A tie in sports has often been described as "like kissing your sister."  While the origin of the quote has been attributed to a number of college football coaches, this story will attempt to show that on at least one occasion, Titan fans felt very differently.

On September 23, 1989, Cal State Fullerton met San Diego State at the iconic Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego's Mission Valley.  Although the two California State Universities were only separated by 100 miles or so, the Titans and Aztecs hadn't tangled on the gridiron since 1977.  All three previous contests had ended in Fullerton defeats.    

Future Titan Hall of Famer, Gene Murphy, was in his 10^th year at the Fullerton helm, while fiery Al Luginbill was in his first year with the Aztecs, following a successful stint as Defensive Coordinator at Arizona State.

Both programs featured high-powered offenses.  The Titans were led by senior quarterback, Dan Speltz; all-purpose running back, Mike Pringle; and slippery wideout, Rocky Palamara.  SDSU's quarterback was 6' 8" Dan McGwire, a first-year transfer from Iowa, and the brother of major league baseball star, Mark McGwire.  Dan McGwire would eventually become a first-round draft pick of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.  The Aztec offense also featured the 1-2 punch of running backs, Darrin Wagner and Ron Slack. 

There was a great deal of anticipation for the early-season nonconference matchup, and it was estimated that over 2,000 Fullerton fans made the trek southward for the 7:00 p.m. game.  Cable TV station, Prime Ticket, opted to televise the game, albeit on a tape-delayed basis.  Geoff Witcher, and former Nebraska and pro football quarterback, David Humm were the announcers for the broadcast, which is available to view on YouTube, courtesy of Titan alumnus, Hank Tran. 

Then a Daily Titan writer, Stephen Ramirez, perceptively wrote at the time: "The Titans and Aztecs will march up and down the field so often that the ground crews might have to re-sod the playing area."

Things started encouragingly for Fullerton when Pringle returned the opening kick-off to the San Diego State 38-yard line.  Speltz would later connect with Tight End Bill Brennan for an 18-yard touchdown, and the Titans would take an early 7-0 lead. 

Fullerton would then thwart SDSU's first possession.  Nuygen Pendleton's subsequent punt return was taken to the end zone, but would be called back on a clipping penalty.

Lightning-quick receiver, Palamara, found an open seam for a 64-yard gain.  Unable to punch the ball into the end zone, Phil Nevin would kick a 25-yard field goal to give the white-clad Titans a 10-0 lead.  

A roughing the passer call would give San Diego State a second life, and a first and goal opportunity which they would convert to a rushing touchdown to get on the scoreboard. Titans 10, Aztecs 7. 

Propelled by an SDSU personal foul and player ejection, the Titans would add another Nevin field goal to improve their lead to 13-7. 

In the second quarter, the Titans would extend their lead to 20-7 following an exciting 40-yard rushing touchdown from Pringle. 

McGwire would then pick apart the Fullerton defense for a touchdown, reducing the Titan lead to 20-14. 

A Speltz mishandle gave the ball back to the Aztecs, and would eventually result in another SDSU touchdown, and give San Diego State their first lead of the contest at 21-20.

Fullerton would respond with a 43-yard Nevin field goal to once again put the Titans ahead 23-21.  A Terry Tramble interception would allow Fullerton to take their slim lead into the locker room at halftime.

The would be no respite in the second half of the high-scoring, seesaw battle that had been predicted by Daily Titan writer, Stephen Ramirez. 

In the third quarter, Shaun Dennis would intercept a tipped McGwire pass to give the Titans their second turnover of the night.  Unable to convert the Aztec error to points, Fullerton was forced to punt. 

A 38-yard McGwire to Monty Galbraith pass play put the ball at the Fullerton 30.  San Diego State would pound the ball the rest of the way, with McGwire scoring on a quarterback sneak.  Luginbill, oddly, opted for a two-point conversion which failed.  The Aztecs now led 27-23.  The score would remain the same until the fourth quarter. 

A long Wagner run would land SDSU into the red zone.  The Aztecs would score a touchdown on a 16-yard pass over the head of Pendleton.  San Diego State's lead would improve to 34-23, and the black and red uniformed team appeared to be pulling away.  This perception would continue when the Titans went three and out on their ensuing possession. 

Providence opened the closed door just a little bit when a McGwire fumble was recovered by Fullerton's Russ Oleyer at the SDSU 49-yard line.  Murphy made a gutsy fourth and one call when Speltz connected with Palamara for a nine-yard gain and a Titan first down.
 
A 28-yard pass play to Palamara put the ball inside the Aztec 10-yard line.  Pringle would score a touchdown on a short pass play to him in the flat.  Speltz would notch a two-point conversion via a pass to Palamara in the end zone.  Fullerton would trail the Aztecs 34-31 with 7:52 remaining in the game. 

