Over the past five weeks Cal poly has thrown for 212 yards per game. Quarterback Tony Smith has passed for 849 yards in those games. Photo by Nick Camacho- Mustang Daily

Weber State forced Cal Poly’s potent offense to five turnovers in the first round of FCS playoffs last year. Quarterback Jonathan Dally threw a career-high five interceptions, one turnover less than the Mustangs had all year.

The Mustangs fell to Wildcats 35-49 in their final game of the 2008 season.

For the second consecutive year Weber State will be the final contest in the Cal Poly football season as the Mustangs (4-6) travel to take on the Wildcats (6-4) this Saturday.

Heading into the last week of the season, all post-season scenarios for the Mustangs are out the window, but the Wildcats still have a chance for a playoff spot.

“We’re going to try and disrupt what they’re trying to do,” Walsh said at Monday’s press conference. “ If they think they’re a playoff team, let’s go beat a playoff team.”

The Mustangs saw their streak of six-straight winning seasons end with a loss against South Dakota last week. The loss came despite Cal Poly’s best offensive output of the season. The Mustangs posted 48 points with 533 yards of total offense in their home finale.

But, the Mustangs also allowed a season high 50 points and 553 yards against them.

The Mustangs had been undefeated at home before last week’s loss and has yet to win a road game this season.

After starting the season 0-2, the Wildcats have gone 6-2 over the past eight games and remain alive in the race for an at-large playoff berth.

Led by junior quarterback Cameron Higgins the Wildcats average 29 points-per-game. Higgins has passed for 2,784 yards with 24 touchdowns this season.

Leading receivers Nick Toone and Mike Phillips combined for 1,499 yards receiving. Toone was named National and Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week with his 181 all-purpose yards in a 29-7 over Northern Arizona last week.

Leading rusher Trevyn Smith has rushed for 872 yards this season.

Cal Poly’s defense has struggled recently against the pass. Last week South Dakota quarterback Noah Shepard passed for 413 yards against a Mustang defense trying to get pressure on him.

“When you bring pressure you better get there,” Walsh said. “Because if you don’t it not fair to the players in coverage. Right now we’re not getting there and I think that’s making us a little gun-shy on how much we want to (blitz). ”

Cal Poly surrendered three plays of 35 yards or more that ended up in scores. Since lining up against South Dakota State, the Mustangs have allowed a total of 162 points excluding a contest against Dixie State, with a 32.4 point per game average.

“I don’t think we’re playing as fast on defense as we’ve played (earlier this season),” Walsh said. “(Against South Dakota we played) at a whole different speed than we are right now and I think that has a lot to do with the wear and tear of the season.”

Offensively Cal Poly showed flashes of a very dominant passing game. Quarterback Tony Smith connected on 24-of-35 passes for 407 yards and six scores — all career highs.

His number one target last Saturday was junior wide receiver Dominique Johnson who caught 13 passes for 273 yards and a school-record five touchdowns.

“He may have the best hands that I have ever had the opportunity to be around,” Walsh said. “We (challenged him) to make some plays and he made plays in the course of that game.”

In the past three weeks, the Mustang rushing attack hasn’t been effective as it has been during the course of most of the season.

Over the span of the past three weeks the Mustang rushing game has averaged 122 yards per game. In those games, Cal Poly has a 0-3 record. In their four wins this season Cal Poly has averaged 217 yards on the ground per per game.

Weber State has allowed 151 yards per game on the ground this season.

Kickoff is set for 11:05 a.m. Saturday at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah.

Last year, Cal Poly held arguably one of the most prolific offenses in school history. Photo by Nick Camacho- Mustang Daily

In 1972 No. 3 Cal Poly locked horns with No. 6 North Dakota for the NCAA West College Football Championship in the 12^th annual Camellia Bowl.

In front of the largest crowd of all regional bowls that year, Cal Poly became the victim of an underdog upset and was etched into North Dakota’s record books as their 10^th win that season.

