5-3 , 4-1
Montana
5-3 , 3-1
Cal Poly Upsets No. 6/7 Montana 41-21 for Fourth Straight Victory
10/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Junior quarterback Chris Brown shattered his own school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game, rambling for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Cal Poly upset No. 6/7 Montana 41-21 in a Big Sky Conference football game Saturday night before 10,775 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
Brown, who called his number just 21 times, averaging 10.8 yards per carry, scored on runs of 17 and 15 yards and also broke off a 30-yard run to set up another touchdown as the Mustangs earned their fourth straight win since a 1-3 start, improving to 5-3 for the season and 4-1 for second place in the Big Sky.
Montana, which lost to Cal Poly for just the third time in 18 meetings, fell to 5-3 and 3-1.
Cal Poly handed the Grizzlies their worst Big Sky loss in 20 years and their worst regular season loss to an FCS team in 16 seasons. Boise State beat Montana 38-14 in a 1994 Big Sky game and Western Illinois handed the Grizzlies a 52-9 setback in the 1998 FCS playoffs.
It also was Montana's worst loss in three years. The Grizzlies fell 42-16 to Tennessee in 2011.
Cal Poly, which exceeded the 500-yard mark in total offense for the fifth time in its last six games, put together a 528-376 advantage in total offense against Montana, including 421 yards on 66 rushing plays. Montana passed for 298 of its total yards.
After sophomore slotback Kori Garcia gave Cal Poly an early 7-0 lead with a one-yard touchdown run, Montana scored twice for a 14-7 advantage. Jordan Johnson hit Jamaal Jones with a one-yard touchdown pass and Mitch Saylor with a 20-yarder, both in the second quarter.
Brandon Howe's five-yard run for a touchdown 48 seconds before halftime knotted the score at 14-14 at intermission.
That score by Howe ignited a run of four unanswered touchdowns by the Mustangs.
In the third quarter, Garcia caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Brown and Brown ran 17 yards to give Cal Poly a 34-14 cushion. Brown's 15-yard run in the final period capped the Mustangs' 27-0 run.
Jones caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to close the gap to 34-21 midway through the fourth quarter, but senior linebacker Nick Dzubnar recovered Montana's ensuing on-side kick and Mustang backup quarterback Dano Graves answered with a one-yard dive with 1:10 to play to cap the scoring.
In earning his sixth career 100-yard game on the ground, Brown recorded the 19th 200-yard game by a Mustang ball carrier in program history. His 226 yards is No. 13 on the all-time list for a single game. Last Mustang to rush for 200 or more yards in a game was Mark Rodgers in 2010 against South Dakota with a 235-yard performance.
Howe finished with 98 yards on 19 carries and Garcia added 47 yards on 13 trips. Brown completed nine of 17 passes for 107 yards and one score. Kenny Mitchell and Garcia each caught a pair of passes.
For Montana, held to 78 rushing yards, Travon Van gained 45 yards on seven carries. Johnson completed 18 of 31 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns, with Jones on the receiving end of eight Johnson passes for 134 yards and two scores.
Cal Poly's leading defenders were senior linebackers Cameron Ontko and Nick Dzubnar with 10 and seven tackles, respectively. Sophomore defensive end Josh Letuligasenoa and senior defensive end Chris Judge each notched a sack. There were no turnovers in the contest.
Cal Poly plays at home again next Saturday, hosting first-place and No. 10/11 Montana State for its Homecoming game at 6:05 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The Bobcats, 4-0 in Big Sky games and 6-2 overall, were idle Saturday.
Photo above of Chris Brown courtesy of Alexander Bohlen
Team Stats
UM 0, CP 7
CP - Kori Garcia 1 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 13 plays, 66 yards, TOP 4:35
UM 7, CP 7
UM - Jamaal Jones 1 yd pass from Jordan Johnson (H. Greenberg kick) 11 plays, 86 yards, TOP 5:21
UM 14, CP 7
UM - Mitch Saylor 20 yd pass from Jordan Johnson (H. Greenberg kick) 5 plays, 90 yards, TOP 2:36
UM 14, CP 14
CP - Brandon Howe 5 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 11 plays, 74 yards, TOP 4:18
UM 14, CP 21
CP - Kori Garcia 5 yd pass from Chris Brown (Z.Schottenfeld kick) 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:00
UM 14, CP 27
CP - Chris Brown 17 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kickfailed), 8 plays, 95 yards, TOP 3:32
UM 14, CP 34
CP - Chris Brown 15 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 5 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:52
UM 21, CP 34
UM - Jamaal Jones 2 yd pass from Jordan Johnson (H. Greenberg kick) 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:59
UM 21, CP 41
CP - Dano Graves 1 yd run (Z.Schottenfeld kick), 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 5:20
