No. 14 Cal Poly Prepares for Second FBS Matchup at Colorado State
9/13/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | COLORADO STATE | BIG SKY | MWC
MUSTANGS FALL TO NO. 14 IN FCS POLLS
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BIG SKY TELECONFERENCE CALL | THIS WEEK IN THE BIG SKY
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (1-1) will play its second straight game against a Football Bowl Subdivision team from the Mountain West Conference this week.
Coming off a 41-25 loss at Fresno State last Saturday night, the Mustangs, ranked No. 14 in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll and 14th in the The Sports Network media poll, visit the Colorado State Rams (0-2) on Saturday afternoon for the first meeting between the two schools at Hughes Stadium (32,500).
Kickoff is set for 12:30 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 above as well as at www.GoPoly.com.
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, turned a 41-3 third-quarter deficit into a two-possession game with three touchdowns in the second half at Bulldog Stadium, but could get no closer against its Central California rival. Junior slotback Kristaan Ivory rushed for 97 yards, junior wide receiver Willie Tucker (pictured above) caught five passes, one for a touchdown, and backup quarterback Chris Brown threw one scoring pass and ran for two more touchdowns while sparking the Mustangs' second-half comeback. Held to no points and just 29 plays and 44 yards in the first 30 minutes of play, Cal Poly amassed 25 points and 372 yards on 47 plays after the break.
Colorado State let a 27-17 lead late in the third quarter slip away as host Tulsa scored a touchdown and two field goals in the final period, a 34-yarder with 1:24 to play snapping a 27-27 tie, to beat the Rams 30-27. Though the game was not decided until the final 90 seconds, Tulsa enjoyed a 22-9 advantage in first downs and 427-286 in total yards. Chris Nwoke and Kapri Bibbs rushed for 97 and 83 yards respectively while quarterback Garrett Grayson completed 12 of 29 passes for 108 yards and two scores for the visiting Rams.
Both the Mustangs and Rams were forced to punt nine times in their losses Saturday.
Cal Poly 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.
Moraga won a four-man battle at quarterback in Fall Camp and was tabbed by Walsh on August 19 to start the season opener against San Diego. Moraga, however, injured a knee in the third quarter at Fresno State and will undergo an MRI this week. Brown or Air Force transfer Dano Graves, also a redshirt sophomore, will start Saturday at Colorado State. Ivory rushed for 728 yards and eight touchdowns as a backup to 1,500-yard rusher Deonte Williams a year ago.
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 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).
Two games into the current season, Ivory is ranked No. 1 in the Big Sky and No. 3 in the FCS with his average of 141 rushing yards per contest. The junior is averaging 8.3 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns against San Diego on runs of 81, 2 and 61 yards. Tucker is seventh in the FCS in receiving yards per game (119.5) and has 12 catches in two contests, one for a touchdown. He also has non-scoring catches of 39, 50 and 74 yards. Middle linebacker Nick Dzubnar has 21 tackles, 24th in the FCS and second in the Big Sky.
Colorado State returned 45 lettermen, including 15 starters (nine on offense, six on defense) off a team which went 4-8 in 2012, finishing tied for sixth place in the Mountain West. The Rams, who fielded their first football team in 1893, have won 15 conference titles (the last in 2002), own a 126-106-2 record in Hughes Stadium and have made 12 bowl appearances, winning five, including a 40-35 victory over Fresno State in the 2008 New Mexico Bowl, Colorado State's last bowl game.
The Rams are led offensively by running backs Bibbs (24 carries, 153 yards, two TDs) and Nwoke (28 carries, 103 yards, one TD), quarterback Grayson (34 of 68, 309 yards, two TDs) and receivers Joe Hansley and Rashard Higgins, each with seven catches in two games. Hansley returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown in a 41-27 loss to Colorado on Sept. 1 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, home of the NFL's Denver Broncos. Defensive leaders for the Rams are strong safety Kevin Pierre-Louis with 20 tackles, linebacker Aaron Davis with 19 and free safety Trent Matthews with 14 along with the lone Colorado State interception of the year.
Jim McElwain is in his second season as head coach at Colorado State, guiding the Rams to their best record since 2008 last fall. He was offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008-11 and at Fresno State in 2007 and coached the quarterbacks for the Oakland Raiders in 2006. McElwain also has coached at Michigan State, Louisville, Montana State and Eastern Washington.
Cal Poly and Colorado State are meeting for the first time in football Saturday. The Mustangs return to the northern half of Colorado on Nov. 23 for a Big Sky Conference game against Northern Colorado in Greeley, located 32 miles east of Ft. Collins.
The Mustangs have earned five wins against FBS schools in the last 17 years, defeating New Mexico State 38-35 in overtime in 1997, Texas-El Paso 34-13 in the 2003 season opener, San Diego State twice, 16-14 in 2006 and 29-27 in 2008, and Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference in 2012, 24-22.
Out of the polls in 2011, Cal Poly regained its spot in the top 25 in 2012, climbing to as high as No. 11 in both the coaches and media polls before falling to Sacramento State and Eastern Washington. The Mustangs, 4-1 at home three straight seasons (2009-11), went unbeaten (5-0) at home last fall for the first time since the 2005 squad went 6-0 at home. Cal Poly has won 48 of its last 57 home games (84 percent) and has claimed nine of its last 19 games on the road since going winless away from Alex G. Spanos Stadium in 2009 as part of an eight-game road losing streak.
Cal Poly football, presented by French Hospital Medical Center, captured four Great West Conference titles in the eight-year history of the league (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011) before moving to the Big Sky last fall and has earned NCAA Division I FCS playoff berths in 2005, 2008 and 2012, reaching the quarterfinals in 2005 with a win at Montana before falling at Texas State. The Mustangs have won 75 of their last 116 games (65 percent) dating back to the 2002 season finale and have won 28 of their last 56 games on the road (50 percent).
Cal Poly has a bye next week before wrapping up its three-game road trip and opening defense of its one-third share of the 2012 Big Sky Conference championship with a Thursday night (Sept. 26) contest at Portland State. Kickoff in Jeld-Wen Stadium is set for 7:15 p.m. PDT and the game will be televised by ROOT Sports. The Mustangs, who don't play a home game in September, return to Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Oct. 5 with a 2:05 p.m. contest against Yale, the first-ever Big Sky Conference versus Ivy League matchup.
