‘It’s a Pride Thing’ for the Titans : College football: With 1-6 record, players are looking to ’91. But they don’t appear to have lost their <i> esprit de corps</i> .

Explanations for Cal State Fullerton’s 1-6 record can easily be found in the litany of injuries, turnovers and mistakes that have plagued the Titans this season.

But Fullerton defensive back Terry Tramble says that perhaps another factor is involved, one that must be attributed to a higher being.

In 13 previous years of organized football, Tramble’s teams lost just 17 games: three in seven years of Pop Warner, five at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, five at Pasadena City College and four at Fullerton last season.

But in 1990, Tramble already has lost six games, more than a third of his previous total.

“I was just telling a friend that maybe from me winning all my life, I’d get to my last year and have to experience this,” said Tramble, a senior. “Maybe God wanted me to feel what it’s like to lose.”

But, Tramble must wonder, why rub it in? The season began with promise: Fullerton opened by beating Sonoma State and played well in losses to Auburn and Mississippi State of the mighty Southeastern Conference.

Then followed the blowout barrage: 48-17 to Akron, 38-3 to Fresno State, 29-10 to Nevada Las Vegas and last weekend’s 67-37 loss to Pacific. A preseason pick to finish fourth in the Big West Conference, the Titans (0-3) are last.

And the schedule won’t get any easier. Fullerton travels this weekend to Hawaii, where it has won once in 10 tries, and then must play improved Cal State Long Beach, conference favorite San Jose State, and Utah State, which tied Fresno State last week.

The Titans, whose worst record was 2-9 in 1975, don’t play perennial pushover New Mexico State (0-6) until the season finale.

For many players from successful high school and community college programs, this is their first experience with a prolonged losing streak.

“It’s kind of like guys don’t know what hit them,” Tramble said. “We’ve all been winners, and then you walk into something like this. It’s hard to accept the reality of losing.”

As one might expect, team morale has taken a beating.

“I haven’t been here for two weeks, but when I got to practice (Monday) I saw a bunch of guys who were just down,” said senior linebacker Clarence Siler, who is recovering from an ankle injury.

“It’s very disappointing. We’re out of the (conference) race, and guys feel like they’re playing for a lost cause. Now, it’s more of a pride thing.”

Added junior running back Reggie Yarbrough: “You can’t expect everyone to be smiling around here. The attitude has declined. The season has kind of slipped away, and it’s aggravating, especially for the seniors.”

Offensive tackle Mike Simmons is a case in point. Simmons played for Arizona State in 1987 but missed the past two seasons because of a back injury. He transferred to Fullerton in August, hoping to salvage his career, but now finds himself trying instead to salvage what’s left of the season.

“It’s hard to make sense out of what’s going on,” Simmons said. “It’s one of those things where you can either throw in the towel completely, count the periods until the season’s over or try to salvage what we’ve got left. It’s going to be interesting to find out how we react.”

About the only consolation for the Titans is that few students appear to be concerned with whether Fullerton wins or loses. Only 2,013 spectators showed up for last Saturday’s game.

“Students, they pretty much don’t know our team exists anyway,” junior linebacker Stan Breland said.

Although several players are disheartened, the Titans don’t appear to have lost their esprit de corps . They say there has been no finger-pointing, no dissension.

“We’re 1-6, and a lot of guys are ticked off, but we’re staying together,” senior safety Bob Baiz said. “We all like each other. It’s not like we’re fighting each other.”

And there have been no sparring sessions with lockers, walls or blackboards, no extreme displays of frustration.

“I haven’t torn anything up to anyone’s knowledge,” Titan Coach Gene Murphy said. “Maybe to mine I have. But I’m doing OK. If I didn’t, it would be a snowball effect on the assistants and the players, so I’d better be OK.”

Murphy is concerned with his team’s mental health, but he might be even more concerned about the Titans who aren’t suiting up for games this season--the redshirt players. He hopes those who have seen home games and read less-than-glowing newspaper accounts of some road losses don’t lose faith.

“This kind of season can hurt you in the future depending on the emotional stability of your young people,” Murphy said. “Something like this can make you go belly up, or it can strengthen you.”

Several redshirt players said they have actually been fortified by the failures.

“I haven’t heard anyone talk about quitting--everyone is expecting big things next year,” said Victor Prince, a junior from Santa Barbara City College. “This motivates me a lot more because everyone puts us down. They say our program is no good any more, but we’re going to come back strong.”

Added Sheldon Butler, a freshman from Banning High: “I don’t sense a bad attitude from the redshirt guys. We’re not too concerned about this season. Most redshirt guys are looking forward to next year anyway.”

Breland and Siler have also thought about how this season might affect the younger players. Breland, who will return next year, is confident his new teammates will have a good attitude.

“I walked past the weight room (Monday) and saw a lot of young guys working hard, getting ready for next year,” Breland said. “I feel everyone is still giving a good effort.”

Siler won’t have another college season to make amends, but he did have some advice.

“I’ve talked to the younger guys and said, ‘You see this season? You don’t want to ever feel like this again, so work real hard next year and don’t let down,’ ” he said. “Sometimes it takes a season like this for young guys to come around.”