Cal Poly Plays Final Road Game of Season Saturday at Montana

WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | MONTANA | BIG SKY
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (1-7, 0-4 Big Sky), the Big Sky leader and third in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense three short years after dropping the Triple Option, plays its last conference road game Saturday, visiting No. 16/13 Montana (5-3, 2-3 Big Sky) for the second straight year Saturday inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium (cap.: 25,217).

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 4:30 p.m. The game also will be video streamed on ESPN+. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats can be found at the top of this page as well as 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. Four weeks ago, the Mustangs held 6-0, 20-14 and 29-28 leads before falling at Northern Arizona 31-29 and 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, on Oct. 15.

Two weeks ago, Eastern Washington snapped a 10-10 tie on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 8:54 to go in the game and held on for a 17-10 victory. The Eagles took advantage of five Mustang turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles) and ran 26 more plays than Cal Poly. Last week, UC Davis jumped to a 21-0 lead and also scored the final 31 points of a 59-17 win in the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe, amassing 682 total yards and 28 first downs.

Cal Poly trailed 21-0 at Fresno State, 17-0 versus San Diego, 21-7 at South Dakota, 28-20 at Northern Arizona, 30-7 at Idaho State and 21-0 at UC Davis before bouncing back in each game. The Mustangs have been outscored 108-27 in the first quarter and 166-75 in the first half of their eight games this season.

There are signs of improvement for Cal Poly, however. The Mustangs played three straight one-score games before last week's loss at UC Davis. The one area of concern for third-year head coach Beau Baldwin is turnovers as Idaho State, Eastern Washington and UC Davis forced 13 Cal Poly miscues.

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 139 of 235 passes (59 percent) for 1,759 yards and 13 scores the last six weeks, passing for 362 yards at South Dakota, 374 at Northern Arizona, 394 at Idaho State and 359 at UC Davis, 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 320.2 yards a game.

Montana sprinted to a 5-0 start with wins over Northwestern State, South Dakota, Indiana State, Portland State and Idaho State. The Griz then lost at home to Idaho and fell at Sacramento State in overtime and at Weber State 24-21. Montana's best national ranking is No. 1 in net punting (42.24) and the Griz also are No. 3 in tackles for lost yardage, sixth in sacks, ninth in turnover margin, 11th in scoring defense, 13th in rushing defense and 14th in fewest penalties.

Montana is averaging 141 yards per game rushing and 209 passing yards for 350 yards in total offense and 34 points per game while giving up 104 rushing yards and 196 passing yards for 300 total yards and 17.8 points per game defensively.

The Griz, 10-3 overall and tied for third place in the Big Sky a year ago, reached the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs before falling to James Madison. Last week at Weber State, Malik Flowers returned a kickoff 100 yards with 5:43 to play to make it a three-point game but Weber State ran out the clock for the win. Montana was held to 114 total yards — 72 passing and 42 on the ground. Quarterback Kris Brown completed 10 of 17 passes for 72 yards while Nick Ostmo (23), Junior Bergen (21) and Marcus Knight (18) combined for 62 yards rushing. Mitch Roberts caught five passes for 45 yards.

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 on Jaden Ohlsen's 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.

Twelfth-year head coach Bobby Hauck (113-32, Montana '88), who between his two stints at Montana (2003-09, 2018-Present) was head coach at UNLV for five seasons (2010-14, 15-49), greeted 41 lettermen, including 18 starters (nine on offense, nine on defense) to Fall Camp. Top Grizzlies to watch for include Roberts (55 catches, 683 yards, one TD in 2021), running back Xavier Harris (151-666-2 rushing), Brown (99-152-4, 1.029 yards, three TDs passing), linebacker Patrick O'Connell (105 tackles, 14 sacks, 22 tackles for lost yardage), defensive back Robby Hauck (128 tackles) and defensive back Justin Ford (nine interceptions, three defensive TDs, Big Sky Newcomer of the Year).

Eight games into the 2022 campaign, Ostmo is the top Griz rusher with 337 yards and two touchdowns while Brown has completed 36 of 65 passes for 314 yards and one score. Brown replaced Lucas Johnson as starting quarterback after Johnson was hit late in the head on a targeting call against Sacramento State two weeks ago and missed last week's game. In addition, O'Connell suffered a left ankle injury in the first quarter at Weber State and didn't return.

Cal Poly and Montana are meeting for the 23rd time Saturday and, though the Mustangs won three straight meetings prior to a 48-28 loss to the Griz in 2018, the Griz still hold a commanding 17-5 advantage in the series which began in 1969. In addition to a 20-19 win at Montana in the 2015 season opener on Alex Vega's 49-yard field goal with four seconds left, Cal Poly also earned a 42-41 victory in 2016, a 41-21 triumph in 2014, a 35-33 win in 2010, all in San Luis Obispo, and a 35-21 victory in the opening round of the 2005 FCS playoffs at Missoula.

Last year's game was won by the Griz 39-7 in Missoula as quarterback Cam Humphrey passed for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The transfer from Boise State, completed 15 of 24 passes as fourth-ranked Montana accumulated 354 total yards. Cal Poly averted a shutout in the fourth quarter when Shakobe Harper ran two yards with 10:12 to play.

Baldwin is 6-5 against Montana (6-4 as head coach at Eastern Washington, 0-1 at Cal Poly) while Hauck is 7-1 against Cal Poly. The Mustangs are 2-12 in Missoula and 3-5 against the Griz at home.

The Griz won 19 Big Sky championships from 1969 to 2011, have earned 26 FCS playoff berths, including an FCS-record 17 consecutive trips to the postseason from 1993 to 2009, and claimed national titles in 1995 and 2001. The Griz have qualified for the postseason just six times over the last 11 seasons (not including the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season).

Hauck led the Grizzlies to three national championship appearances, and won seven straight Big Sky Conference championships during his first tenure in Missoula. He is a three-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award in 2009. After his coaching stint at UNLV, Hauck was Associate Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator at San Diego State for three years (2015-17). He began his coaching career with the Grizzlies in 1988 after earning a bachelor's degree in business and physical education at Montana in 1987 and also has served as an assistant coach at UCLA, Northern Arizona, Colorado and Washington.

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 139 of 235 passes for 1,759 yards and 13 scores. Coleman is Cal Poly's favorite target with 50 receptions for 808 yards and four touchdowns while tight end Josh Cuevas has caught 37 passes for 413 yards and four scores and Centers 24 for 325 yards and two TDs. A total of 17 Mustangs have caught at least one pass just seven games into the campaign.

Coleman's 10 catches last week and 50 for the season are the most by a Mustang since Ramses Barden caught 10 versus Idaho State in 2007 and made 67 catches in 2008.

Shakobe Harper is the Mustangs' top rusher with 255 yards on 72 carries after producing his first career 100-yard game as a Mustang with 106 yards at South Dakota. Adam Garwood has added 168 yards on 46 carries and two scores and has caught 12 passes for 111 yards and another TD.

Linebacker David Meyer leads the defense with 60 tackles and 5.0 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 45 stops and one interception while cornerback Dylan Wyatt has seven pass breakups and Jay'Vion Cole has intercepted four passes.

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 returns home for its final two games of the 2022 season, hosting Montana State on Nov. 12 and Portland State on Nov. 19. Both Big Sky games kick off at 5 p.m.

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Cal Poly Plays Final Road Game of Season Saturday at Montana

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Cal Poly Plays Final Road Game of Season Saturday at Montana

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