CSUN NOTEBOOK: NORTHRIDGE WANTS RAMOS, ARNOLD TO STAY BUSY.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

Cal State Northridge's Anthony Ramos had three offensive touches in Saturday's loss to Montana State. Aaron Arnold had two catches.

Considering how exciting and electrifying both wide receivers can be, that's not nearly enough.

``The first thing I saw was that we only completed 16 passes,'' CSUN offensive coordinator Rob Phencie said. ``I looked and they didn't come close to touching the damn thing as much as they should in a game.''

When CSUN's coaching staff met Monday to discuss what worked and what failed during the last week, the inability to get Ramos and Arnold more involved in the offense came up quickly.

That should change Saturday when CSUN travels to No. 23 Weber State, which has the Big Sky's top-rated defense. The coaching staff is under the belief that CSUN settled for four field goals against Montana State because Ramos and Arnold weren't involved in the offense.

``When Ramos goes (well), we go,'' CSUN coach Ron Ponciano said. ``When he's had good games we've won. He's an exciting player who makes big plays in a lot of different facets of the game. We have to get the ball in his hands.

``And the same thing with Arnold. If he gets shut down, our offense gets shut down. That's what we have to solve. How to get them the ball more.''

There are ways.

Arnold has been moved to kick returner, and when Ramos was being his most destructive to defenses earlier this season, he did it in a variety of ways. He's thrown a touchdown, is third in rushing for CSUN and has 19 receptions.

``During the week we always have stuff prepared, but come game time we have to run sight adjustments,'' Ramos said. ``Last week our practice plan, we were doing a certain thing, and they gave us a different look so we did something else.''

Jamming Welch: CSUN has already faced Division I-AA's top rusher (Sacramento State's Charles Roberts) and next week the Matadors host the No. 7 runner, Charles Dunn of Portland State.

However, this week's focus is Weber State's Morgan Welch, who has run for 1,310 yards and eight touchdowns. He's fifth in the country in rushing (163.8 ypg) and is 69 yards from a single-season school record but has been held to fewer than 100 yards in each of the Wildcats' past two games.

``(Welch) breaks some tackles, I think the offensive line is very good and they have the one thing that kills us,'' Ponciano said. ``They have the two tight ends and H-back.''

Those are bad combinations for a defensive line that's been mediocre lately. The Matadors are eighth in the conference in rushing defense, allowing 202 yards per game.

All-you-can-eat buffet: Periodically, injured linebacker Cos Abercrombie stops by practice, which he did Tuesday. His jaw is wired shut after being broken at Northern Arizona on Sept. 19, but he's scheduled to have the wiring taken off Monday.

``The last time I ate real food was Sept. 19, when I had chicken and spaghetti at Sizzler,'' said Abercrombie, who's lost 10 pounds since being hurt. ``Just talking about it makes me hungry.''

Now this is ridiculous: The Matadors' injury situation has been well-documented, but now it's getting out of hand. CSUN radio analyst Ron Foster limped to practice with a hamstring problem after injuring his leg during a commercial shoot.

``I was high-steppin' it like Deion Sanders and felt something,'' Foster said. ``(Play-by-play man) Gary Cruz is healthy. Foster is probable.''

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PHOTO ANTHONY RAMOS

The wide receiver's big-play talents were wasted in the loss to Montana State.