No. 18/19 Cal Poly Returns Home to Host Yale for Non-Conference Game
10/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | YALE | BIG SKY
PRESS CONFERENCE: TIM WALSH | GIOVANNI SANI
MUSTANGS REMAIN 18TH, 19TH in FCS POLLS
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AUDIO: TELECONFERENCE CALL | THIS WEEK IN THE BIG SKY
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky), which snapped a two-game losing streak and ended a three-game road trip with a victory over Portland State in the Big Sky Conference opener for both schools last week, steps away from conference play for its final non-conference game of the 2013 season Saturday afternoon, hosting Yale (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) in the first matchup between a Big Sky school and one from the Ivy League.
Kickoff on Youth Day inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium (11,075) is set for 2:05 p.m. PDT and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 am) with Tom Barket providing the play-by-play and Kyle Shotwell serving as an analyst. Links for video and audio streams as well as live stats are available at www.GoPoly.com.
The Mustangs, who rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit to beat Portland State 38-34 last Thursday, are ranked No. 18 in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll and 19th in The Sports Network media poll. Yale is unranked in both polls despite a 39-22 victory over Colgate two weeks ago and a 38-23 win over Cornell in an Ivy League opener last Saturday.
A year ago, Cal Poly finished 9-3 overall, captured a share of the Big Sky title in its first year in the conference and earned a second-round NCAA FCS playoff berth, falling 18-16 to Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. In earning their third FCS playoff berth, the Mustangs finished with a winning record for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons.
Cal Poly, which opened its fifth season under head coach Tim Walsh with a 38-16 victory over San Diego on August 31, fell 41-25 at Fresno State and 34-17 at Colorado State, then enjoyed a bye week before beating Portland State, where Walsh coached for 14 seasons (1993-2006), in its first Thursday game in 11 years. The Mustangs are 5-0 when playing after a bye week in the Walsh era.
Yale is averaging 38.5 points and 551.5 yards in total offense per game and has already equalled its win total of a year ago in Tony Reno's first season as head coach of the Bulldogs. Yale's offense is balanced, accumulating 270 yards per game on the ground and 281.5 yards in the air, and the Bulldogs have converted 14 of their 29 third-down plays (48 percent). Cal Poly and Yale are tied for No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision in turnovers with two.
Cal Poly football, presented by French Hospital Medical Center, opened Fall Camp with 58 returning lettermen, including 17 players who started at least four games in 2012. Topping the list of returnees are a pair of second-team All-Big Sky honorees -- linebacker Johnny Millard and defensive tackle Sullivan Grosz -- and eight others who earned All-Big Sky honorable mention praise.
Junior Willie Tucker returns at wide receiver after leading the team with 28 catches a year ago while three of the five starters on the offensive front -- Giovanni Sani, Mike Freeman and Lefi Letuligasenoa -- return as well. Also returning are junior Kristaan Ivory, the No. 2 rusher a year ago with 728 yards and eight touchdowns, and fellow slotback Cole Stanford with 241 rushing yards and 17 catches for 486 yards and four scores.
On defense, all four starting defensive linemen of a year ago -- ends Andrew Alcaraz and Jake Irwin plus tackles Grosz and Chris Lawrence -- return. At linebacker, junior Nick Dzubnar moves from the outside to replace Kenneth Jackson in the middle (Mike) while Millard shifts from Will to Sam. Junior Cameron Ontko takes over at Will. Eight of the nine defensive backs who played six or more games last fall return along with senior three-year letterman Bijon Samoodi, who sat out the 2012 season with a hip injury.
Bobby Zalud, who handled all kicking duties (55-for-55 PATs, 12-for-16 field goals, 40.6 punting average), and return specialist Chris Nicholls (24.0 average per kickoff return, 8.5 average per punt return) also return.
As a team a year ago, Cal Poly was No. 1 in the FCS in passing efficiency, No. 3 in rushing offense (324.2 yards a game), No. 7 in scoring offense (38.6 points per contest) and No. 8 in sacks allowed (.83 per game) in 2012. In addition, the Mustang defense showed considerable improvement last fall compared to the year before. In 2012, Cal Poly was No. 45 in scoring defense (86th two years ago) and No. 57 in total defense (90th in 2011).
