2,113 See Murphy Lose Home Finale : Fullerton: Crowd almost as disappointing as Titans’ play in 26-7 loss to Utah State.

Something special was happening in the Titan Sports Complex Saturday night.

Cal State Fullerton scored a touchdown on a perfectly executed fake punt play, a young Titan secondary continually thwarted Utah State’s passing attack, and the three-leaf clover painted at midfield to commemorate Gene Murphy’s final home game as Fullerton coach appeared to possess the powers of a four-leafer.

Then the second quarter started. The Titans reverted to their stumbling, fumbling ways, the offense went stale, and the defense began giving up big plays.

Utah State flew past the Titans in the second quarter and buried them in the second half en route to a 26-7 Big West Conference victory before a tiny crowd of 2,113--not exactly the rousing, Gene Murphy Appreciation Night kind of turnout school officials were hoping for.

“There should have been more people here, at least to say farewell to Murphy,” Titan defensive back B.B. Hudson said. “That’s what’s been wrong with this program--we get no support. It has been like this for a while, though. We don’t expect much from them.”

Of course, Fullerton fans don’t expect much from the Titans, especially their offense. Fullerton has a very capable defense, but the offense keeps putting it in impossible positions.

Saturday night, Fullerton (2-6, 0-3 conference) fumbled in its own territory on three consecutive second-quarter possessions, one of which led to a touchdown that helped the Aggies (3-5, 2-1) score 13 points in the quarter.

Aggie defensive lineman Joe Jacobs stripped the ball from Titan reserve quarterback Jamal Smith on the Fullerton 18 to set up Robby Clemons’ 18-yard touchdown run, which gave Utah State a 10-7 lead with 2 minutes 18 seconds left in the half.

Sean Jones, who kicked a 25-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, added a 46-yarder just before halftime for a 13-7 lead. Utah State sealed the victory with touchdowns in the third (Jimmy Ray’s 57-yard pass from Tony Calvillo) and fourth (Chad Tigert’s 16-yard run).

“The second quarter did us in,” Murphy said. “You can’t put your defense on the field that many times in that many situations. With our inability to score, it makes it as tough as you can get. Again, I can’t say enough about our defense.”

Fullerton’s lone highlight came in the first quarter. On a fourth-and-one play from the Titan 41, Fullerton tried to draw the Aggies offside by lining up and not snapping the ball, but Utah State wouldn’t bite. The Titans took a five-yard delay-of-game penalty and lined up in punt formation.

From the Titan 36, punter Noel Prefontaine lofted a pass to Gerry McDonald, who caught it near the Utah State 35 and had one Aggie to beat, Greg Watts, at the 30.

McDonald went right, slipping past Watts and later diving into the end zone for the touchdown, marking the first time Fullerton has scored in the first quarter this season.

“That worked out pretty well,” Murphy said. “We were just hoping to get the first down. Thank God no one on their team jumped offsides (on the previous play).” The euphoria from that score quickly wore off in the second quarter, though. Calvillo, who finished with 278 yards passing, completing 17 of 37, began to find his range against a Titan defense that forced the Aggies to punt on their first three possessions.

Calvillo’s 48-yard pass to Jim Ray, who caught five for 131 yards, set up Jones’ field goal just before halftime, and his 53-yard touchdown pass to Ray just 23 seconds into the second half gave Utah State a 20-7 lead.

Calvillo also completed a 42-yard pass to Cotie McMahon, which set up Tigert’s touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

On all three long passes, Ray and McMahon beat Titan cornerback Quincy Guy, who seemed to be singled out as Utah State’s special target for the evening. Calvillo often threw in Guy’s direction, and when the Aggies ran the ball, they usually sent different receivers down the field on streak patterns to wear Guy out.

Guy, playing only his second game at cornerback after switching from quarterback, had a few rough spots, but he also broke up 10 passes and intercepted a pass on an Aggie two-point conversion attempt.

“They wanted to pick on the new guy,” Guy said. “It was a smart move. They got me exhausted.”

Fullerton finished with six fumbles, losing four, to bring their season totals to 58 fumbles and 31 lost. They’re closing in on Texas Southern’s 1977 NCAA records of 68 and 39, and their only consolation is that Saturday night, there weren’t many people there to witness it.

Murphy deserved a better send-off--he toiled long and hard for 13 years as Titan coach, often under difficult conditions, and guided Fullerton to a conference championship in 1983 and a national ranking in 1984.

But he didn’t seem bothered by the small crowd.

“I’ve never been disappointed with crowd turnouts,” he said. “I’m more concerned about our play.”