Georgia . . . Er, Fullerton on CS Northridge’s Mind : College football: Matadors have something to prove to team with longest current Division I-A losing streak.

The way Cal State Northridge Coach Bob Burt sees it, Cal State Fullerton is to the Matadors what Georgia is to Fullerton.

“They’re our Georgia,” Burt said of Northridge’s matchup with Fullerton today at 1 p.m. at Santa Ana Stadium. “Everything else being equal, they ought to blow us out. They have 60 full scholarships, four full-time coaches, a Division I schedule, a stadium being built and a better weight room. By rights, they should have a better program.”

But Northridge will be out to prove that a good Division II team is better than the team with the nation’s longest current Division I-A losing streak, 13 games. And that is Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy’s nightmare.

“After playing Mississippi State and Texas Tech and playing Georgia next week, yeah, your first reaction might be that it’s just Northridge,” Murphy said.

“But we haven’t won in 13 games. It doesn’t make a difference who we play. We need a win.”

Because Burt served as Murphy’s defensive coordinator from 1980-85, Murphy is giving Northridge the utmost respect.

“They are a helluva football team, a scary group,” he said. “Anybody who looks past that team is ridiculous. They have an outstanding defense. Burt does a great job with it. He puts his best athletes on defense.”

Fullerton’s strengths are its offensive line and running game. Arthur Davis has gained 207 yards in 56 carries and teammate Reggie Yarbrough ran for 113 yards in 30 carries in the Titans’ opener, a 47-3 loss to Mississippi State. Yarbrough, an All-Big West, second-team selection last season, is expected to play after missing Fullerton’s 41-7 loss to Texas Tech on Sept. 7 because of a sprained ankle.

Against an opponent of similar talent, such as Northridge, the Titans probably will pass more. In its first two games, Fullerton attempted only 24 passes, completing 12 for 170 yards.

Chad May, a redshirt freshman, is expected to start for the Titans ahead of sophomore Terry Payne.

Against Texas Tech, Payne completed just three of six passes through the late stages of the third quarter before he was sidelined because of a mild head injury.

Northridge’s offense performed dismally in the fourth quarter of a 12-10 win over Eastern New Mexico. Quarterbacks Coley Kyman and Damone Scott combined to complete just one of seven passes and the team was penalized six times for 31 yards.

Tailback Victor DeVaughn also fumbled, allowing Eastern New Mexico to take over on the CSUN 38 with 8 minutes 48 seconds left.

Fortunately for the Matadors, safety Eric Treibatch made an interception on the next play--one of four key defensive plays by Northridge in the final quarter. The Matadors also had two other interceptions and recovered a fumble.

Burt blamed the penalties and Northridge’s poor field position for the breakdown on offense.

All four of the Matadors’ fourth-quarter drives started inside the CSUN 15--three after interceptions.

“When you’re backed up you’re not gonna be real liberal,” Burt said. “Eastern New Mexico knew it and they brought nine people against the run. We knew it and we still popped some runs, but when you have three penalties call back first downs your offense is stalemated.”

Burt allowed that Northridge also was sluggish in the first half when it did not take advantage of drives that started at midfield and at the CSUN 48.

“But the other side of the coin is we’re not beating ourselves,” he said. “There’s a trade-off. We’re not and never have been flashy with a wide-open offense. That can lead to things that are not good, but, yeah, we’d like to be a little more productive after our defense forces turnovers.

“I’m not going to get paranoid about what our offense is doing until we get into that situation against Division II teams.”