Cal Poly to Host Eastern Washington on Mustang Family Weekend

Saturday, October 22

San Luis Obispo, CA

5:02 p.m.

Eastern Washington

Cal Poly running back Adam Garwood gains extra yards against Idaho State in Big Sky Conference game Saturday at Pocatello, Idaho.

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly to Host Eastern Washington on Mustang Family Weekend

10/17/2022 12:46:00 PM | Football

Antonio Vakameilalo recovers an Idaho State fumble. — Antonio Vakameilalo recovers an Idaho State fumble in fourth quarter
of Saturday's Big Sky Conference game in Pocatello, Idaho.

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (1-5, 0-3 Big Sky), the Big Sky leader and third in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense, plays three of its final five games of the 2022 season at home, beginning with Eastern Washington (1-5, 0-3 Big Sky) on Saturday inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium (cap.: 11,075) in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Kickoff is set for 5:02 p.m. PDT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) in San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County and KRKC (1490 AM and 104.9 FM) in southern Monterey County with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer (play-by-play) and Stephan Hodges (analyst) calling the action. Pregame show starts at 11:30 a.m. The game also will be video streamed on ESPN+ with Chris Sylvester (play-by-play), John Kane (analyst) and Casey Buscher (sideline) on the mic. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats can be found on the football schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.

Cal Poly fell 35-7 in its opener at Fresno State despite four offensive drives of 70 or more yards, cashing in only once. Jaden Jones completed 20 of 38 passes for 211 yards and one score. In his second collegiate start, Jones jumped into the Cal Poly record book in several categories, completing 27 of 45 passes for 385 yards and four scores in the 28-27 win over San Diego. The Mustangs intercepted three passes, two by freshman Jay'Vion Cole, in the final six minutes of the game.

Cal Poly followed with a 38-21 loss at South Dakota despite producing six drives of 55 or more yards and Shakobe Harper surpassing the 100-yard mark carrying the football, the first Mustang to do so in three years. Cal Poly scored on just three of those drives. Sacramento State jumped to a 28-0 lead en route to a 49-21 triumph in the Big Sky opener for both teams Oct. 1. Two weeks ago, the Mustangs held 6-0, 20-14 and 29-28 leads before falling at Northern Arizona 31-29 and, last week, Cal Poly's rally from 30-7 and 37-14 deficits fell just short as Idaho State held on for a 40-31 triumph in Pocatello, Idaho.

Cal Poly trailed 21-0 at Fresno State, 17-0 versus San Diego, 21-7 at South Dakota, 28-20 at Northern Arizona and 30-7 at Idaho State before bouncing back in each game. The Mustangs have been outscored 84-20 in the first quarter and 125-48 in the first half of their six games this season.

"We've been shooting ourselves in the foot early and we've got to clean those things up," third-year Mustang head coach Beau Baldwin said. "I know we're capable of turning the corner, avoiding the turnovers and penalties that extend drives. I call them unforced errors. We need to learn to play ahead and not have to come from behind."

Jones, who played in three games in a reserve role as a true freshman a year ago, preserving his redshirt year, vaulted into the top of the Big Sky Conference in passing yards (596) and total offense and No. 2 in passing touchdowns and completions per game (23.5) in the first two games before suffering an injury to his right leg midway through the first quarter at South Dakota. Spencer Brasch has stepped in for Jones and has completed 109 of 186 passes (59 percent) for 1,397 yards and 11 scores the last four weeks, passing for 362 yards at South Dakota, 374 at Northern Arizona and 394 at Idaho State, all in the top 20 for all-time passing yards in a single game at Cal Poly.

Cal Poly, which ran the run-oriented Triple Option offense for a dozen years and led the nation in rushing four times in that span, is now No. 3 in the country and first in the Big Sky in passing offense, averaging 344.3 yards a game.

Eastern Washington, 135-24-2 in 15 consecutive winning seasons from 2007-21, is an uncharacteristic 1-5 this fall, earning its lone win Sept. 3 in its season opener against Tennessee State, 36-29. The Eagles have fallen to Oregon, Montana State, Florida, Weber State and, last week, Sacramento State 52-28. The Eagles' best national ranking is No. 16 in fumbles recovered with six and Eastern Washington is averaging 122 yards per game rushing and 243.7 passing yards for 365.7 yards in total offense, No. 58 in the FCS and eighth in the Big Sky.

