CSUN to Begin Practice Minus Several Players : College football: Two who were expected to start will not play, and the academic eligibility of a few others is uncertain.

Fall drills will start Monday for the Cal State Northridge football team with two sessions, the first beginning at 9 a.m. and the second at 3 p.m.

The Matadors, who will open the season Sept. 5 at Cal State Fullerton, will continue two-a-days through Aug. 27.

Eric Banducci and Chance Schwass, both of whom were expected to start, will not be among the 83 players expected to suit up.

Banducci, a 6-foot-2, 248-pound nose guard who transferred to Northridge last spring from UCLA, is not returning to school because he is getting married.

Schwass, a 6-3, 300-pound offensive lineman from Mt. San Jacinto College, did not finish summer school because of a family crisis and is academically ineligible.

Redshirt freshman tailback Akil Mahasin is also academically ineligible, and the academic status of a few other players remains uncertain until summer school classes are completed Friday.

Five starters and 21 lettermen are expected to return. Last season, Northridge lost its last four games and finished with a 3-7 record.

An extensive recruiting effort enabled the Matadors’ seventh-year coach, Bob Burt, to revamp the offensive and defensive lines.

Former Granada Hills High tailback Jamal Farmer, a transfer from Hawaii, is the team’s top newcomer.

Because of NCAA rule changes, Northridge is entering its final season in the Division II ranks. The Matadors will play at the Division I-AA level in 1993.

The Matadors’ home opener is set for Sept. 12 against UC Davis.