No. 21 Cal Poly Visits Idaho State for Another Big Sky Showdown Saturday
11/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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MUSTANGS EARN NATIONAL RANKINGS FOR FIRST TIME IN 2014
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BIG SKY RADIO | BIG SKY COACHES TELECONFERENCE CALL
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (6-3, 5-1 Big Sky), which moved into a tie for first place with Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Conference with its win over Montana State last week and is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time this season, travels to Idaho State (6-3, 4-1 Big Sky), tied for third place with three other teams, for its third straight Big Sky showdown Saturday afternoon in Holt Arena (12,000). The Mustangs have won five straight games, including back-to-back wins at home against Montana and Montana State, both in first place in the Big Sky at the time and ranked in the Top Ten.
Kickoff is set for 1:35 p.m. PST and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 am) with Tom Barket calling the play-by-play and Eric Burdick serving as an analyst. Links for video and audio streams as well as live stats are available at www.GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly, which had been receiving votes most of the 2014 season, is ranked No. 21 by The Sports Network and No. 23 by FCS coaches this week.
Idaho State, which had not won more than three games in a season since 2005, earned its sixth win of the 2014 campaign and moved into a tie with Montana, Montana State and Northern Arizona for third place in the Big Sky, all 4-1, with a 31-13 victory at Portland State last week. The Bengals took advantage of six turnovers (five interceptions) and 13 penalties by the Vikings, compiled 430 yards of total offense, jumped to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and clinched its first non-losing season since 2003.
Quarterback Justin Arias tied the school record for career touchdown passes (55) as he completed 28 of 48 passes for 319 yards and two scores while running back Xavier Finney became Idaho State's all-time single-season rushing leader by rushing for 88 yards and two more touchdowns. Finney is the Big Sky rushing leader with 1,235 yards on 219 carries (5.6 average per carry) and 14 touchdowns.
Coached by Tim Walsh (sixth season, 38-28, UC Riverside '77), Cal Poly opened the year with two games on the road, dropping a 28-10 decision at New Mexico State and 44-18 at South Dakota State. After a bye week, the Mustangs compiled 470 yards on the ground and scored the first 35 points of the game en route to a 42-14 non-conference victory over Big Sky rival Portland State in their home opener. Northern Arizona scored with 21 seconds left to hand Cal Poly a heartbreaking 38-35 loss in the Big Sky opener before the Mustangs bounced back with a 42-39 win at home over Southern Utah, igniting their current five-game winning streak.
Cal Poly snapped a 24-24 tie with a one-yard dive by senior fullback Brandon Howe with 13:46 to play and held on to beat Weber State 30-24 in Ogden, Utah, and the Mustangs earned their second road win at Sacramento State, 56-27, erasing a 17-7 second-quarter deficit by outscoring the Hornets 42-3 over the next 27 minutes and dominating the third quarter with a 230-26 advantage in total offense and 21-0 on the scoreboard.
Two weeks ago, Cal Poly fell behind Montana 14-7 before scoring 27 unanswered points over a 25-minute span en route to a 41-21 win. Chris Brown rushed for 226 yards, a school record for a quarterback, and two touchdowns. The Mustangs earned their eighth straight win over Montana State with a 35-27 triumph last week as Kori Garcia rushed for 124 yards and a score while Brown rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 107 yards and another touchdown. Buck Buchanan Award candidate Nick Dzubnar notched 18 tackles and Karlton Dennis sealed the win with his third interception of the year with 1:01 left.
Cal Poly joined Idaho State and 11 other schools in the Big Sky Conference prior to the 2012 season. The Bengals earned a share of the Big Sky title in 1981 and 2002 and claimed the championship in 1963, the first year of the Big Sky. The Bengals have earned just two FCS playoff berths -- in 1981, claiming the national championship, and in 1983.
