Matadors See Positives in 57-27 Loss to Utah State

Only someone who saw the Cal State Northridge football team play last season could appreciate a 57-27 loss.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Dave Baldwin, Northridge’s second-year coach, after the Matadors’ dropped their season opener to Utah State on Saturday night before 20,210 at Romney Stadium.

“I think we played one helluva ballgame. We’ve got 40 scholarships and they’ve got 85. And at halftime we were in the game.”

Northridge was as close as 21-12 late in the first half of the nonconference matchup. Last season the Matadors typically fell behind by three or four touchdowns in the first quarter.

“It was a huge difference,” said defensive back Doug Varner, who played in all 10 games last season. “It was great to see our offense doing so well. Our defense could have done a little better.”

The Matador defense had a tough task in stopping the Division I-A Aggies (2-0), who are probably one of the best teams the Matadors will face this season.

Utah State simply had too many weapons. While Northridge focused on stopping running back Abu Wilson, the Matadors got picked apart by quarterback Patrick Mullins.

Wilson, a senior, still managed 139 yards and three touchdowns in 19 carries. He became the all-time leading rusher in the Big West Conference with 3,378 yards.

Mullins, who was questionable to play because of an ankle injury suffered last week, completed 13 of 18 passes for 190 yards in 2 1/2 quarters. Backup Matt Sauk ripped the Matadors for 250 yards, completing 11 of 17 passes.

The Matadors can take solace in the fact that they didn’t give the Aggies much. A pair of bad snaps on punts gave Utah State excellent field position, but the Aggies converted only once, with a field goal.

Quarterback Aaron Flowers, who completed 17 of 34 passes for 190 yards, was solid in his first game for the Matadors.

Flowers’ proudest moment came late in the second quarter, when he engineered an 11-play, 67-yard drive. He completed a pair of key third-down passes to extend the drive, which ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Norman Clarke.

Wide receiver David Romines caught 10 passes for 132 yards in his first game in nearly two years, having missed last season with a shoulder injury.

“It’s tough to lose,” Romines said, “but this is a pretty good team we played and we held them in the first half. This is going to be a learning experience for us.”

Linebacker Marc Goodson was impressive, recording 16 tackles.

“He was unbelievable,” Baldwin said. “He was all over the ball. He’s a big-time player.”

The Matadors kept fighting, even after 23 consecutive points in the second and third quarters gave the Aggies a 44-12 lead. Northridge scored two touchdowns in the final 17 minutes on drives led by backup quarterback Derek Brown.

Northridge pulled to within 14-6 in the first quarter and 21-12 in the second, scoring on a two-yard pass from Flowers to Romines and Clarke’s two-yard run.