Big Sky Conference

‘CATS FIRST LOOK: Cal Poly Mustangs

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Montana State goes from the high-flying Eagles to the ground and pound Mustangs.

Last week, MSU faced the explosive passing attack of Eastern Washington, the best in the country. Jordan West threw for 410 yards and six touchdowns in a 55-50 win. Now Montana State must prepare for Cal Poly’s vaunted triple-option attack, an offense that leads the country by rushing for 321 yards a game.

Cal Poly’s 1-2 record is as equally deceiving as the identical record shared by the Eagles. The Mustangs opened their season with a 20-19 victory over No. 8 Montana in Missoula. True freshman Alex Vega drilled a 49-yard field goal with four seconds left to lift Cal Poly to victory.

Since then, Cal Poly has lost two straight games. The Mustangs and FBS No. 14 Arizona were tied 21-21 with seven minutes to play in Tempe two weeks ago. But the Sun Devils scored quickly twice on big plays to pull out a 35-21 win. Last week, Cal Poly fell behind 21-0 to No. 9 Northern Iowa before the first quarter was finished. UNI marched 80 yards in seven plays and 95 seconds on the first possession of the game. On CP’s first possession, quarterback Chris Brown threw an interception. Seven plays later, UNI had a 14-0 lead. Again, Cal Poly’s offense stalled out resulting in a third straight seven-play drive to stake the Panthers to a 21-0 lead. Brown scored two touchdowns to cut the margin but UNI was thoroughly dominant in a 34-20 victory.

On Saturday, Cal Poly comes to Bozeman to continue the brutal start to one of the toughest schedules in the country. After MSU, Cal Poly hosts Idaho State before playing at Eastern Washington.

A season ago, Cal Poly started 1-3 but put itself in position to compete for a second league title since 2012 with two months of strong play. Tim Walsh’s team stumbled early, including a heartbreaking 38-35 loss at Northern Arizona on a last-second touchdown in their conference opener. Behind Brown and a potent option offense, the Mustangs rallied for five straight wins, including defeats of No. 7 Montana (41-21) and No. 8 Montana State (35-27) in San Luis Obispo in consecutive weeks.

The hot streak put Cal Poly in the driver’s seat for all of one week before it fell at Idaho State the next week, 30-28. A loss to UC Davis, a two-win team, at home, sealed Cal Poly’s fate.

“For a six-week stretch, we were as good as anyone in the country but Idaho State jumped on us and made a great comeback,” Walsh said in May. “By the time we got to UC Davis, we were worn out mentally and physically.”

Saturday marks the beginning of the Mustangs’ fourth Big Sky Conference season. Mustangs will look to remain in the upper echelon the league. CP has posted a 17-9 mark in league play, including a 7-1 finish in 2012 that helped the Mustangs share the league title.

“One thing our players are learning is this is as good a league as you are going to play in and a letdown for us is going to lead to a loss like Davis,” Walsh said. “We have to learn to play every opponent the exact same way we played Montana and Montana State.”

QUICK HITS
Location:
San Luis Obispo, California

Nickname: Mustangs

Founded: 1901. Cal Polytechnic State started as a vocational school and is one of two polytechnic universities in the 23-member California State University system.

Enrollment: The school has 20,186 total students and a $184 million endowment.

Stadium: Alex G. Spanos Stadium holds 11,075 fans. Originally erected in 1935 and expanded in 2006, the stadium is named for the Cal Poly alum who currently owns the San Diego Chargers. Cal Poly averaged 8,945 during the 2014 season.

THE TEAM (5-3 in Big Sky, 7-5 overall in 2014)

 The Coach: Tim Walsh, seven season at Cal Poly. After five seasons away, Walsh returned to the West before CP joined the Big Sky. The former Portland State head coach (1993-2006) is 157-114 in his coaching career, including a 60-50 mark in Big Sky games. At Cal Poly, he’s 40-32, including 17-9 in Big Sky play.

WHAT TO WATCH — THE OFFENSE

Chris Brown, quarterback, 6-2, 200, senior — It’s hard to argue there’s a better triggerman for the triple option in the FCS than Brown.

Brown

Chris Brown

A season ago, Brown earned third-team All-Big Sky honors by shattering the league record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Compton outlasted former Parade Prep All-America Dano Graves for the starting gig, then rushed for 1,265 yards and a Big Sky-best 17 touchdowns. Only Idaho State tailback Xavier Finney had more than Brown’s 249 carries.

“There’s no question that he was worn out at the end of last year,” Walsh said. “There’s certain times with what we call that he reads his way to who gets the ball so if defenses want him to run the ball, that’s what’s going to happen sometimes. What we have to do is we have to select how many times we will call his number.”

So far this season, Brown has two 100-yard games and leads the Mustangs with 339 rushing yards. He’s got four rushing touchdowns, including a crucial 60-yard score against the Griz. He’s completing just 48 percent of his passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. His two interceptions against UNI proved to be crucial in Cal Poly’s second straight loss.

Garcia

Kori Garcia

Kori Garcia, running back, 5-10, 195, junior — Garcia’s breakout season as a sophomore have caused for defenses to heavily key on him so far this season. So far in 2015, Garcia has 36 carries (third on the team) for 107 yards and no touchdowns. He’s averaging just 3.0 yards per carry after averaging 6.6 last fall.

