Northridge Loses Presumed Finale

PORTLAND, Ore. —  Cal State Northridge, playing perhaps its final football game, lost to Portland State, 50-43, as Ryan Fuqua rushed for 270 yards and three touchdowns in a nonconference game.

The Matadors (3-7) are awaiting the decision of Northridge President Jolene Koester whether to eliminate the program because of a growing athletic budget deficit and gender-equity requirements. Marcus Brady threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns in his final college game.

Fuqua’s effort came one week after running for a school-record 393 yards against Eastern Washington. The redshirt freshman got off to a slow start in the first half against the Matadors, but broke loose in the third quarter.

Fuqua ran for 136 yards, including an 80-yard scoring run around the left side that gave the Vikings (6-4) a 42-24 lead with 8:18 left in the third quarter. Northridge responded with two touchdown receptions by Jamaal Perry to cut Portland State’s lead to 42-36.

Portland State pushed its cushion back to 50-36 when Juston Wood hit Terry Charles with a 26-yard scoring strike with 7:07 left in the period. Charles had three touchdown receptions and has a school-record 26 in his career.

The Matadors completed the scoring with a three-yard run by Brady, who completed 32 of 45 passes. Brady, who already holds the Division I-AA record for career completions, tied Steve McNair’s record for career attempts with 1,680.