The Eagles, 10-3 overall and tied for third in the Big Sky a year ago, erased a 21-0 deficit with 21 points in the second quarter to tie the game at 21-21, but were outscored 31-7 the rest of the way at home versus Sacramento State last week. Gunner Talkington completed 26 of 45 passes for a career-high 370 yards and three touchdowns. Efton Chism caught nine passes for 129 yards and two scores while Justice Jackson rushed 10 times for 50 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles gave up 525 yards in total offense.

The first full season of Mustang football under Cal Poly head coach Beau Baldwin, which began 21 months after he was named Cal Poly's 17th head football coach on Dec. 11, 2019, ended with a 2-9 mark. The Mustangs defeated San Diego 28-17 in the opener as Brasch, in his first game as a Mustang after transferring from Cal, completed 23 of 38 passes for 316 yards, the most by a Mustang quarterback in 12 years, and two touchdowns with no interceptions and Elijah Ponder returned an interception 75 yards for another score. Cal Poly also beat Idaho State 42-39 in the penultimate contest as Jaden Ohlsen kicked a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left and Brasch completed 25 of 50 passes for 233 yards and three scores.

The offseason was highlighted with some firsts for Baldwin in his tenure at Cal Poly, namely seven uninterrupted months of conditioning from January through July, a Spring Camp that ended with a successful Spring Game, the hiring of five new assistant coaches to replace those who moved on to the NFL or FBS schools, and an explosive six-touchdown performance in the first of two Fall Camp scrimmages on the new FieldTurf inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

Aaron Best, in his sixth season as head coach at Eastern Washington, greeted 47 lettermen, including 12 starters (five on offense, seven on defense) to Fall Camp. Top Eagles to watch for include wide receiver Freddie Roberson (49 catches, 779 yards, six TDs, third-team All-Big Sky in 2021), running back Justice Jackson (54 carries, 317 yards, three TDs) and defensive back Anthany Smith (38 tackles). In limited duty behind All-American quarterback Eric Barriere, Talkington completed 11 of 17 passes for 98 yards and one score in 2021.

Six games into the 2022 campaign, Micah Smith has rushed for 228 yards and two scores while Justice has added 172 yards and one touchdown. Talkington has completed 128 of 206 passes (62 percent) for 1,454 yards and 15 touchdowns and his favorite targets are Chism (34-357-5) and Roberson (20-399-4). Defensive back Ely Doyle has notched 50 tackles (31 solo) while Marlon Jones, also a defensive back, has two interceptions.

The Eagles have earned winning seasons 24 times in the last 26 years, winning 66 percent of their games (207-107) and 139 of 191 Big Sky contests (73 percent). Eastern Washington has posted a 5-3 record or better in Big Sky games 15 years in a row, is 60-17 in Big Sky contests since an 0-2 start in 2011 and sports a 65-14 overall mark at red-turfed Roos Field since 2010.

Eastern Washington has qualified for the FCS playoffs 15 times since moving up from Division II in 1884, capturing the national title under Baldwin in 2010 and finishing second under Best in 2018. The Eagles joined the Big Sky Conference in 1987 and have won or shared 10 titles.

Cal Poly and Eastern Washington will be playing each other in football for the 13th time Saturday. The Eagles have a 10-2 series advantage, 6-0 at home, and an eight-game winning streak in the series after defeating the Mustangs 42-41 in 2019 at Alex G. Spanos Stadium and 62-10 during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. The Mustangs' two wins over the Eagles were 52-35 in 1995 and 40-35 in 2005, both in San Luis Obispo, and Eastern Washington beat Cal Poly in overtime in 2011 (53-51 in three OTs) in San Luis Obispo and 2015 (42-41 in one OT) in Cheney, Wash.

Beau Baldwin is 0-1 against Eastern Washington while Aaron Best is 3-0 against Cal Poly.

Spencer Brasch scrambles for yardage. — Spencer Brasch scrambles for yardage against
Idaho State. He passed for 394 yards and four TDs.

Best (sixth season, 42-22, Eastern Washington '01) replaced Baldwin as the Eagles' head coach on Jan. 21, 2017, after 20 seasons as a player (offensive lineman) and assistant coach at Eastern Washington. He was Eastern's long-snapper for four seasons and was a backup lineman in 1997. Best graduated in 1996 from Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash., where he had a 3.75 grade point average. He was co-captain his senior season as Curtis won the State AAA championship.

