Battle of Bads Proves Titans Are the Worst

Cal State Fullerton hit ground zero Saturday, losing to New Mexico State, 43-9, and snatching the title of “Worst Division I-A Team in America” from the Aggies’ mantel.

New Mexico State was ranked 106th out of 106 Division I-A teams by The National, an all-sports publication. The Aggies will surely vacate the bottom spot and Fullerton, which entered at No. 105, has the U-Haul in the driveway and is ready to move in.

“This is about as low as it gets,” Titan defensive back Terry Tramble said.

Added Fullerton kicker Phil Nevin: “It’s embarrassing.”

A crowd of 19,227 in Aggie Memorial Stadium saw New Mexico State (1-10) score 24 points in the fourth quarter to break open a 19-9 game. Aggie quarterback David Chisum, a former Sunny Hills High School and Fullerton College standout, completed his first 11 passes en route to a 19-for-31, 288-yard, two-touchdown performance.

That helped New Mexico State stop a 27-game losing streak, which began in October, 1988. It was the Aggies’ first victory at home since Oct. 24, 1987, and their first Big West Conference victory since they beat Fullerton in 1986.

It was the first time since the second game of the 1983 season, when New Mexico State beat Louisiana Tech, 15-7, that the Aggies held an opponent under 10 points.

New Mexico State entered with the nation’s longest Division I-A losing streak. The Titans, who have lost 11 straight since a season-opening victory over Sonoma State, left with longest Division I-A losing streak.

“I’m not happy about it,” Titan Coach Gene Murphy said. “I’m a competitive son of a . . . and as long as you’re a player or coach, this better eat you up inside.”

First-year New Mexico State Coach Jim Hess might have felt more relieved than elated.

“It was a tremendous burden every time we read in the paper that we had the longest losing streak,” Hess said. “It feels very good to pass that on to someone else.”

After beating Fullerton in 1986, then-New Mexico State Coach Mike Knoll led the Aggies and their fans on a victory lap around the stadium to commemorate their first conference victory. But that was tame compared to Saturday’s postgame celebration.

New Mexico State fans tore down both goal posts and carried them around the field. The Aggies’ victory bell, which had been collecting dust for two years, rang long and loud.

Those weren’t the only strange occurrences in Aggie Memorial Stadium, though. In what had to be an unofficial school record, New Mexico State was penalized not once, but twice, for excessive celebrations in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

And the Aggies’ defense, which had six sacks in 10 previous games, made several appearances in the Titans’ backfield, sacking Paul Schulte four times for a loss of 28 yards.

New Mexico State rolled up 514 total yards, including 168 rushing by Jimmie Mitchell, compared to Fullerton’s 257. The Aggies maintained possession for almost 10 minutes more than the Titans, 34:56-25:04.

The Titans didn’t look too good when they had the ball. Schulte, who missed last week’s game because of a bruised kidney, overthrew many receivers, some passes were dropped, and Fullerton couldn’t come up with any big plays.

“I’m not surprised they moved the ball and scored, but I’m surprised we didn’t,” Murphy said. “Our offense didn’t execute like it’s capable of. We didn’t play with intensity and we didn’t make things happen. Schulte didn’t play with any flow, rhythm or continuity. He has played better.”

If this season left a sour taste in the mouths of Titan players and coaches, then the fourth quarter Saturday must have had them gagging.

After Mitchell’s second touchdown, a 13-yard run, gave New Mexico State a 26-9 lead, Titan freshman Dwayne McAfee tried to field the ensuing kickoff near the sideline. He bobbled the ball and went out of bounds at the three-yard line.

Four plays later, the usually reliable Nevin shanked an 11-yard punt that went out of bounds at the Titan 19. Dat Ly then kicked a 32-yard field goal--the 40th of his career and a school record--to give New Mexico State a 29-9 lead.

Later in the quarter, Brian Carter intercepted a Schulte pass and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown, and the Aggies closed scoring with Billy Borten’s 31-yard touchdown run with 2:29 remaining.

“That fourth quarter seemed like a week and a half if you ask me,” Titan safety Bob Baiz said. “It’s been a long season, and that’s not the way we wanted it to end.”

The Titans didn’t think it would end like this. Many players said they came out of a team meeting at their hotel Friday night feeling confident they would end the season on a high note.

“We seemed to have our minds set on winning, but they (New Mexico State) just wanted it more than we did,” Fullerton offensive tackle Mike Simmons said.

And now the Titans have to live with the consequences.

“There’s a difference between being last in your conference and last in the country,” Simmons said. “But that’s the title we hold. It hurts, and it’s a tough thing to deal with. But sometimes things happen like that.”

Time will tell how damaging this season is to the egos of returning players, but the Titans weren’t feeling too good about themselves Saturday.

As Fullerton players were boarding the bus, a young boy asked freshman cornerback Terry Sullivan for his autograph, to which Sullivan replied, “Are you sure you want it?”

Titan Notes

A 17-year-old student from an area high school was injured in the post-game celebration when his left hand was caught between the crossbar and an upright as fans were bending the goal posts back and forth. New Mexico State campus police were told that the youth had severed a finger in the accident, and they spent some time searching the field for the finger. But according to Lee Golden, a nurse in the emergency ward at Memorial General Hospital in Las Cruces, the youth’s finger, although broken, remained on the hand. The hospital later notified campus police, who called off the search. . . . New Mexico State quarterback David Chisum, the former Sunny Hills High School and Fullerton College standout, set a record for completions in a season Saturday. He finished with 187 completions, surpassing Joe Pisarcik’s 182 in 1972. Chisum said he knew it would be the Aggies’ day when they drove 87 yards for a touchdown on their first possession. “Right from the first drive, we were playing happy and loose,” Chisum said. “This was the best we’ve executed all year.” . . . Fullerton’s points came on Phil Nevin’s 47-yard field goal in the second quarter and Reggie Yarbrough’s two-yard run in the third. Yarbrough, a junior, finished with 101 yards on 20 carries and closed the season with 1,014 yards to become the fifth Titan to rush for 1,000 yards or more in a season. . . . Nevin, despite his 11-yard punt in the fourth quarter, finished with a 40-yard average on eight punts.