Cal Poly to Visit First-Place and No. 24-Ranked Southern Utah on Saturday
10/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | SUU | BIG SKY
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (2-5, 1-3 Big Sky), which in its first seven games of the 2015 season faced six FCS teams currently or previously ranked in the national polls along with former top 25-ranked Arizona State of the FBS, plays Big Sky Conference co-leader and 24th-ranked Southern Utah (5-2, 4-0 Big Sky) on Saturday afternoon inside Eccles Coliseum (8,500) in Cedar City, Utah.
The Thunderbirds have won five straight games since opening the 2015 season with losses to Utah State and South Dakota State, and remained tied for first place in the Big Sky with a 34-6 triumph at UC Davis last Saturday. Southern Utah has outscored its last five foes 207-16, has given up just 11.9 points a game this fall, has returned three interceptions for touchdowns and has lost just one fumble all year. Only two teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (South Dakota State, Montana State) have yet to lose a fumble in 2015. The Thunderbirds are No. 3 in the FCS with 13 interceptions and No. 20 in total defense, giving up just 305 yards per contest.
Saturday's kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m. PDT and the contest 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.
Southern Utah, receiving votes in the Stats.com media poll and ranked No. 24 in the FCS Coaches poll this week, outgained UC Davis 531-235 in total offense and the Thunderbird defense notched six sacks among its 11 tackles for lost yardage. Quarterback Aaron Olsen completed 26 of 41 passes for 336 yards and two scores and Justin Brown caught eight passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. Malik Brown rushed for 90 yards and one score. Defensive end James Cowser had two sacks and, with his three tackles for lost yardage, is one TFL shy of the FCS record for career TFLs. Southern Utah has given up no touchdowns and three field goals in four Big Sky games.
Cal Poly, ranked as high as No. 17 by the media and No. 18 by the coaches before a 45-28 loss at Montana State in late September, is coming off a 38-35 loss at home to Portland State. Jonathan Gonzales kicked a 27-yard field goal with 33 seconds left to snap a 35-35 tie. The Mustangs produced advantages of 27-20 in first downs, 420-154 in rushing yards, 536-386 in total offense and 34:57 to 25:03 in time of possession, converting eight of 17 third-down plays, but the Mustangs lost four fumbles and gave up 13 points on turnovers. Junior slot back Kori Garcia earned his third 100-yard game of the year with 131 yards on 18 carries.
Coached by Tim Walsh (seventh season, 41-35, UC Riverside '77), Cal Poly began its 97th season of football with 42 returning lettermen, including 16 who started at least five games a year ago, nine on offense and seven on defense. Senior quarterback Chris Brown heads the list of veterans after rushing for 1,265 yards, passing for 1,465 yards and accounting for 30 touchdowns a year ago.
Other top returnees include junior slot back Kori Garcia (1,039 yards rushing, 17 receptions in 2014), senior center Stephen Sippel, senior offensive tackle Weston Walker, junior defensive tackle Marcus Paige-Allen (40 tackles), senior linebacker Burton De Koning (43 tackles) and senior cornerbacks Chris Fletcher (68 tackles, 10 breakups) and Karlton Dennis (44 tackles, three interceptions).
A year ago, Cal Poly beat Montana 41-21 as Brown rushed for 226 yards, a school record for a quarterback, and two touchdowns. That was part of a five-game winning streak that propelled the Mustangs to a 6-3 mark and in position to capture the Big Sky title and a spot in the FCS playoffs. Back-to-back losses to Idaho State and UC Davis, however, dashed those hopes.
Cal Poly football, presented by French Hospital Medical Center, was No. 1 in the FCS in rushing offense (309.1) in 2013 and duplicated the feat last fall by averaging 351.8 yards on the ground. Cal Poly's 4,221 yards rushing and 44 touchdowns shattered both school records as well as the Big Sky marks it set in 2012 when the Mustangs finished third in the nation in rushing offense.
The Mustangs' Triple Option spread offense netted 470 yards against Portland State, 452 against Southern Utah, 393 at Sacramento State, 421 versus Montana, 376 against Montana State, 425 at Idaho State and 341 against San Diego. Cal Poly compiled at least 450 yards of total offense in each of its last 10 games in the 2014 season.
This fall through seven games, Cal Poly is No. 1 again in the FCS in rushing offense (391.7 yards per game), No. 9 in first downs (178), No. 5 in time of possession (34:14), No. 6 in interceptions allowed (2) and No. 12 in sacks allowed (6). Brown is No. 17 in the FCS in rushing yards (702) and No. 8 in rushing touchdowns (9) while senior linebacker Tu'uta Inoke is No. 2 with his four forced fumbles. Junior safety B.J. Nard is No. 15 with his three interceptions.
Coached by Ed Lamb (ninth season, 42-45, BYU '96), Southern Utah returned 67 lettermen, including 16 offensive and defensive starters, off last year's team which went 3-9 overall and finished tied for eighth place in the Big Sky Conference at 3-5. The Thunderbirds won just 17 of 76 games from 2001-07, but was 4-7 in Lamb's first season at the helm in 2008 and captured the Great West title in 2010.
