Titans, Looking to Improve, Face Tough Task at Auburn

Cal State Fullerton will pick up a guaranteed check for $250,000 today, after its football team picks up the pieces in Jordan-Hare Stadium following its game with third-ranked Auburn.

Auburn has 14 starters, eight on defense and six on offense, returning from last season’s team, which went 10-2, shared the Southeastern Conference championship and beat Ohio State, 31-14, in the Hall of Fame Bowl.

Eleven of Coach Pat Dye’s players have been selected to the preseason All-SEC team. Five, including top-rated offensive guard Ed King, have been ranked among the top six players in the nation at their positions by The Sporting News.

In addition to King, who is 6-feet-4 and 284 pounds, the Tigers have such standouts as James Joseph, a 6-2, 225-pound fullback, and David Rocker, a 6-4, 264-pound defensive tackle and younger brother of the Redskins’ Tracy Rocker, who won the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy as an Auburn defensive lineman in 1988.

This is a rebuilding year for the Titans, who struggled to a 38-24 victory over Sonoma State of Division II last week. Next week, Fullerton will play at Mississippi State.

“I just want us to get better as a team and be as competitive as we possibly can,” Titan Coach Gene Murphy said. “We’ll have some fun with it. That’s not to say all 60 minutes will be fun, but some good things will happen.”