Coaches Expect Fresno State to Win Big West; Titans Picked Last

Fresno State, which is entering its final Big West Conference season before jumping to the Western Athletic Conference in 1992, was picked by coaches to win the Big West football championship at Thursday’s conference football/volleyball media day.

The Bulldogs, who won Big West championships in 1988 and ‘89, received six first-place votes and 62 points in the coaches’ poll. Fresno State returns eight offensive starters, including four-year starting quarterback Mark Barsotti, from a team that went 8-2-1 last season.

San Jose State and Utah State, which placed second and third, respectively, in the coaches’ poll, each received one first-place vote.

The defending conference-champion Spartans, who lost 13 starters from last season’s nationally ranked 9-2-1 team but should have another explosive offense, were a slight favorite in the media poll, accumulating 374 points to Fresno State’s 373.

San Jose State received 19 first-place votes, Fresno State got 20 and Utah State 13 in the media poll. Aggie Coach Chuck Shelton, who has 10 starters returning on offense and six on defense, said this is the best team he’s had in his six years at Utah State.

Pacific, led by former Mission Viejo High School quarterback Troy Kopp, finished fourth in each poll and received one first-place vote by the media.

Cal State Fullerton, trying to rebound from a 1-11 season in 1990, was picked last in both polls, and Cal State Long Beach, under the direction of first-year Coach Willie Brown, finished sixth in each poll.

Pacific, which lost to UCLA in last season’s NCAA volleyball finals, rated a slight edge over Hawaii and Long Beach in the women’s volleyball poll. Fullerton was ranked seventh and UC Irvine was eighth.

The polls, with total points polled, and first-place votes in parentheses:

Football media poll

1. San Jose State 374 (19); 2. Fresno State 373 (20); 3. Utah State 351 (13); 4. Pacific 261 (1); 5. UNLV 197; 6. Cal State Long Beach 162; 7. New Mexico State 121; 8. Cal State Fullerton 69.

Football coaches’ poll

1. Fresno State 62 (6); 2. San Jose State 54 (1); 3. Utah State 51 (1); 4. Pacific 35; 5. UNLV 27; 6. Cal State Long Beach 24; 7. New Mexico State 21; 8. Cal State Fullerton 14.

Volleyball coaches’ poll

1. Pacific 92 (3); 2. Hawaii 90 (4); 3. Cal State Long Beach 88 (3); 4. UC Santa Barbara 70; 5. San Jose State 54; 6. Fresno State 50; 7. Cal State Fullerton 42; 8. UC Irvine 33; 9. Utah State 20; 10. New Mexico State 11