Four games into the current season, Ivory is ranked No. 1 in the Big Sky and No. 9 in the FCS with his average of 130 rushing yards per contest. The junior is averaging 6.6 yards per carry, scored three touchdowns against San Diego on runs of 81, 2 and 61 yards and accumulated 184 yards and one score against Portland State.
Tucker has 15 catches in four contests, two for touchdowns, and also has non-scoring catches of 39, 50 and 74 yards. Senior fullback/slotback Akaninyene Umoh (pictured above) has contributed 142 yards and two touchdowns rushing and four catches for 67 yards and one score, a 54-yard pass from Brown in the win over Portland State.
Middle linebacker Nick Dzubnar has a team-leading 40 tackles while safety Matt Reza secured Cal Poly's first interception of the season last week at Portland State.
Sophomore quarterback Chris Brown rushed for 129 yards on 21 carries against the Vikings, scoring the clinching touchdown on a one-yard keeper around left end with 6:23 to play. Brown also passed for two scores. Cal Poly wore down Portland State's defense by executing 97 offensive plays, including 79 rushes for 431 yards. The Mustangs had more first downs, 31 to 22, more total yards, 518 to 487, and a 13-minute advantage in time of possession over the Vikings.
Cal Poly, however, continued its first-half woes. In their last three games, the Mustangs have been outscored 82-17 in the first half and were outgained 926-375 in total offense in the first 30 minutes of play. In the second half, Cal Poly has outscored its last three foes 63-26 and compiled a 926-515 advantage in total yards.
After playing no home games in September for the first time since 2000, the Mustangs will play five of their next seven games at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, starting with Yale.
The Bulldogs have won 14 Ivy League titles, the last in 2006, and has won 868 games in 138-plus seasons of football. The Bulldogs returned 37 letter winners, including 15 starters, off a 2012 squad that finished last in the Ivy League with a 1-6 record.
Located in New Haven, Conn., Yale was the first football program in America -- high school, college or pro -- to reach 800 victories, defeating Dayton 42-6 on Sept. 16, 2000. The Bulldogs claimed 26 national titles in the early years of the program, the last in 1927. Two former Yale players -- Larry Kelley (1937) and Clint Frank (1938) -- earned the Heisman Trophy. The list of Bulldog alumni who played football also includes Gary Fencik, Chris Hetherington, Calvin Hill and John Spagnola while the list of former Yale players who have become head coaches includes Walter Camp, Amos Alonzo Stagg, George W. Woodruff and Dick Jauron.
Former presidents who are Yale graduates are George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and William Howard Taft. Current California governor Edmund "Jerry" Brown also is a Yale graduate, as is former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In its win over Cornell on Saturday, Yale was led by wide receiver Deon Randall with three touchdown catches among his 11 overall receptions for 148 yards. Randall, who missed all of last season with an injury, also contributed a 10-yard scoring run and broke up a pass on defense. Randall's four touchdowns all came in the second half after Yale and Cornell battled to a 10-10 draw at the break. The Bulldogs avenged a 45-6 loss in last year's game between the two teams.
Bulldog junior running back Tyler Varga rushed for 105 yards on 21 carries while quarterback Henry Furman completed 29 of 36 passes for 353 yards and three scores. Furman also ran three yards for the first touchdown of the game. Chris Smith caught seven passes for 79 yards. Yale amassed 566 yards in total offense, rushing for 213 yards and passing for 353 more.
Varga, a first-team All-Ivy League selection in 2012, rushed for 935 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore, also catching 16 passes for 100 yards and one score and averaging 23.6 yards on 22 kickoff returns. In his two games this season, Varga has rushed for 341 yards and one score while Furman has completed 40 of 53 passes (75.5 percent) for 482 yards and three touchdowns. Top Bulldog receivers are Randall with 18 catches and Smith with 12. Linebacker Will Vaughan has 15 tackles, defensive backs Cole Champion and Robert Ries 14 and 12, respectively, and linebacker Andrew Larkin 10.
Two Yale offensive linemen, left tackle Wes Gavin and center John Oppenheimer, were honorable mention All-Ivy League selections as juniors in 2012.
Cal Poly has never played an Ivy League school in football while Yale has played just one California school -- splitting four games against San Diego (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006).
Next week Cal Poly resumes Big Sky Conference play by hosting Weber State on Saturday, Oct. 12, in the Hall of Fame Game at 6:05 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