Cal Poly football, presented by French Hospital Medical Center, opened Fall Camp with 61 returning lettermen, including 16 players who started at least four games in 2013. Topping the list of returnees are senior linebacker Nick Dzubnar and senior defensive lineman Jake Irwin, both third-team All-Big Sky Conference selections a year ago, and four others who earned All-Big Sky honorable mention praise -- offensive linemen Matt Fisher and Stephen Sippel, defensive tackle Chris Lawrence and linebacker Cameron Ontko.
Juniors Chris Brown and Dano Graves returned at quarterback and waged a two-man battle throughout the spring and fall. The duo combined for 10 starts, 1,052 rushing yards and 111 of the team's 136 pass completions a year ago.
Brown, who has started the first nine contests this season, started six games last year and passed for 836 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for eight scores and 685 additional yards, including 195 yards in a win at UC Davis, a school record for a quarterback. Graves started four games and rushed for 367 yards while passing for 416 yards.
Getting most of the carries this fall are sophomore Kori Garcia and seniors Chris Nicholls and Kenny Mitchell at slotback and seniors Brandon Howe and Brent Michaels at fullback. Among the top receivers on the roster are juniors Roland Jackson Jr. and Jordan Hines and sophomore Carson McMurtrey at wide receiver and senior Austin Albison at tight end.
With numerous vacancies to fill on both sides of the ball, several transfers and even some true freshmen have stepped in right away, including freshman Lance Mudd at slotback, Nevada transfer Burton De Koning at linebacker, Washington State transfer Logan Mayes at defensive end and Wake Forest transfer Andrew Hauser and freshman Fino Elisaia at defensive tackle. American River College transfer Tyler Alsey at defensive tackle and Protheroe, a freshman fullback, also have played this season.
A year ago, Cal Poly was No. 1 in the FCS in rushing offense (309.1). Two years ago, the Mustangs broke the Big Sky record for rushing yards in a season with 3,890 yards in 12 games. Expect more of the same from the Mustangs' Triple Option in 2014. The Mustangs netted 259 yards against New Mexico State, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, added 226 more yards at South Dakota State, 470 against Portland State, 271 at Northern Arizona, 452 against Southern Utah, 393 at Sacramento State, 421 versus Montana and 376 against Montana State. Cal Poly, which has compiled at least 480 yards of total offense in each of its last seven games, leads the Big Sky and the FCS in rushing offense, averaging 350.8 yards a game.
Coached by Mike Kramer (fourth season at Idaho State (12-31), 17th season overall (89-106), Idaho '77), Idaho State returned 48 lettermen, including 21 offensive and defensive starters, off last year's team which finished 3-9 overall and tied for 11th in the Big Sky at 1-7. The Bengals opened the season with losses to FBS schools Utah and Utah State and have won four straight for the first time since 2002 and six of their last seven, falling only to Eastern Washington 56-53 on Oct. 4. All three losses were on the road and the Bengals are 4-0 at home.
Idaho State's offensive leaders through nine games are Finney (1,235 yards, 14 TDs rushing; 20 catches for 118 yards), running back Daniel McSurdy (430 yards, 4 TDs rushing; 12 catches for 21 yards), Arias (248 of 401 (62 percent), 3,092 yards, 29 TDs, five int.) and receivers Madison Mangum (59 catches, 865 yards, six TDs) and KW Williams (49-659-9). C.J. Reyes averages 40.1 yards per punt and the defensive leaders are linebacker Mario Jenkins (84 tackles, three int.), strong safety Taison Manu (81 tackles), linebacker Mitch Beckstead (75 tackles, two int., three fumble recoveries), rush end Austin Graves (51 tackles, eight sacks) and cornerback Vai Peko (33 tackles, three int.). Arias leads the nation in completions per game (27.56), passing TDs (29) and passing yards per game (343.6) while Finney is No. 7 in rushing yards per game (137.2) and has seven 100-yard games this season, most in the Big Sky.
