five-yard penalty. But even that would have been enough for the first down in this case.

“I didn’t think there should be a call at all,” Murphy said.

Even Sweeney said his kicker drew the call by keeping his foot in the air longer than usual.

“He had a Laurence Olivier performance,” Sweeney said. “This guy, when he got hit in the foot, looked like he fell off the Empire State Building.”

The Fumble Recovery: The eye in the sky doesn’t lie, Murphy likes to say. Unfortunately, the film does decline to answer some questions. Fresno State’s Myron Jones fumbled at the Fullerton 45 with 5:12 left, but it’s impossible to tell from the film who recovered. Fullerton claims that Terry Tramble recovered the fumble, but Sweeney says it was Rich Bartlewski. What is clear on the film is referee Tony Corrente’s quick and decisive signal--Fullerton’s ball. Corrente was the closest official apparent, and signaled not just once, but three times immediately. The call was later changed.

“As soon as the ball was on the ground, the referee signaled our ball,” Murphy said.

Said Sweeney: “It was a bad call entirely on his part. He had no part doing that. All he saw was the ball get stripped. Then he saw Fullerton down on it. But the kid was on it with his rump. You don’t recover a fumble with your rump.”

The Personal Foul: On second and 27 from the Fresno 45 with four minutes left, the Bulldogs ran a play for a gain of six, but as it ended, Fullerton cornerback Tramble was called for a personal foul--a 15-yard penalty, giving Fresno a first down at the 34. Four plays later, the Bulldogs scored the touchdown that finalized a 33-19 victory.

“The penalty on Tramble was bull. . . . “ Murphy said.

The film shows Tramble being blocked as the play is blown dead. Tramble turns away, pushing off the blocker, who goes out of bounds forcefully.

“It wasn’t a bad call; it was an excellent call,” Sweeney said. “I saw the block and then (Tramble) slammed him out of bounds.”

Fullerton had hoped to get the ball back, trailing by seven. A touchdown and a two-point conversion--Fullerton already had made two-point conversions twice in the game--could have given the Titans a very big upset.

“Maybe we wouldn’t score,” Murphy said. “But what they did was they took the opportunity away.”

Murphy has requested a Big West observer to review the films, but the point is moot. The calls were made, Fresno scored and remained undefeated, and Fullerton is 3-4-1 and must win all three remaining games to have a winning record.

Sweeney, with all the swaggering confidence that his opponents find infuriating, says the dispute is pointless.

“If we had to play them 10 times, we’d beat them 10 times,” Sweeney said. “It wasn’t a refereeing contest. It was a football contest.”

Ron Cox, the Fresno State outside linebacker who had 17 tackles, six sacks and caused two fumbles against Fullerton, was named the Big West defensive player of the week.

Fresno State running back Aaron Craver, who averaged 6.5 yards a carry in gaining 124 yards against the Titans, shared the offensive award with San Jose State running back Sheldon Canley, who had 164 yards in a 21-10 victory over Cal State Long Beach.

Fullerton in NCAA statistics: Mike Pringle is first in all-purpose rushing, ninth in rushing, fourth in scoring and 17th in kickoff returns. Dan Speltz is sixth in passing efficiency and ninth in total offense. Rocky Palamara is eighth in receiving.