Cal Poly Returns Home Saturday for Big Sky Game Against Sacramento State
11/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (2-6, 1-4 Big Sky), which in its first eight games of the 2015 season faced seven FCS teams currently or previously ranked in the national polls along with former top 25-ranked Arizona State of the FBS, plays its first unranked opponent of the year Saturday night, hosting Sacramento State (2-6, 1-4 Big Sky) in a Big Sky Conference game inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium (11,075).
The Hornets, coming off a bye week, have beaten only Eastern Oregon in the season opener and Idaho State in their last game, snapping a six-game losing streak. The two California rivals have identical records, both overall and in Big Sky play. UC Davis, Cal Poly's opponent next week, is 1-7 overall and 1-4 in conference contests.
Saturday's kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. PST and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 am) with Tom Barket calling the play-by-play and Ramses Barden serving as an analyst. Links for video and audio streams as well as live stats are available at www.GoPoly.com.
Sacramento State erased early 7-0 and 10-7 deficits to beat Idaho State 38-13 two weeks ago in Hornet Stadium. Freshman quarterback Nate Ketteringham completed 20 of 26 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns and Shane Harrison caught three of the scoring passes, finishing with eight catches for 159 yards. Rover Joey Banks capped the scoring by returning an interception 41 yards with 4:17 to play. Middle linebacker Darnell Sankey, a preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection, led the defensive charge for the Hornets with 18 tackles and one pass breakup.
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, has lost six of its last seven games since a season-opening victory at Montana. The Mustangs have lost three straight for the second time this season following their 54-37 setback at Southern Utah last Saturday despite four 100-yard rushers, 35 first downs, a 13-minute advantage in time of possession and 555 yards in total offense. Cal Poly turned the ball over six times, including five lost fumbles, and the Thunderbirds returned three of the fumbles for touchdowns and another 45 yards to set up another score. Kyle Lewis (121 yards), Chris Brown (110), DJ Peluso (108) and Jared Mohamed (107) all surpassed the century mark on the ground, Lewis scoring four times on runs of 6, 7, 41 and 11 yards.
Cal Poly is the second team in the history of the Football Championship Subdivision to produce four 100-yard rushers in a game. Jacksonville State also accomplished the feat in 2013. There have been six games in the FBS with four 100-yard rushers from the same team -- Nevada (2009), Nebraska (2001), Army (1984), Alabama (1973), Texas (1969) and Arizona State (1951).
Coached by Tim Walsh (seventh season, 41-36, 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 eight games, Cal Poly is No. 1 again in the FCS in rushing offense (406.2 yards per game), No. 3 in first downs (213), No. 3 in time of possession (34:31), No. 10 in interceptions allowed (3) and No. 15 in sacks allowed (8). Brown is No. 15 in the FCS in rushing yards (812) and No. 11 in rushing touchdowns (10) while senior linebacker Tu'uta Inoke is No. 3 with his four forced fumbles. Junior safety B.J. Nard is No. 28 with his three interceptions.
Coached by Jody Sears (second season at Sacramento State (9-11), fourth season overall (13-30), Washington State '91), Sacramento State returned 40 lettermen, including 10 offensive and defensive starters, off last year's team which went 7-5 overall and finished seventh in the Big Sky Conference at 4-4.
Sacramento State's offensive leaders through eight games are running back Jordan Robinson (129 carries, 649 yards, 3 TDs), Ketteringham (39 of 68, 57.4 percent, 444 yards, four TDs) and receivers Harrison (39 catches, 528 yards, three TDs), Isiah Hennie (33-347-2), Nnamdi Agude (27-362-1) and Robinson (20-125-1). Hennie, a brother of Cal Poly sophomore slot back Kyle Lewis, also is averaging 19.2 yards per kickoff return and 11.8 yards per punt return. Defensively, Sankey is far and away the leader in tackles with 112, including 2.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles for lost yardage. End George Obinna had four sacks and cornerback Anthony Payne has intercepted three passes.
