CSUN NOTEBOOK: OFFENSIVE WOES CONFOUND KEARIN.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

Nobody is as frustrated with Cal State Northridge's offensive production - or lack thereof - than coach Jeff Kearin.

The Matadors (1-5) had their worst offensive outing since 1995 in Saturday's 34-30 loss to Montana. CSUN had 155 yards, including just 46 in the second half. Its longest drive was 33 yards.

``I think we've been trying to do too much,'' Kearin said. ``I have so much confidence in what (quarterback) Marcus Brady can do, but then I look at the guys around him and there's a lot of freshmen and sophomores.''

But the offense has struggled all season. The talent is there, but something isn't right. Turnovers, dropped passes and missed assignments haven't helped the Matadors. Kearin said he's trying to make things simple in an effort to get his team to execute.

--Big Sky honors: Julien Sells returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Montana and was named the Big Sky special-teams player of the week for his efforts. Sells got the opportunity to return kickoffs when Drew Amerson was injured.

``It felt good,'' Sells said. ``We'd had a good week of practice on kickoff returns. Our kickoff return has been pretty strong all year long. Two weeks prior, Terrelus almost got one. (The creases) were opening up. I knew it was bound to happen.''

--Injury report: Safety Travis Campbell was held out of some drills Tuesday because of a bruised arm. Campbell, who had nine tackles, an interception return for a touchdown and a pass deflection against Montana, is expected to start against Montana State.

--New addition: Renee Johnson, the wife of linebackers coach Terrance Johnson, gave birth Sunday night to a boy, Trae Robert, who weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces. It's the couple's third child.