Lady Luck would again smile on the Titans when Shawn Forristal recovered a Wagner fumble.  Another Aztec turnover. 

Pringle had to change his torn #27 jersey, and replaced it with teammate Dan Briones' #30.  The number switch made no difference to Pringle, and might have momentarily confused the Aztecs as Pringle scored on a long run on the first play from scrimmage.  Following the Nevin PAT, the Titans regained the lead at 38-34 with 7:28 to play in the contest. 

The Titan defense appeared to be exhausted as SDSU's running backs efficiently pounded the ball at them.  A 32-yard pass play to Jimmy Raye III placed the Aztecs back in the red zone.  Wagner would then bang his way into the end zone on a 6-yard sweep to the right side. 

SDSU kicker, Andy Trakas, would miss his PAT attempt, but an offsides penalty against the Titans would give the freshman a second chance.  He would not miss.  San Diego State led 41-38 with only 2:34 to play. 

Wishing to keep the ball out of Pringle's hands, the Aztecs kicked the ball short.  The Titans opened their must-score possession from their own 39-yard line.  A short completion to Tim Byrnes took the ball up to the SDSU 49-yard line. 

With 2:13 remaining, Murphy called a time out with the ball at the Aztec 45-yard line.  An ill-timed holding penalty moved the ball back 10 yards with only 2:00 on the clock. 

Palamara would get 11 yards back on a bubble screen from Speltz, and set up a third and five.  The ensuing pass was swatted down, bringing up a do-or-die fourth and five situation for Speltz and the fightin' Titans. 

Scrambling to his right, the 6'3" former El Camino College All-American, found wide receiver, Mark Hill, for an 8-yard completion, and Titan first down.  Following a short pass to Tony Dill, Pringle pounded the rock inside the SDSU 25.

With the clock still running and under 50 seconds remaining, Tim Byrnes caught a short pass from Speltz, broke a tackle, and battered his way to the 7-yard line with 30 seconds to play.  An incomplete pass with 13 seconds to play stopped the clock. 

With no one open in the end zone, Speltz threw underneath to complete a pass to Dill, who was smothered at the 4-yard line.  Murphy called a timeout with just four seconds remaining on the clock.

The Titan head coach was faced with a dilemma.  With time for only one more play, should he give Speltz one more opportunity to throw to the end zone and perhaps win the game?  Or, should he bring in his sure-footed freshman kicker, Nevin, to tie the game.  Remember, in 1989, the NCAA had no provisions for tiebreakers.  Murphy's decision would be final.  In the stands, anxious Titan fans were divided on what Murphy should do.  While everyone wanted a win over the Aztecs, few wanted to risk a loss on a no-guarantee pass play, knowing that the defensive-minded Luginbill would undoubtedly call for an all-out blitz. 

Titan fans got their answer when Nevin walked onto the field.  Predictably, Luginbill decided to "ice" the young kicker by calling at timeout.  Facing a difficult angle, Nevin, cool as a cucumber, drilled it through the uprights as time expired.

The Prime Ticket broadcast would show a jubilant Titan section jumping up and down, arms raised in apparent triumph.  It was the greatest Fullerton tie, ever!

 Stephen Ramirez was recently asked what he remembered about the contest: "It was the most exciting college football game I had seen up to that time.  I can't even remember if there was a punt in that game.  My experience is that a tie is usually frustrating, but I remember interviewing the Titan players after, and for them it felt like a win.  And for me too. 

"Some wanted coach Murphy to go for the win, but he said he wouldn't have been able to face the players if they came up short.  It was a big moment for Cal State Fullerton football."

Speltz and McGwire would finish with similar passing stats.  Speltz would complete 25 of 32 passes for 268 yards, and two TD's.  McGwire would complete 17 of 26 passes for 307 yards, and two TD's.

The workhorse, and star of the evening would be Mark Pringle.  Pringle would rush 25 times for 158 yards, and caught six passes for 34 yards.  He also returned three kickoffs for 110 yards, totaling 302 all-purpose yards while scoring three touchdowns. 

Future MLB All Star, and Titan Hall of Famer, Phil Nevin, would make all four of his field goal attempts of 25, 24, 42, and 22 yards.  He would also convert all three of his PAT attempts for a total of 15 points. 

Let's give head coach Gene Murphy the final word.  He said at the time, "I'm not happy with a tie, but I'm happy with the way we played."
Let's also remember SDSU head coach Al Luginbill's opinion of the game: "It was despicable.  I don't even have words to describe that performance."