Unbeaten and No. 11 Cal Poly Plays Three of Final Four Games on the Road
10/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Unbeaten and No. 11 Cal Poly (7-0, 5-0 Big Sky), off to a 7-0 start for the third time in 19 Division I seasons and one of just two unbeaten teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, continues its inaugural campaign in the Big Sky Conference with three of its final four regular-season contests on the road, visiting in-state rival Sacramento State (5-3, 3-2 Big Sky) on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium (21,195) in the state capital.
Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. PDT and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 am) with Tom Barket providing the play-by-play and Eric Burdick doing color commentary. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats are available at www.GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly stretched its winning streak over the last two seasons to eight straight -- five shy of the school mark set by the 1932-34 teams -- with a 37-25 victory over Portland State in its Homecoming Game last Saturday in San Luis Obispo. Senior slotback Deonte Williams rushed for 169 yards while senior quarterback Andre Broadous (pictured above) passed for 117 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores, accounting for all four Mustang touchdowns.
Three Mustang teams have jumped to 7-0 starts since Cal Poly moved to Division I in 1994. The 1997 squad under head coach Larry Welsh lost to Liberty in Week 8 and finished 10-1 while the 2004 Mustangs guided by Rich Ellerson fell to UC Davis in their eighth game and closed the season 9-2.
Sacramento State, which started the year 5-2, its best opening in two decades -- the 1992 squad also was 5-2 -- saw its three-game winning streak snapped by No. 1 Eastern Washington 31-28 last week in Cheney, Wash., as the Eagles outgained the Hornets 454-288, holding Sacramento State to 125 rushing yards and 163 passing yards. Quarterback Garrett Safron completed 16 of 26 passes for 127 yards, with DeAndre Carter catching six passes and Morris Norrise five. Ezekiel Graham rushed for 82 yards for the Hornets, who had the ball in the final moments before a 45-yard Hail Mary pass was batted down.
Williams is the top rusher in the Big Sky and No. 7 in the FCS in rushing, averaging 132.3 yards per game with six games of 100 or more yards on the ground. Williams also rushed for 100 yards against UC Davis a year ago and produced four 100-yard games as a freshman at Northern Arizona in 2008. With 926 yards in seven games this season, he needs 74 yards to become the 15th Mustang to crack the 1,000-yard rushing mark for a season and Williams needs two more 100-yard games to catch James Noble's school record of eight in one season.
Senior cornerback Nico Molino is fourth in the nation and first in the Big Sky with his four interceptions. As a team, Cal Poly is No. 3 in the FCS and No. 1 in the Big Sky in rushing offense (314.3), No. 1 in the Big Sky and No. 9 in the FCS in scoring offense (38.0) and is No. 2 in the Big Sky and No. 33 in the FCS in scoring defense (21.3).
Out of the polls in 2011, Cal Poly regained its spot in the top 25 four weeks ago and has steadily climbed each week, ranked No. 11 in both the coaches and media polls this week following last Saturday's win over Portland State. The Mustangs, 4-1 at home each of the last three seasons, have won eight of their last 14 games on the road since going winless away from Alex G. Spanos Stadium in 2009 as part of an eight-game road losing streak.
Facing a difficult schedule, Cal Poly posted a 6-5 mark in 2011, clinching its eighth winning season in the last nine years and nine of 11 with a season-ending 41-10 triumph at South Alabama. Cal Poly's foes on the 2011 schedule were a combined 68-45 and the Mustangs faced two FBS schools (San Diego State and Northern Illinois) while South Alabama was in transition to FBS.
Cal Poly football, presented by French Hospital Medical Center, has already clinched its 10th winning season in the last 12 years. Four Mustang teams have started the year 7-0 or better, including the 1953 squad which went 9-0, the 1973 team that won its first eight games en route to a 9-1 campaign and the 1933 team that finished 7-0.
Williams, who opened the 2012 season with four consecutive 100-yard games, surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing as a Mustang three weeks ago. He now has 1,311 yards in two years at Cal Poly and, including his 2008 freshman season at Northern Arizona, has 2,261 yards in three collegiate campaigns.
Broadous recently cracked the 2,000-yard mark in career passing as a Mustang. He has thrown for 2,467 yards, No. 10 all-time at Cal Poly, and has been picked off just twice in 316 career attempts. With 27 career rushing touchdowns, he needs eight more to catch James Noble's school record. Broadous has rushed for 1,272 yards in his Mustang career.
Sacramento State, coached by Marshall Sperbeck (sixth season, 29-35, Nevada '84) returned 40 lettermen, including 12 starters, off last year's team which went 4-7 overall and finished tied for sixth in the Big Sky at 3-5. The Hornets opened their 2012 season with a 49-19 loss at New Mexico State, then won five of their next six games, including a 30-28 triumph at Pac-12 member Colorado on Sept. 8, before falling at No. 1 Eastern Washington last week.
For the season, Graham has rushed for 655 yards and three TDs while Safron has completed 158 of 243 passes (65 percent) for 1,663 yards and 14 scores with eight interceptions. Norrise has caught 42 passes, Graham 26 and Carter and TJ Knowles 20 each for the Hornets. Linebacker Todd Davis has 75 tackles, 10.0 for lost yardage, and 3.0 sacks to lead the Hornets defensively.
Sacramento State, which beat Oregon State a year ago, is averaging 399 yards in total offense per game -- 176 on the ground and 223 through the air -- while giving up 407 yards a contest (112 rushing, 295 passing). The Hornets have been outscored by their eight foes 28.4 to 27.2 despite their 5-3 record.
The Hornets, who have yet to earn an FCS playoff berth since moving to Division I in 1993, qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1964, 1968 and 1988, reaching the semifinals in 1988.
Cal Poly and Sacramento State are meeting for the 32nd time in football this weekend but Saturday's game will be only the second between the two teams since 2006. The Mustangs beat the Hornets 38-19 in the 2009 season opener in San Luis Obispo to take the lead in the series, 16-15. Cal Poly has won the last five games in the series, which began in 1967, by a combined score of 181-72.
Cal Poly captured four Great West Conference titles in the eight-year history of the league (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011) and earned NCAA Division I FCS playoff berths in both 2005 and 2008, reaching the quarterfinals in 2005. The Mustangs have won 71 of their last 108 games (65.7 percent) dating back to the 2002 season finale and have won 27 of their last 51 games on the road and 45 of their last 54 home contests.
Next week Cal Poly plays a non-conference game Saturday, Nov. 3, at Eastern Washington. Kickoff at Roos Field is set for 1:35 p.m. The Eagles are 6-1 overall and 5-0 for a first-place tie with Cal Poly in the Big Sky Conference entering their game Saturday at Southern Utah.
