Kopp Expected to Start Against CS Fullerton

STOCKTON — Record-setting quarterback Troy Kopp is expected to return to the starting lineup for University of the Pacific today when the Tigers play host to Cal State Fullerton in a Big West Conference game at 2 p.m.

Kopp, the former Mission Viejo High standout who is 567 yards short of 10,000 yards passing, sat out three games because of a sprained ankle.

During Pacific’s last game, against Washington on Oct. 24, Kopp alternated series with backup Dave Henigan, a Fountain Valley High graduate who has passed for 1,230 yards this season. But Kopp probably will take over full-time today.

Kopp won’t be Fullerton’s only defensive concern, though. The Tigers (2-6, 1-2 Big West) also have the nation’s leading all-purpose yardage gainer in Ryan Benjamin, a tailback who averages 211.8 yards, and the conference’s top receiver in Aaron Turner, whose 55 receptions have been good for 820 yards.

Fullerton (2-6, 0-3) has struggled all season offensively, and the Titans, with 58 fumbles--31 of them lost--are closing in on Texas Southern’s NCAA record, set in 1977 when the school lost 39 of its 68 fumbles.