A FINAL BIG SKY MEMORY CSUN IN PORTLAND FOR CONFERENCE FINALE.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. - Usually, victories are the most memorable. In Cal State Northridge's case, it's a loss that's remembered most. As the Matadors' football team prepares to play its final game in the Big Sky Conference before becoming a Division I-AA independent team, players and coaches reflected on the last five seasons. Sure, the 1998 win over perennial power Montana was big. This year's record-breaking 64-61 loss to Sacramento State was up there, as was the win over Montana State in the snow. Then there was the exciting 30-28 win over Weber State last year. There are plenty of memorable games. Only CSUN's 32-29 loss to Idaho State two seasons ago stands out. ``That was our closest chance to winning the conference and we pretty much blew it,'' quarterback Marcus Brady Marcus Brady (Born September 24, 1979) is a quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. College career He attended Cal State Northridge as a business major, where he started 43 straight games. said. Not only was it memorable, it was devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. . All CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge had to do was beat last-place Idaho State and it would have wrapped up its first Big Sky title. Instead, the Matadors allowed a touchdown with 30 seconds remaining and lost. CSUN led 29-24 with a little over a minute left but couldn't hang on and Idaho State pulled off a shocking 32-29 upset. ``That year, Idaho State wasn't that great,'' linebacker Cos Abercrombie said. ``We worked hard that year. We still should've had a better record. It should've have come down to that game.'' But it did. CSUN (4-6, 2-5) will plays its last game at Portland State (7-3, 4-3) today at Hillsboro Stadium Facility Built in 1999 and opened in August 1999, the award winning facility cost $7.5 million to build.[1] Designed by GBD Architects, the stadium was named one of 1999’s Best Public Project Award recipients by AIA Western International. . CSUN exits the conference with a 21-18 record and no titles, CSUN coach Jeff Kearin's biggest regret. ``I'm disappointed we never won the championship and I would've thought we would've by now,'' Kearin said. ``I feel that was a failure, certainly, that we have not yet won a conference championship, nor will we ever at this point. I'm really disappointed in that. We still competed with integrity. We were always in the mix.'' CSUN joined the Big Sky in 1996 and has beaten every team at least once. The Matadors have had their moments, ups and downs ups and downs pl.n. Alternating periods of good and bad fortune or spirits. ups and downs Noun, pl alternating periods of good and bad luck or high and low spirits , good times and bad. Ironically, everyone talked about going out with a bang this year, only they'll be leaving with a big dud. CSUN's 2-5 record - regardless of a win or loss Saturday - is its worst. In the Matadors' run at the championship in 1998, they beat Montana 21-7. ``That's probably one of the biggest wins in the history of Northridge, simply because we'd never beaten Montana and we upset them.'' The Matadors always seemed to play well against the Grizzlies The name Grizzlies may refer to:
CSUN's relationship with the Big Sky has been a beneficial one for both parties, for the most part. But not everything was positive. The Matadors didn't get the television exposure they thought was part of the package. And then there was CSUN's image. CSUN was the most penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. team in the Big Sky last year but some of the Matadors feel they got a bad rap in the conference. ``Since I've been here, I felt the Big Sky didn't hold us with high regard,'' Abercrombie said. ``In the years I was here, our coaches have said the Big Sky thinks that Northridge has the L.A. mentality - undisciplined, reckless style of play.'' Rodriguez agreed. He feels the move to an independent program will give CSUN a chance to clear its name. ``I guess it's kind of like a rebirth for the program,'' Rodriguez said. ``Since we've been in the Big Sky, we've kind of been the bad boys of the Big Sky. We'll get a penalty for doing just about anything and that's tough. Some of the guys may not notice, but I do. We're independent now and we're going to make a new name for ourselves. I think coach Kearin has the team moving in the right direction.'' Kearin disagreed that the Matadors have a negative image. He said he liked just about every aspect of playing in the conference - including the teams, coaches, required number of scholarships and exposure for the program. While