1986_09 The Daily Collegian September 1986

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. Thursday, Sept. 4,1986 i ;__
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Meet the roadttlocks to Cal Bowl VI
By Mike Butwell
Sports Editor w
Call them villans. Call them tyrants.
Call them party-poopers. They're FSU's
fellow Pacific Coast Athletic Association
members and they're out to spoil the
'Dors fun this fall.       ■ - -
Their mission is to knock-off mighty
Fresno State from repeating as PCAA
and Cal Bowl champs.
'You can't blame them cither. The Bul¬
ldogs all but stole the headlines in a
banner season a year ago and by returning
33 lettcrmen, including Heisman candi¬
date Kevin, Sweeney as field general, the
upcoming football campaign looks very
prosperous.
However, for FSU football to take a big
step forward in national exposure, they
must first dodge their foes in the PCAA.
Not neccessarily an easy task.
Here's a pre-season forecast of how the
teams will stack up in the PCAA in 1986:
1. Fresno State (last year: 1st, 11-0-1,
6-0): Tlje Bulldogs might not have made
themselves known nationwide yet, but
everyone knows them extremely well in
the PCAA. Barring injuries, this team
could rise to a level of pure dominance.
Coach Jim Sweeney predicts the ',86 squad
"will be the best team I've ever coached in
my 30 years." Not only could it be the year
Fresno is well known because of the
upcoming TV series, but it could be the
year the rest of the college football world
catches Red Wave Fever.
2. Pacific (last year: 5th, 5-7, 2-5): No
this isn't a misprint. Watch out for the
bunch from Stockton. Printed atop their
"86 football media'guide, it reads "Year of
the Tiger'.'and if not for a group of Bul¬
ldogs 115 mile£ south, the statement could
be truthful. Coached by Bob Cope, the
Tigers ^6 team is an experienced one.
They return nine starters on offense and
10 more on defense.
the main question in Stockton seemsao
be "Can Pacific operate the wishbone
offense effectively?"
"It seems at times (last season)," stated
Cope, "our offense was more 'wish' than
'bone'."
But the likes of senior quarterback Hue
Jackson (who led the team in rushing with
506 yards and passes for 1,089 yards)and
senior running back James Mackey, it's
evident UOP has the tools to open some
eyes this fall.
3. Fullerton (last year: 2nd, 6-5,5-2): If
things continue the way they ended for
Coach Gene Murphy's squad, the rest of
the PCAA could be in for a suprise. The
Titans wrapped up 1985 with four straight
wins, including impressive victories over
Long Beach, 37-26. and Pacific. 43-37.
5. Long Beach (last year: 4th, 6-6,4-3):
There's not much of a gap between the 2nd
and 5th place teams in the PCAA and
Long Beach is proof of that. Coach Mike
Sheppard has a huge vacancy to fill that
Doug Gaynor left at quarterback.Gaynor
now can be found wearing the black and
orange in Cincinnati for the Bengals,
Presently, the edge at the quarterback
spot belongs to sophomore Jeff Graham,
who's yet to throw a ball in a Division I
outing. Fortunately, Graham will be
complimented with senior fullback Mark
1986 PACIFIC COAST ATHLETIC
ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL POLLS
COACHES POLL
MEDIA POLL
1. Fresno State 64 (8)
1. Fresno State 375 (46)
2. Pacific 45
2. Fullerton 273
3. Long Beach 44
3. Pacific 248(1)
4. Fullerton 42
4. UNLV
5. UNLV 37
5. Long Beach 228
6. San Jose Suite 27
6. San Jose State 162      t*
7. Utah State 21
7. Utah State 137
8. New Mexico State 8
8. New Mexico 63
Returning at quarterback is sophomore
Tony Dill, who took over in the 8th game
for 680 yards. Senior Rick Calhoun, the
Titans leading returning rusher with 747
yards, is the nucleus to a solid ground
attack.
Fullerton. however, is hurt considera¬
bly at the wide receiver position where
they lost four (yes, four) highly touted
receivers to graduation and maybe to the
NFL (two were drafted, two signed as free
agents).
4. UNLV(last year: 3rd, 5-5-1, 4-2-1):
When Coach Wayne Nunnely look over
the UNLV football program in April, he
knew he'd have his hands full. Although
there's been a history of disciplinary prob¬
lems at I'NLV, Nunnely's hands seem full
of talented returnees. The list is headed by
senior tailback Kirk Jones (790 yards),
senior quarterback Steve Stallworth.se-
nior punter Bob Hulberg, and senior
safety Alvin Horn.
Templeton (the all-time leading receiver
in the PCAA with 163 catches) and junior
Charles Lockctt, who led the league in
catches in "85 with 69. Add two talented
young sophomore tailbacks, Michael
Roberts and Brian Browning, and you've
got the foundation for a pretty sound
offense.
6. San Jose State (last year: 6th, 2-8-1,
2-4-1): For various reasons, at San Jose
State. Coach Claude Gilbert could very
well be known as Dealer Claude instead of
Coach Gilbert. Gilbert's beeb forced to
shuffle his players like a deck of cards.
The academic ineligibility of rifle-armed
Doug Allen, who threw for 1,717, has left
SPECIAL!
Gilbert hunting for a new signal caller.
Also being shuffled is senior K.C. Clark,
who after playing defensive back for three
seasons, played running back last year
and tallied 462 yards (averaging 4.8 per
carry). Gilbert, however, feels Clark's
presence will be felt more if he returns to
the secondary.
.7 Utah State (last yean 5th, 3-8, 3-4):
New Coach Chuck Shelton placed as a
goal "for us to be competitive in every
game." To do this, Shelton must improve
many phases of the Aggies game. Utah
State finished last in the PCAA in scoring
offense and were 7th in passing defense
(two very important areas in the pass-
oriented PCAA.) Shelton is pleased with
senior quarterback Tom Ponich and is
impressed with both the ability and versa¬
tility of senior running back Glen Craw¬
ford. He's probably also pleased he won't
visit the 'Dog house in Fresno until Nov.
22.
8. New Mexico State (last year: 8th,
1-10,0-7): Things can't get much worse for
the Aggies. Coach Mike Knoll takes over
a program yet to win a PCAA game since
joining in 1983. If that weren't enough.
Knoll will be without the services of last
season's Iffding rusher, Joe Rowley. Jun¬
ior quarterback Jim Miller, though, gives
Knoll a little bit of optimism. Miller put
the ball in the air for 2,824 yards (3rd in
the PCAA). But Miller also led the league
in throwing to the- other team with 17
interceptions.
The Aggies finished dead last in every
defensive category in "85.
Knoll wants to gain respect from the
other teams in the PCAA. Whether re¬
spected or not, they're clearly taking a step
in the right direction. But to tell you the
truth, there's not much room for them to
step the other way. *
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1        n n n n
BACK-TO
PARTY
Dance to:
The West Coast Rockets
Friday, Sept. 6
and
Saturday, Sept. 6
at
The Olympic Tavern
1426 N.VanNess
(in the Tower District)
Music starts at 9:30 p.m.
S3.50 Cover Charge
Shaw your CSUF student body card
and receive 5QC off admission
Fine irrported
8c
domestic
beer 8c wine
Sorry,
no one
under 21