THE COLLEGES / JEFF FLETCHER : CSUN Needs Bountiful Harvest

Dave Baldwin was elated last spring when he got his “dream job,” coaching football at Cal State Northridge, his alma mater.

Now, seven months and a 2-8 season later, Baldwin is still excited about the job. He just has a much better idea what kind of job it is.

“This is the hardest season I’ve ever been through,” Baldwin said. “I expected it to be difficult, but I thought from talking to some of the coaches that were on staff there was a little bit more in the cupboard.”

Finding the reason the Matadors had such a bad season is about as difficult as finding a haystack on a needle. Northridge simply didn’t have enough good football players.

When Baldwin arrived, there were only 37 players on the squad. And before the season even started, two of the best were gone. Linebacker Joe Pierro became academically ineligible and receiver David Romines had shoulder surgery.

“We knew we were in trouble,” Baldwin said. “That was evident after we played Idaho State [a 52-0 loss] and Northern Arizona [a 68-7 loss]. We saw how good they were and the lack of talent that we had.”

Besides the obvious lack of talent, the Matadors’ dismal season can be boiled down to four factors:

* Turnovers. Northridge gave the ball away 32 times and took it away only 18. But here’s the big stat: Northridge opponents scored after 17 of the takeaways, totaling 107 points, or more than 10 free points each game.

* The line of scrimmage. Northridge was too small on both sides of it. The Matadors couldn’t pressure opposing quarterbacks, and they couldn’t create enough holes to generate the running game necessary to take the pressure off the passing game.

* Speed. Northridge had very little. The Matadors rarely broke big plays. When a Northridge running back or receiver appeared to break free, someone would inevitably drag him down from behind.

* Kicking. Matt Ornelaz, an all-conference kicker his junior year, had a nightmarish season, making only 12 of 19 extra-point attempts and one of eight field-goal tries. But the blame has to be equally spread to the entire kicking team, because six of Ornelaz’s kicks were blocked. Also, Northridge was far enough behind in most of its games that the missed kicks might not have made a difference.

That’s how to go 2-8. Now, what about turning it around?

*

On Sunday, the day after Northridge’s season ended, Matador coaches spent 10 hours watching junior college players on tape.

Junior college players can sign with four-year schools starting Dec. 10. Baldwin’s goal is to add about a dozen who can help Northridge right away. He also would like to sign about 18 high school seniors in the winter and spring.

The immediate needs are linemen, a junior college quarterback who can challenge for a starting role immediately and some speedy running backs and receivers.

Of course, this is what Northridge and every other team in the United States looks for every year. The difference with Northridge this time is the Matadors actually have full scholarships to offer.

Of the 30 players Baldwin hopes to add, most will get full rides. Northridge has committed to increase to 40 scholarships next year as a condition of joining the Big Sky Conference. The team is currently funding 20 scholarships, and some of those will be available to new players because of graduation.

“If you can offer a kid a full scholarship instead of just $1,000, that’s a huge difference to the kid,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin’s other hope is that he can persuade local players to stay in Southern California, rather than going off to places like Pocatello, Ida., or Bozeman, Mont., to play for Big Sky rivals.

For practical purposes, though, don’t expect Northridge to contend in the Big Sky next year. Idaho State and Northern Arizona, the Big Sky teams that pounded Northridge this year, finished 3-4 and 4-3 in the conference.

Playing a schedule of eight Big Sky teams, the Matadors are still likely to lose more than they win.

Northridge ought to be happy if it can stick within, say, 14 points of the conference’s best teams, and steal two or three victories from the worst teams.

Northridge, extra scholarships and all, could easily be looking at 4-7 or 3-8 next year.

So when talented young football players come to Northridge and see the Matadors’ record and the half-full, rickety bleachers of North Campus Stadium, Baldwin tells them how all that can change.

But he needs their help.

Desperately.