CSUN won't be in the Big Sky next season, it's expected to keep many of the teams on its schedule. That's just fine with Kearin. ``I thought the Big Sky has brought this program to the forefront of I-AA football,'' Kearin said. ``Before then, we were wallowing in this very mediocre conference with low scholarship numbers. I've always been very proud of the fact that we've responded very well. We've battled in the conference every year, except probably this year. I always took great pride in the fact that we hit the ground running in the Big Sky Conference. I think we were a really positive member of the conference.'' CSUN at PORT. ST. Kickoff: 2:05 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium (capacity: 10,200). Records: CSUN is 4-6, 2-5; Portland State is 7-3, 4-3. TV/Radio: None. Series history: Portland State leads 12-7 and is 9-0 in games in Portland. The Vikings won 34-21 last year. CSUN last won 32-28 in 1998. Injury update: CSUN: OL Javier Ortiz Javier Ortiz may refer to:
Period of nervous-function impairment that results from relatively mild brain injury, often with no bleeding in the cerebral cortex. It causes brief unconsciousness, followed by mental confusion and physical difficulties. ) and DB Isaac Gardner (shoulder) are out. PORTLAND STATE: QB Jimmy Blanchard (jaw, ribs) and LB Ron Granderson (knee) are probable; LB Marcus Green Marcus Green (born September 27, 1983) is an American football player who currently plays for the Seattle Seahawks. He was originally an undrafted free agent by the New York Giants after the 2006 NFL Draft. (nose) and DB Tanner Cole (thumb) are questionable; DB Lamar Ceasar (ankle) and OL Matt Hebebrand (wrist) are doubtful; WR Terry Charles (torn ACL See access control list. 1. ACL - Access Control List. 2. ACL - Association for Computational Linguistics. 3. ACL - A Coroutine Language. A Pascal-based implementation of coroutines. ["Coroutines", C.D. ) is out. Keep an eye on: WR Drew Amerson, who has caught at least one TD pass in the last five games and has four straight 100-yard receiving games. . . . QB Marcus Brady, who threw five touchdown passes to five receivers in three quarters last week. He's thrown for 1,324 yards and completed 61 percent of his passes in the last four games. . . . The secondary, which will be without two starters, Gardner and the hard-hitting Bacon. Portland State update: The Vikings are banged up and will be without standout receiver Terry Charles. An MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. revealed a torn ACL. . . . QB Jimmy Blanchard, who has thrown 310 consecutive passes without an interception, is nursing a jaw injury and bruised ribs. . . . PSU PSU - power supply unit has lost three of four games after winning its first six. . . . Running back Charles Dunn has 5,737 career rushing yards - third on the I-AA list - and needs just 98 yards to break PSU's single-season rushing mark of 1,619 yards. - Jill Painter BIG SKY CONFERENCE CSUN's five-year run in the Big Sky Conference comes to an end today with the season finale at Portland State. A look at the highs and lows: Biggest win: CSUN 21, Montana 7, 1998. Most devastating loss: Idaho State 32, CSUN 29, 1998. Wildest game: Sacramento State 64, CSUN 61, 2000. First Big Sky win: CSUN 46, Portland State 14, 1996. Most lopsided lop·sid·ed adj. 1. Heavier, larger, or higher on one side than on the other. 2. Sagging or leaning to one side. 3. win: CSUN 52, Sacramento State 17, 1996. Most lopsided loss: Northern Arizona Northern Arizona is dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the southern border of which in Arizona is called the Mogollon Rim. In the West lies the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the flow of the Colorado River while the land slowly rose around it. 49, CSUN 26, 2000. Best finish: CSUN 5-3, tied for second, 1998. Worst finish: CSUN 2-5 with one game to play, 2000. Shutouts: None. Most points scored: 61, vs. Sacramento State, 2000. Fewest points scored: NAU (1) (Network Access Unit) An interface card that adapts a computer to a local area network. (2) (Network Addressable Unit) An SNA component that can be referenced by name and address, which includes the SSCP, LU and PU. 30, CSUN 10 (forfeit win), 1999. Seasons in Big Sky: five. Big Sky record: 21-18. Conference titles: 0. Different CSUN coaches: four. Biggest crowd: 19,866 at Portland State, 1999. Smallest crowd: 1,915 vs. Cal Poly Cal Poly may refer to:
Game of the elements: CSUN 24, Montana State 12 (in snow), 2000. CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) CSUN at PORT. ST. (See text) (2) BIG SKY CONFERENCE (See text) |
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