Fullerton Loses Game It Could Have Won : Titans: They have a 13-6 halftime lead, but Mississippi State comes back to win at home, 27-13.

There was no talk of moral victories in the Cal State Fullerton locker room after the Titans’ 27-13 loss to Mississippi State Saturday night.

Unlike last week’s 38-17 loss to Southeastern Conference power Auburn, a feel-good game for the Titans because they played well in the second half and weren’t embarrassed by the nation’s third-ranked team, Fullerton found little solace in its second consecutive loss to an SEC school.

What made this defeat less palatable than last week’s was that it wasn’t a game the Titans should have lost, it was a game they could have won.

A crowd of 22,240 in Scott Field was stunned to see Fullerton take a 13-6 halftime lead, but the Titans collapsed in the third quarter, making several mistakes.

The Bulldogs scored 21 points in an 8 1/2-minute span of the second half, saving face for their school and the SEC.

Two pass interference penalties on consecutive plays accounted for 30 of Mississippi State’s 80 yards on a scoring drive that cut Fullerton’s lead to 13-12 midway through the third quarter.

Tony James returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 20-13 lead with 5:32 left in the third, the first time the Titans had allowed a punt return for a touchdown since 1982.

And Fullerton receiver Richard Harrison’s fumble after a 34-yard catch was the impetus for Mississippi State’s last scoring drive, which culminated with Tony Shell’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Bouldin.

Fullerton freshman quarterback Terry Payne, in relief of injured starter Paul Schulte, led the Titans on two long drives in the second half but couldn’t reach the end zone, as Fullerton fell to 1-2. Two Titan possessions ended with fourth-down incomplete passes, one from the Bulldog nine-yard line and one from the 25.

“We should have won, no doubt about it,” said Payne, who completed 11 of 22 passes for 139 yards. “Last week, we were supposed to be outscored, 55-0, and we did pretty well. This week, we had the game plan to win and we didn’t. That’s disappointing.”

The Titans could have pointed to several factors that might have contributed to the loss. They played the second half without Schulte, who completed six of 10 passes for 136 yards in the first half before re-injuring his collarbone late in the second quarter.

They also played without starting cornerback Nuygen Pendleton, who has a sprained ankle, and two starting linemen, John Cotti and Tim Drevno, were slowed by injuries.

What’s more, en route to Starkville, the Titans were stranded for six hours in the Nashville airport because of thunderstorms. What was supposed to have been an 11-hour journey from their Fullerton campus to Mississippi turned into a 17-hour trek. The Titans missed a scheduled practice Friday and didn’t arrive at their Columbus, Miss. hotel until 11:45 p.m. (CDT).

“But fatigue is an excuse, not the reason we lost,” Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said. “We were out- slept, though.”

Mississippi State scored first on Joel Logan’s 22-yard field goal in the first quarter, but J.J. Celestine returned the kickoff 45 yards to give Fullerton good field position.

Schulte hit Harrison on a post pattern for a 43-yard gain to the Bulldog 14 and, four plays later, Nevin lined up for an apparent 22-yard field-goal attempt.

But holder Bob Baiz took the snap, rolled to his right and pitched a shovel pass to Teddy McMillan, normally an inside linebacker, for a three-yard gain and a first down at the Mississippi State two. Yarbrough scored on the next play for a 7-3 Fullerton lead.

In the second quarter, Nevin kicked a 27-yard field goal to give the Titans a 10-3 lead.

“Everyone was a little stunned at halftime--we didn’t plan on being behind,” Mississippi State Coach Rockey Felker said.