Titans Have No Defense for Their 44-31 Defeat : Big West: On a day when offense shows some life, Fullerton can’t stop New Mexico State and suffer fifth conference loss.

The one day Cal State Fullerton’s offense finally experienced a major breakthrough, the usually reliable Titan defense broke down.

New Mexico State enjoyed a big-play bonanza Saturday, rolling up 516 yards--many in huge chunks--en route to a 44-31 Big West Conference victory over Fullerton in front of 12,821 in Aggie Memorial Stadium.

New Mexico State quarterback Charles Puleri completed 20 of 42 passes, including five plays that went for 33 yards or more, to lead the Aggies. He finished with 361 yards passing and threw for four touchdowns.

Ezell Brown caught eight passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns, Atlas Reagor caught five passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, and running back Ray Washington gained 112 yards in only seven carries, with a long run of 49 yards, for New Mexico State.

The Aggies, who close the season at San Jose State next week, improved to 5-5, 2-3 conference, and have won more games this season than they did in the four previous seasons combined.

“New Mexico State is the most-improved team in the conference,” Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said. “It’s like night and day from the time he (Coach Jim Hess) set foot on this campus (three years ago). I think they have a legitimate shot at a winning season.”

The Fullerton defense, which led the conference in fewest rushing yards allowed per game (125.3), has been the most-improved unit on this Titan team. But it didn’t show Saturday.

Unlike last week, when the Titan defensive front applied heavy pressure on Pacific quarterback Troy Kopp, sacking him five times in a 23-20 loss, Fullerton had trouble getting to Puleri. He was sacked twice but often had plenty of time to set up in the pocket.

“The defense has kept us in many games this year, but besides the San Jose State and Georgia games, when we weren’t ready to play, this was the worst defensive game we’ve had,” Murphy said. “They (the Aggies) were a more physical team--we weren’t even getting a push. He (Puleri) had some time, and that was a big reason for the success of the Aggie passing game.”

There were plenty of success stories for the Titan offense, too. Fullerton (2-8, 0-5) scored more points, had more total yards (425) and more passing yards (170) Saturday than it has had in any game all season.

Quarterback Trendell Williams, who was benched for the Titans’ first three possessions because he missed a practice last week, gained 117 yards in 24 carries and completed nine of 21 passes for 170 yards. Williams had not completed more than four passes or thrown more than 12 times in a game this season.

Frank Davis, who had caught four passes all season, had four receptions for 64 yards Saturday, and running back Danny Pasquil burst up the middle for a 47-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that cut New Mexico State’s lead to 38-24.

But the Titans also lost five of seven fumbles to tie NCAA single-season records for fumbles (68) and fumbles lost (39), set by Texas Southern in 1977.

“We’ll perfect the fumblerooski one of these days,” Murphy said. “You just can’t turn the ball over four times inside the 30-yard line and expect to win.”

Two fumbles in the first quarter led to a New Mexico State field goal and touchdown, but after falling behind, 10-0, the Titans stormed back with 17 second-quarter points--their most productive quarter of the season--to tie the score, 17-17, late in the second quarter.

Julio Ocana kicked a 40-yard field goal, Polee Banks returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown, the seventh-longest punt return in Titan history, and Jermaine Hill capped a drive of 50 yards, 29 yards of which Williams gained on the ground, with a one-yard touchdown run to even the score 1 minute 12 seconds before halftime.

But Puleri drove the Aggies 58 yards in less than a minute and completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Reagor with 21 seconds left in the second quarter to break the tie and set the tone for the second half.

New Mexico State scored on its first possession of the third quarter, an eight-yard pass from Puleri to Brown, and capitalized on a Titan fumble at their two-yard line for another touchdown--Troy Dublin’s three-yard run--to make it 38-17 with 9:59 left in the third quarter.

Pasquil’s long touchdown run made it 38-24, but New Mexico State responded with Puleri’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Laing, who made a leaping grab over Fullerton cornerback Quincy Guy in the end zone, to go ahead, 44-24. Laing had dropped a pass in the end zone during the second quarter.

Guy later intercepted a tipped Puleri pass and returned it 28 yards to set up Fullerton’s final score, Eddie Lua’s one-yard run, in the fourth quarter.

“Once we started eliminating mistakes we were able to move the ball pretty well,” Williams said. “We’ve been doing that the last couple of games, but we just have a problem holding onto the football. We can’t always depend on the defense to pull us out.”

Fullerton now has a week off before closing the season and the Murphy era--the Titan coach announced this season that he would retire after this, his 13th year--Nov. 28 at Nevada Las Vegas.

“Before it was all defense and no offense, and today it was all offense and no defense,” Fullerton linebacker Dan Godfrey said. “Hopefully, we can put it all together for the last game and win by a big margin.”