Baldwin was head coach at Eastern Washington for nine seasons (2008-16) and was an assistant coach for the Eagles from 2003-06. An offensive coordinator at Cal for three years (2017-19) before coming to Cal Poly, Baldwin guided Eastern Washington to an 85-32 mark, five Big Sky titles and six FCS playoff berths, including the 2010 national championship.

Cal Poly fans have seen major changes, particularly on offense, with Baldwin at the helm. The Triple Option is gone and the new offensive package features three or four wide receivers on most plays with a tight end and one running back instead of two slots, a fullback and a pair of receivers in the old Triple Option formation.

Baldwin and his staff welcomed 62 returning lettermen to Fall Camp in August, including 30 on offense, 27 on defense and five specialists on special teams. The returnees include 27 players who started at least five games during the 2021 season -- 13 on offense, nine on defense and five on special teams.

Also on the 108-man fall roster are 22 players who were true freshmen and played in at least one game but no more than four, preserving their redshirt year, five transfers from four-year schools, two community college transfers, 13 redshirts or squad members who did not play at all in 2021 and 28 newcomers from the high school ranks.

The group of veterans includes Brasch (145 of 267 passes for 1,725 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021), wide receiver Chris Coleman (43-590-4), linebacker Laipeli Palu (51 tackles) and defensive linemen Dustin Grein (36 tackles, one sack), Elijah Ponder (35 tackles, eight sacks) and Josh Ngaluafe (28 tackles, two sacks), who combined for 22 tackles for lost yardage in 2021.

Other top returnees include wide receiver/punt returner Giancarlo Woods (27-339-1 receiving, 6.8 punt return average), wide receiver Zedakiah Centers (35-310-0) and offensive linemen Charles Lincoln, Austin Anderson, Mohab Wahdan, Hunter Jones and Payson Campisano, all of whom started at least five games a year ago.

Jones completed 50 of 88 passes (57 percent) for 655 yards and five scores prior to his injury in the South Dakota game. Brasch has connected on 109 of 186 passes for 1,397 yards and 11 scores. Coleman is Cal Poly's favorite target with 36 receptions for 616 yards and three touchdowns while tight end Josh Cuevas has caught 29 passes for 342 yards and four scores and Centers 20 for 279 yards and two TDs. A total of 15 Mustangs have caught at least one pass just six games into the campaign. Shakobe Harper is the Mustangs' top rusher with 253 yards on 69 carries after producing his first career 100-yard game as a Mustang with 106 yards at South Dakota and 64 more yards versus Sacramento State, scoring the Mustangs' first rushing touchdown of the season on a four-yard third-quarter run. Adam Garwood has added 138 yards on 34 carries and two scores and has caught nine passes for 92 yards and another TD.

Linebacker David Meyer leads the defense with 39 tackles and 3.5 sacks while rush end Dustin Grein has produced 6.5 tackles for lost yardage (two sacks) among his 29 total tackles. Defensive back Brian Dukes has 33 stops, linebacker Je'kob Jones 22 tackles and linebacker Judaea Moon 20.

Cal Poly played the fifth-toughest schedule in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision last fall and faces 10 of the 11 teams again this season, replacing Weber State with Eastern Washington. The 11 opponents on the Mustangs' 2021 schedule compiled an 80-52 win-loss record for a .606 winning percentage and five of them -- South Dakota, Montana, Montana State, UC Davis and Sacramento State -- qualified for the FCS playoffs. In addition, Fresno State played in the New Mexico Bowl.

Weber State, which won or shared four straight Big Sky titles heading into the 2021 season, didn't make the postseason but was one of seven Cal Poly opponents ranked at one time or another in 2021. San Diego finished 7-4 with a share of the Pioneer League crown, its 10th in the last 11 years.

Cal Poly tackled that schedule with as many as 10 freshmen and seven sophomores in the starting lineup last fall. The 22 starters in this year's season opener at Fresno State included three freshmen, seven sophomores and six juniors along with three seniors and three graduate students.

Cal Poly, which captured the 2012 Big Sky title in its first year in the conference, claimed four Great West Conference titles in the eight-year history of the league (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011) and has earned NCAA Division I FCS playoff berths in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Cal Poly goes back out on the road for two more Big Sky games the next two weeks, visiting UC Davis on Oct. 29 (4 p.m. kickoff) and Montana on Nov. 5 (5 p.m. kickoff).