Sophomore Jinx Strikes Again

Before Josh Fiske started for Cal State Northridge on Saturday night against Portland State, the last sophomore to start at quarterback for the Matadors was Derek Brown in the third game of the 1995 season, a 68-7 loss at Northern Arizona.

Brown now plays at Cal Lutheran.

Until Saturday, Northridge was 0-7 against Portland State at Civic Stadium dating to 1979. The Matadors hold a 6-3 edge at Northridge.

The Matadors lost wide receiver Aaron Arnold with a srained right ankle, backup left tackle Jake Brinton with a broken hand, All-Big Sky cornerback Bennie Herron with a sprained back and wide receiver Eric Carpenter with a sprained foot that trainers said might be broken.

Portland State freshman Dan Frantz went into the game against Northridge with 32 punts, tops by far in the Big Sky Conference. He added four on Saturday.

Northridge has played in front of three of the largest crowds to ever watch the Matadors play this season, drawing 26,824 at Boise State, 29,921 at Hawaii and 13,913 at New Mexico State.

No such luck at Civic Stadium. A crowd of only 6,888 braved the rain and cold to watch the Matadors battle Portland State.

The largest crowd to see Northridge play was 40,872 at Jack Murphy Stadium in a game against San Diego State on Sept. 4, 1993. The game at Hawaii this season was the second largest in Northridge history.