In Titan Finale, Last Shall Be Worst : College football: The two lowest-ranked teams in Division I-A, with one victory between them, meet in a game that will decide who is No. 106.

It won’t be on national television, and it won’t decide a conference championship or bowl berth. But Cal State Fullerton vs. New Mexico State is college football’s Game of the Weak.

The Titans have lost 10 consecutive games and are ranked 105th out of 106 Division I-A teams by The National, an all-sports publication. The Aggies have the longest current Division I-A losing streak, 27 games, and are ranked 106th.

That means today’s game will be for national sagging rights--the loser will have the dubious distinction of being tagged the worst Division I-A team in America.

“We’re not exactly jubilant about this,” Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said. “We don’t talk about this being for No. 106, but the kids understand it. I would think it would be a motivator for them.”

Despite the Titans’ record, all the lopsided losses and the injuries they have suffered, Murphy said motivating players has not been a problem for the coaching staff.

“The most gratifying part of this season, if you can call any of it gratifying, has been the attitude of the players,” Murphy said. “They’ve been hanging in there every week, and I’d be very surprised if they didn’t play hard.”

Murphy expects the same from New Mexico State, which hasn’t had a victory since beating Kansas, 42-29, on Oct. 1, 1988, and has won only once in the conference since joining six years ago--defeating Fullerton, 24-20, in ’86. It has been another long season in Las Cruces, but Murphy believes first-year New Mexico State Coach Jim Hess has made strides.

“They’re better coached, and they play hard,” Murphy said. “They’re 0-10, but they’re improved compared to what they had there before.”

What New Mexico State has now is similar to what Fullerton has: A beat-up quarterback, a marginal offensive line and a defense that gives up points at a Denver Nuggets-like pace.

The Aggies have allowed an average of 41.3 points a game, and in the past two weeks, four opponents have surpassed the 50-point mark, including San Jose State and Utah State.

And if you thought Titan quarterback Paul Schulte has been hit hard this season, check out New Mexico State quarterback David Chisum, who could star in his own crunch-course video.

Chisum, a former Sunny Hills High School and Fullerton College standout, has been sacked 47 times for losses of 404 yards. But he’s still standing. The junior has completed 168 of 343 attempts for 1,989 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Schulte, a senior who has played all but one game despite an assortment of injuries, will return today after missing last week’s Utah State game because of a bruised kidney.

He has moved into third place on the Titans’ single-season passing list with 2,144 yards and ranks among the top five in completions (156) and touchdown passes (14).

Fullerton’s solid receiving corps, led by J.J. Celestine and Richard Harrison, has been the most effective unit on the team this season. Junior receivers Kerry Reed and Greg West have also played well in recent weeks.

“Fullerton is like every other team we’ve played,” Hess said. “They seem to have more weapons than we do.”

Hess also said “our defenses are comparable,” which must make Titan coaches cringe. But it’s true.

A once-proud unit known as “The Orange Crush” in better days, Fullerton has been orange crushed in 1990. The injury-riddled Titans have allowed an average of 40.2 points and 506.1 yards a game, and only 19 defensive players will travel to Las Cruces.

“Any success we’ve had in the past has been because of defense,” Murphy said. “But we’ve been decimated.”

It’s not as if Murphy has been totally consumed by this dreadful season, though. In recent weeks, he has been able to take his mind off the present and look toward the future, which for Fullerton is the Titan Sports Complex construction site next to the practice field.

Mass excavation for the project has begun, and Murphy has been able to monitor the progress of the on-campus stadium every day.

“The most positive thing for me has been seeing that hole (where the football field will be) get bigger and bigger,” Murphy said. “Sometimes I’d like to jump in there . . . “

If Fullerton loses today, he might just do that.

BY THE NUMBERS

Category CSF NMS Record, Overall 1-10 0-10 Record, Big West 0-6 0-6 Record, Home 1-2 0-4 Record, Away 0-8 0-6 Record, Day 1-4 0-5 Record, Night 0-6 0-5 Points For 214 157 Points Against 442 413 Yards For 3,930 2,941 Yards Against 5,567 4,612 Avg. Attendance 19,619 16,695