Sacramento State is averaging 119 rushing yards, 223 passing yards, 342 total yards and 18 points per game this season while giving up 141 rushing yards, 292 passing yards, 433 total yards and 31 points a contest. The Hornets are 15th in net punting and 27th in the FCS in punt returns but No. 119 in passing yards allowed.
Sears was head coach at Weber State in both 2012 and 2013, compiling a 4-22 mark, and has served as defensive coordinator at Washington State (2008-11), Eastern Washington (2000-07) and St. Ambrose (1997). He also was an assistant at Army (1998-99) and Iowa State (1994-96). Sears was a two-year receiver at Washington State before earning his bachelor's degree in 1991 and obtained his master's degree at Iowa State in 1996.
Cal Poly and Sacramento State are meeting for the 35th time in football this weekend and the Mustangs lead the series 18-16, snapping a 16-16 draw with a 42-7 win at Alex G. Spanos Stadium two years ago as Chris Brown threw four touchdown passes and Akaninyene Umoh and Kristaan Ivory both rushed for over 100 yards. The Mustangs also won last year's meeting in the state capital, 56-27, as Kenny Mitchell, Roland Jackson Jr. and Joe Protheroe all scored their first career collegiate touchdowns. The Mustangs outscored the Hornets 42-3 after trailing 17-7 with 9:39 to go in the second quarter.
Cal Poly won five straight games in the series by a combined score of 181-72, capped by a 38-19 triumph in the 2009 season opener in San Luis Obispo, the only meeting between the two teams from 2007-11. The series began in 1967 with a 17-7 Mustang victory in Sacramento. Cal Poly is 10-8 against Sacramento State at home and 8-8 against the Hornets in Sacramento. Tim Walsh is 15-2 against Sacramento State, including a 12-1 mark while he was head coach at Portland State, while Jody Sears is 0-3 against Cal Poly.
Cal Poly's offensive leaders through eight games are Brown with 812 rushing yards and 10 scores, Protheroe with 629 yards and four touchdowns and slot back Kori Garcia with 623 yards and four scores. Brown has completed 39 of 78 passes (50 percent) for 387 yards and six touchdowns, but has yet to surpass the 100-yard mark in passing in a single game this season. Wide receiver Willie Tucker has nine receptions while slot back DJ Peluso has eight rand wide receiver Jordan Hines seven.
Topping the defensive chart in tackles are senior linebacker Tu'uta Inoke with 66, sophomore linebacker Joseph Gigantino III with 59 (team-leading 8.5 tackles for lost yardage), sophomore linebacker R.J. Mazolewski with 60 tackles (6.5 TFLs) and senior linebacker Burton De Koning with 62 tackles (6.0 TFLs). Inoke also has forced four fumbles, No. 3 in the FCS, while B.J. Nard's three interceptions, all against Montana on Sept. 5, place him No. 28 in the FCS. Mazolewski and De Koning each has two sacks.
Cal Poly is averaging 406 yards rushing, 64 yards passing and 470 yards in total offense while scoring 33 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 while, on the other side, the 54 points surrendered to Southern Utah last week are the most since a 63-28 loss to UC Davis in 2000. Defensively, the Mustangs are allowing 178 yards on the ground, 279 through the air, 457 in total offense and 37 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 55 of their last 70 home contests. Overall, the Mustangs have won 55 of their last 93 games (61 percent) and 89 of 146 contests (62 percent) going back to the 2002 finale and have won 16 of their last 35 and 35 of 73 on the road (3-4 in 2014, 1-4 in 2015).
A year ago, Cal Poly finished in a tie for fifth place with Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Conference standings, both with 5-3 marks. Eastern Washington finished first at 7-1 followed by Montana, Montana State and Idaho State, all tied for second at 6-2.
Cal Poly captured four Great West Conference titles in the eight-year history of the league (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011) before moving to the Big Sky in 2012 and has earned NCAA Division I FCS playoff berths in 2005, 2008 and 2012.
Cal Poly plays its final road game of the 2015 season next Saturday at UC Davis. Kickoff in Aggie Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
Photo above of Kelly Shepard courtesy of Matt Brown | Matt Brown Photography