Southern Utah's offensive leaders through seven games are running back Malik Brown (92 carries, 472 yards, 5.1 yards per carry, three TDs), Olsen (158 of 253, 62.5 percent, 1,694 yards, 12 touchdowns, three interceptions) and wide receiver Justin Brown (34 catches, 454 yards, four TDs). Six other Thunderbirds have 12 or more catches. Naia Ursua returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown and Mike Needham, LeShaun Sims and Taylor Nelson all have returned interceptions for scores. Keita Calhoun has made eight of 10 field goals and 24 of 28 PAT kicks. Defensive leaders include strong safety Miles Killebrew (66 tackles, five pass breakups), linebacker Matt Holley (61 tackles, two interceptions), defensive end James Cowser (43 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 10.5 tackles for lost yardage) and linebacker Mike Needham (41 tackles, three interceptions, four pass breakups).
The Thunderbirds are averaging 163 yards rushing, 243 yards passing, 406 yards in total offense and 32.3 points per game while allowing 129 yards rushing, 177 yards passing, 306 total yards and 11.9 points a contest.
Lamb, a linebacker and defensive end at BYU and BYU-Idaho from 1992-96, was an assistant coach at Redlands (1997-2000), BYU(2001), Idaho (2002-03) and San Diego (2005-07) before becoming head coach at Southern Utah.
The Mustangs and Thunderbirds are meeting for the 27th time. Cal Poly holds a 19-7 advantage in the series, which began in 1986. The Mustangs won nine straight until the Thunderbirds won 20-7 in Cedar City in 2010. Six Cal Poly players scored touchdowns as the Mustangs, who let a 21-0 lead slip away, rallied for a 42-39 triumph last year in Alex G. Spanos Stadium. Quarterback Chris Brown and fullback Brandon Howe both rushed for over 100 yards and Brown also threw a touchdown pass. Both teams surpassed the 500-yard mark in total offense and combined for 60 first downs.
Other memorable games in the series include 2009 in San Luis Obispo, won by Cal Poly 24-23, and in 2008, also in San Luis Obispo, a wild affair won by Cal Poly 69-41. In the 2009 contest, Southern Utah scored with nine seconds remaining on a 15-yard pass from Cade Cooper to Tysson Poots and set up for the potential game-winning two-point conversion, but after Cal Poly called a time out, Lamb elected to go for one. Ryan Griffith's extra-point kick missed wide left.
Cal Poly won the 2011 contest 31-27 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium as quarterback Andre Broadous scored the go-ahead touchdown on a four-yard run with 45 seconds to play and safety Greg Francis sealed the victory with an interception with one second to go. The two teams did not meet in 2012 or 2013.
Lamb is 1-4 against Cal Poly while Tim Walsh is 5-1 against Southern Utah, the first two wins while at Portland State. Cal Poly is 14-1 against Southern Utah at home, winning the last 14 after dropping the opening game of the series in 1986. The Mustangs are 5-6 in Cedar City, Utah.
Cal Poly's offensive leaders through seven games are Brown with 702 rushing yards and nine scores, fullback Joe Protheroe with 629 yards and four touchdowns and slot back Kori Garcia with 586 yards and four scores. Brown has completed 33 of 68 passes (48.5 percent) for 340 yards and six touchdowns, but has yet to surpass the 100-yard mark in passing in a single game this season. Slot back DJ Peluso has eight receptions while Jordan Hines and Willie Tucker both have six catches for the Mustangs.
Topping the defensive chart in tackles are senior linebacker Tu'uta Inoke with 66, sophomore linebacker Joseph Gigantino III with 51 (team-leading 7.5 tackles for lost yardage) and sophomore linebacker R.J. Mazolewski with 50 tackles (6.0 TFLs). Inoke also has forced four fumbles, No. 2 in the FCS, while B.J. Nard's three interceptions, all against Montana on Sept. 5, place him No. 15 in the FCS. Mazolewski and senior linebacker Burton De Koning each has two sacks.
Cal Poly is averaging 392 yards rushing, 67 yards passing and 459 yards in total offense while scoring 32 points a contest. The 58 points tallied against Idaho State four weeks ago are the most since Cal Poly beat the Bengals 70-14 in 2012. Defensively, the Mustangs are allowing 177 yards on the ground, 289 through the air, 466 in total offense and 34 points a contest.
A year ago, Garcia became the 18th Mustang to surpass 1,000 yards rushing and the second that season. Brown became the first Mustang quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season when he gained 195 yards at Idaho State. Brown also holds the Big Sky single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Old mark of 1,060 was set by Connor Kavanaugh of Portland State in 2011.
The Mustangs were the first team in the Big Sky to produce a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in a single season since 1983 when Nevada accomplished the feat. Cal Poly is the only FCS school to produce two 1,000-yard rushers last season.
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 and fifth by the media. Montana State was picked by the coaches to win the Big Sky crown; the media chose Eastern Washington.
A year ago, Cal Poly rallied from a 1-3 start to win six of its last eight games and averaged nearly 34 points and 483 yards per contest offensively. The Mustangs defeated perennial Big Sky powers and NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoff qualifiers Montana and Montana State on back-to-back Saturdays at home and ended the 2014 campaign with a convincing 34-3 victory against Pioneer League champion San Diego. Montana, Montana State and San Diego all earned FCS playoff berths.
With a 4-1 record at home in 2014, the Mustangs have won 54 of their last 69 home contests. Overall, the Mustangs have won 55 of their last 92 games (62 percent) and 89 of 145 contests (63 percent) going back to the 2002 finale and have won 16 of their last 34 and 35 of 72 on the road (3-4 in 2014, 1-3 in 2015).
Cal Poly returns home next week to host Golden State rival Sacramento State. The Big Sky Conference game on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Alex G. Spanos Stadium kicks off at 6:05 p.m. PST.