Idaho State, 14-76 over the last eight seasons prior to 2014, including a quartet of one-win campaigns, is averaging 208 rushing yards, 355 passing yards and 41 points per game this season while giving up 148 rushing yards, 312 passing yards and 31 points a contest. The Bengals are first in the FCS in passing offense (354.8), second in total offense (563.2), third in interceptions (15), fourth in turnover margin (+12), sixth in turnovers forced (22), eighth in scoring offense (41.0) and 11th in sacks (28).
Kramer, who had just six wins in his first three seasons at Idaho State before doubling the total this fall, was head coach at two other Big Sky Schools -- Montana State (2000-06) and Eastern Washington (1994-99) -- before he was named the 25th head coach at Idaho State on Nov. 22, 2010. He led Eastern Washington to a Big Sky title in 1997 and Montana State to Big Sky crowns in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Kramer was an offensive and defensive lineman at Idaho and has also coached at several high schools in the Pacific Northwest. Associate head coach Don Bailey was an assistant under Larry Welsh at Cal Poly in 1999 and 2000. Seth Burford, Cal Poly quarterback in 2000 and 2001, started his college career at Idaho State. Among former Bengals who played in the NFL are Jared Allen (Chiefs and Vikings) Merril Hoge (Steelers) and Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
Cal Poly and Idaho State will be playing each other in football for the 19th time Saturday, but only the second meeting in the last six years. Cal Poly has a 12-6 advantage in the series dating back to 1937 and has won the last five meetings, including a 70-14 triumph in 2012 in San Luis Obispo as slotback Deonte Williams cracked the 100-yard mark for a school-record ninth time, netting 125 yards on 17 carries, and scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Andre Broadous passed for three additional scores. Cal Poly scored the first 35 points of the game and never looked back. Tim Walsh is 8-6 against Idaho State, including a 7-6 mark while he was at Portland State, while Mike Kramer is 1-7 against Cal Poly -- 1-0 while at Eastern Washington, 0-6 at Montana State and 0-1 at Idaho State.
A year ago, the Mustangs, 3-3 at home and 3-3 on the road, were ranked as high as No. 10 before losing to Yale and falling out of the top 25 for the rest of the year. Among the milestones achieved by Mustang players last fall, Alex Hubbard's 31.9 kickoff return average is No. 2 all-time at Cal Poly while Bobby Zalud's 148 total points by kicking is No. 4 and his 88 career PAT kicks made is No. 5. Paul Hundley's 43.8 punting average is No. 3 and he finished the season with a 41.65 career average, No. 2 on the list. Three Mustangs, all linebackers, secured over 100 tackles, the first time that has been accomplished in one season. Dzubnar's 112 tackles is No. 8 all-time while both Ontko and Johnny Millard had 108, tied for No. 9.
This year's leaders through nine games are Brown (953 rushing yards and 12 TDs, 1,141 passing yards and nine TDs), slotback Kori Garcia (746 yards, 6.2 average per carry, six TDs) and fullback Brandon Howe (652 yards, eight TDs). Chris Nicholls has rushed for 239 yards and is among Cal Poly's top receivers with 10 catches. Kenny Mitchell has 15 catches, Garcia 13 and Jordan Hines 12.
Linebacker Nick Dzubnar, added to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list two weeks ago, tops all defensive players with 127 tackles, reaching double digits in eight of Cal Poly's nine games this season. Linebacker Cameron Ontko has 84 tackles while Karlton Dennis has three interceptions and Chris Fletcher six pass breakups.
Brown is on pace to become the first Mustang quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. The previous 16 Mustang 1,000-yard rushers all were running backs. The Big Sky single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback is 1,060 by Connor Kavanaugh of Portland State in 2011.
Cal Poly, which captured the 2012 Big Sky title in its first year in the conference, was picked by head coaches this summer to finish fourth in the Big Sky for the second straight season. The Mustangs shared fourth place with Southern Utah, Montana State and UC Davis in 2013.
Next week Cal Poly hosts UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 15, in the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe. Kickoff in Alex G. Spanos Stadium is set for 6:05 p.m.
