CS Fullerton Opens at Mississippi State

Cal State Fullerton, attempting to rebound from its worst football season, plays Mississippi State today at 4 p.m., PDT, at Starkville, Miss.

The Titans are coming off a 1-11 season and a turbulent off-season, in which the school nearly dropped the sport. Their 11-game losing streak is the longest current losing streak in Division I-A football.

The opener marks the Mississippi State debut of Coach Jackie Sherrill, who resigned from Texas A&M; in 1988 after the football program was slapped with a two-year NCAA probation. Sherrill, who replaced Rockey Felker last December, has a .697 winning percentage (105-45-2), sixth-best among active coaches.

Fullerton, of the Big West Conference, is led by senior running back Reggie Yarbrough, who gained 1,014 yards last season. The Bulldogs’ best player is junior wide receiver Tony James, the Southeastern Conference’s top returning all-purpose runner. Mississippi State trailed Fullerton, 13-6, at halftime last season before bouncing back for a 27-13 victory.