Assessment Came in Delay Mode

Chazz Moore had it right. He was just off by one week.

Moore, a senior cornerback for Cal State Northridge, predicted a victory over Portland State two weeks ago but the Vikings easily defeated the Matadors, 34-19.

After the game, Moore refused to eat his words.

“I think we lost to a mediocre team,” Moore said.

If so, the Division I-AA Matadors repeated the feat Saturday in Dallas, losing to less-than-overwhelming Southern Methodist, 58-16, in a nonconference game at the Cotton Bowl.

SMU improved to 3-5. The Mustangs’ seven touchdowns were scored by freshmen.

But for all their scoring, the I-A Mustangs hardly put on a show. They completed only nine passes for 160 yards.

“Hats off to my opponent,” Northridge fullback Jaumal Bradley said. “They played a good game. But they’re not very physical, not very fast.”

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Backup quarterback Dave Lins made his third appearance in relief of Marcus Brady against SMU, completing his two passes for 57 yards, including a 52-yard completion to Terrence Jones.

Lins played last week against Portland State while Brady was sidelined with an ankle injury.

“He’s banged up right now or he’d be playing,” Lins said of Brady.

Lins, a senior, moved to second on the depth chart last week when senior Josh Fiske quit the team. Fiske was a backup the last two seasons, but had not played since replacing an injured Aaron Flowers in 1997.

Lins understands the frustration of spending most of a season watching from the sidelines. That pretty much describes his career at Northridge.

And that’s what makes these final snaps so special.

“There’s only a week left,” Lins said.

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Northridge wraps up the season against Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon at North Campus Stadium.

The game will mark the return to Southern California of Ronney Jenkins, who rushed for a national-record 619 yards in a game for Hueneme High in 1995.

Northern Arizona (7-3, 5-2 in Big Sky Conference play) needs a victory for a chance at sharing the conference title.

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The Northridge men’s and women’s basketball teams start nonconference play this week.

The men face USC on Friday night at the Sports Arena, and the women host Pepperdine on Saturday night.