Cal Poly Opens Home Slate Saturday Afternoon Against South Dakota State
9/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
CAL POLY NOTES (pdf)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- The French Hospital Medical Center Cal Poly football team (0-2,0-0 Great West), which opened its third campaign under head coach Tim Walsh with two losses on the road -- a 49-21 setback at San Diego State and a 37-23 verdict at Montana, opens the home portion of its 2011 season Saturday afternoon by hosting South Dakota State (1-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley).
Kickoff in Alex G. Spanos Stadium (11,075) is set for 4:05 p.m. PDT and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 am) with Tom Barket providing the play-by-play and Kyle Shotwell doing color commentary. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats will be available on www.GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly faces another ambitious schedule under Walsh, taking on a pair of FBS teams, two FCS squads in the national polls and another team that is undefeated the past two-plus seasons. Both San Diego State and Northern Illinois won bowl games in 2010, Montana has a pair of FCS national championships to its credit and Eastern Washington claimed the FCS crown last fall. South Alabama has not lost a football game in the program's three-year existence. Cal Poly's 11 foes in 2011 posted a combined 76-53 win-loss record in 2010.
"We have as tough a schedule as you could want at this level," said Walsh. "Our goal is to win the Great West Conference championship and, as far as the playoffs go, we have to win some tough road games to get there. Every game, we will have to play our best."
The Mustangs opened the 2011 campaign armed with nearly 50 returning lettermen, including 14 starters, off a team which finished two points shy of a postseason berth, letting a 21-3 halftime lead slip away in a 22-21 loss to rival UC Davis in the final game of the 2010 season.
Last Saturday in Missoula, Montana rallied from a 23-21 third-quarter deficit to beat Cal Poly, outscoring the Mustangs 23-3 in the final 24 minutes. Cal Poly rushed for 265 yards but the Grizzlies passed for 205 of their 240 yards in the second half and converted each of their eight third-down plays after the break as sophomore quarterback Jordan Johnson finished 25 of 39. For Cal Poly, senior fullback Jake Romanelli rushed for 98 yards and junior quarterback Andre Broadous added 90 yards. Each scored a touchdown while sophomore placekicker James Langford added field goals spanning 38, 36 and 50 yards.
South Dakota State, member of the Great West Conference from 2004-07, opened the 2011 campaign with a 29-28 win over defending Great West champion Southern Utah before falling 56-3 at Illinois last Saturday. The Jackrabbits led Southern Utah 29-7 entering the final period and Dirk Kool had to bat down a two-point conversion try with two seconds left to preserve the victory. Tyrel Kool rushed for 107 yards and caught six passes for SDSU.
Illinois held South Dakota State to 96 total yards while amassing 519, completing 16 of 18 passes and converting nine of 11 third-down plays.
One year shy of their first venture to the Big Sky Conference, the Mustangs welcomed back six starters on offense and eight on defense, plus several other players who started a few games or accumulated a lot of playing time as backups. Among those are Broadous, who started four games at quarterback last fall, all on the road, and numerous defensive players who rotated in and out of the lineup with the starters.
Broadous backed up Tony Smith for two seasons and entered fall camp as the No. 1 signal caller. A year ago, the junior from Portland, Oregon, completed 41 of 64 passes (64.1 percent) for 510 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing 87 times for 305 yards and three more scores.
The Mustangs also will be led by senior slotback Mark Rodgers (882 yards and eight TDs rushing; 20 catches and three more TDs), Romanelli (459 yards, eight TDs) and a veteran offensive line which includes seniors Scott Winnewisser, Art Munoz and Maurice McClure.
Top returnees on defense are Buck Buchanan Award candidate Asa Jackson (55 tackles, two interceptions) at cornerback, linebackers Johnny Millard (38 tackles, two forced fumbles) and Kennith Jackson (67 tackles) and linemen Erich Klemme (28 tackles, 2.5 sacks), Kyle Murphy 23 tackles, six hurries) and Gavin Cooper (39 tackles, six sacks, six hurries), who could return this week following offseason foot surgery.
South Dakota State, coached by John Stiegelmeier (15th season, 89-67, South Dakota State '79) returned 38 lettermen, including 15 starters, off last year's team which went 5-6 and finished tied for third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference at 4-4.
The Mustangs and Jackrabbits are meeting for the seventh time and Cal Poly has a 4-2 edge in the series following a 21-14 win two years ago in Alex G. Spanos Stadium. Carlton Gillespie recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 2:09 to play in that game, snapping a 14-14 tie.
Cal Poly has captured three Great West Conference titles in the seven-year history of the league (2004, 2005, 2008) and earned NCAA Division I FCS playoff berths in both 2005 and 2008, reaching the quarterfinals in 2005. The Mustangs have won 59 of their last 93 games dating back to the 2002 season finale and have won 21 of their last 44 games on the road and 38 of their last 46 home contests.
It will be Youth Day and Military Appreciation Day on Saturday. All active and retired military personnel who present their military ID card will be admitted free for the non-conference game and a pair of Cal Poly graduates in their 10th year of service as pilots for the U.S. Navy -- lieutenants Jake Rose and Rob Marrs -- will conduct a flyover in F/A-18C Hornets moments before kickoff. In addition, youth football players and cheerleaders 13 and under will be admitted free by wearing their football jerseys or cheer uniforms.
Next week, Cal Poly visits Northern Illinois for a 12:30 p.m. PDT kickoff on Sept. 24 in DeKalb, Ill.