Garcia performed so well in his first season as a starter, he made many forget about one of the primary story lines entering 2014.

Before the 2014 campaign began, Kristaan Ivory, a 2013 first-team All-Big Sky selection, was suspended indefinitely for a connection to a robbery that took more than a year to play out in court. In Ivory’s place, Garcia didn’t miss a beat.

The speedy, stocky Garcia led the league in yards per carry. He rushed for 1,039 yards and seven touchdowns on just 157 carries. He averaged 92 yards per game and 6.9 yards per carry during Big Sky play.

“Kori is a consistent player who is faster than people think and tougher than people think,” Walsh said. “He’s really the complete back.”

Protheroe

Joe Protheroe

Joe Protheroe, fullback, 6-1, 225, sophomore — Protheroe showed flashes backing up All-Big Sky senior Brandon Howe last season. As a true freshman, Protheroe averaged 6.3 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns.

This season, he’s been a breakout star. His 29 carries for 112 yards against Montana did not include a carry of more than eight yards but he helped Cal Poly control the ball for 20 minutes after halftime alone. The next week, Protheroe rushed 28 times for 130 yards and a touchdown against the Sun Devils. This season, he has 277 yards on 71 carries.

Sippel

Stephen Sippel

Stephen Sippel, center, 6-4, 285, senior — Sippel is the one constant for an offensive line that is playing eight players consistently, each who entered 2015 with prior starting experience.

Sippel is the catalyst for the group. His four-point stance style in which he puts his non-snapping hand on the ground as well gives him a unique look. His aggressive, tough style makes him one of the top centers in the league. He’s a two-time All-Big Sky selection who helped Cal Poly set a Big Sky record with 4,221 rushing yards last fall.

Senior right tackle Weston Walker is in his third year as a starter and earned All-Big Sky honors last season. Junior left tackle Matt Fisher earned All-Big Sky praise two years ago before missing last season with an injury. Nick Enriquez earned second-team All-Big Sky honors at guard as a sophomore last season. Junior Billy Shipman and sophomore Joey Kuperman both have starting experience. Sophomore Colin Goebel joined the team in the off-season after spending the last two years as an Iowa Hawkeye.

Inoke

Tu’Uta Inoke

THE DEFENSE
Tu’Uta Inoke, middle linebacker, 6-2, 248, senior —
A season ago, Inoke seemed like the invisible man in Cal Poly’s stacked linebacker unit. Middle linebacker Nick Dzubnar was a first-team All-America who led the country in tackles and now plays for the San Diego Chargers. Outside linebacker Cameron Ontko was a first-team All-Big Sky selection that now plays for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

Inoke was the third linebacker, splitting time with Burton De Koning, starting on the outside for the final six games of the season. He notched 29 tackles, including 3.5 for loss.

This season he’s moved to middle linebacker and he is a physical battering ram in in the middle of one of the Big Sky’s fastest defenses. Against Montana, Inoke piled up 16 tackles, including a tackle for loss and forced two fumbles as the Mustangs kept Montana’s up-tempo pass-heavy offense at bay for most of the evening. All told, he has 29 tackles, two tackles for loss and three forced fumbles already this season.

De_Koning

Burton De Koning

Burton De Koning, outside linebacker, 6-2, 230, senior — De Koning is one of the most athletic linebackers in the league, a long and fast player who can run sideline to sideline fluidly. Last season, he split time at outside linebacker with Inoke alongside two future pros.

In the summer, the former Nevada transfer hit .304 in the Summer Collegiate Wooden Baseball Club, one of the premier wood bat leagues in the country.

This season, De Koning has 17 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack notched against Arizona State.

Karlton Dennis, cornerback, 5-10, 185, senior — Dennis paired with Chris Fletcher to form one of the better duos on the outside in the league last season. Now Fletcher is out with a broken leg so Dennis’ role has been elevated further.

As a junior in his first year as a full-time starter, Dennis notched 43 tackles, broke up seven passes and snared three interceptions. He earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors.

This season, Dennis has 14 tackles and a team-high three pass breakups.

Nard

B.J. Nard

B.J. Nard, left safety, 6-2, 186, junior — Cal Poly defeated Montana thanks in part to an ability to cause turnovers. Nard was a primary catalyst, picking off Brady Gustafson three different times.

Nard currently leads the FCS in interceptions. He’s also proven to be a sure tackler. Nard is second on the team with 23 tackles. He notched nine tackles last week in the loss to Northern Iowa.

Nard’s breakout season comes on the tail of two disappointing campaigns ended by knee injuries that cost him the entire campaign.

Letuligasenoa-Josh

Josh Letuligasenoa

Josh Letuligasenoa, defensive line, 6-2, 265, junior — Letuligasenoa, who’s older brother Legi was a standout CP offensive lineman, thrived in his first year getting major playing time on a defensive front that was banged up all season long.

Last season, Letuligasenoa notched 65 total tackles, including three sacks and six tackles for loss. He earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors in the process.

“I think Josh is our best all-around defensive player,” Walsh said. “(Third-team All-Big Sky defensive tackle) Marcus Paige-Allen is probably our most underrated defensive player. I think the combination of those two guys is a good place to start.”

Letuligasenoa has no stats available for this season but is on the most recently updated Cal Poly travel roster.

Head shot’s courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics. main photo by Brooks Nuanez.  All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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