It was one of the few times in the school’s history that Cal Poly made it to a championship game; the Mustangs ended the season with no reward.

This Saturday at the Alerus Center, No. 16 Cal Poly (4-3, 1-0 Great West) squares off against Great West foe North Dakota (3-4, 1-1) in the hunt for FCS supremacy.

With four games to go in the season, the Mustangs are set on making a run at the playoffs.

Since the FCS championship was installed in 1978, no team with 4 losses has held the championship trophy; unless the Mustangs can change history, they will need to run the table into the postseason.

Fullback Jake Romanelli said the team is treating every game as a playoff game.

“We can still win the Great West championship, and go all the way into the playoffs with a full head of steam,” he said.

Last year, Cal Poly held arguably one of the most prolific offenses in school history. Averaging nearly 45 points a game and 480 yards of total offense, Cal Poly was crowned Great West champion and placed in a matchup against Weber state in the first round of the postseason. Turning the ball over only six times all year, they turned the ball over five times against Weber State and fell short 49-35 in first round.

Another season filled with expectation turned to one with no reward.

Cal Poly has yet to be named Football Championship Subdivision champion, but this year’s team can remain in the hunt if head coach Tim Walsh and the Mustangs can overcome the injuries that have plagued them all season to fend past the Fighting Sioux this weekend.

With multiple players hurt on the offensive line, including several running backs, Cal Poly is out of sync.

“We don’t have continuity in who plays and who practices,” Walsh said.

While the injuries have hurt the Mustangs, Cal Poly’s depth has allowed them to remain competitive despite a schedule that included two games against Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Behind the behemoths in the trenches, including true freshman tackle Giovanni Sani, the Mustangs continue to bounce around the top of the nation in rushing statistical categories.

The Mustangs boast the 10^th ranked rushing offense in the FCS (206.86 y/gm) and also rank 10^th in the FCS in time of possession (32.50 min/gm). Cal Poly’s offensive line has allowed .71 sacks per game and is tied for 4^th in the FCS.

Over the past two weeks, the Mustangs have proved that they hold a fourth option in their triple option rushing attack—sophomore fullback Jake Romanelli.

Romanelli stumbled his way into some action after starting fullback Jordan Yocum was injured. He tallied his first career 100 yard game and touchdown against Southern Utah and rumbled for 96 yards against Dixie State.

“When your name is called upon, you have to be ready to step up,” Romanelli said.

The sophomore is just one of six Mustangs who have accumulated over 100 yards on the ground this season.

“You have to assignment sharp and you have to be fast with this type of (offense),” North Dakota head coach Chris Mussman said during an interview on fightingsioux.com.

His defensive scheme will be the same scheme that Cal Poly struggled against this past weekend—the 3-4.

In the Mustangs’ first time playing the 3-4 this season against Dixie State, they were only able to muster 178 yards rushing, their worst total all year.

“It’s good to have a week of practice and have some live situations (against Dixie State), but (this week) we need to improve on some things,” quarterback Tony Smith said.

This season North Dakota has allowed 222 points on defense, exactly 70 points more than Cal Poly, through seven games (31 PPG average).

Junior strong safety Joel Schwenzfeier leads North Dakota in tackles, tackles for loss and interceptions. Cornerback Dominique Hawkins, who is also high up on the tackle list, tallied a career high 12 tackles last week against Southern Utah.

Offensively, North Dakota holds a star in wide receiver Ismael Bamba. The sophomore set a new career high against South Dakota with 141 yards receiving on six catches. That was the 41^st-best receiving game ever by a North Dakota player. He also held a three-game streak of over 100 yards receiving this season.

“(Bamba is) a wide-receiver that could probably play anywhere in the country,” Tim Walsh said.

Feeding him the ball is quarterback Jake Landry has thrown for 1281 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Both will line up against a Mustang defense that salivates for turnovers.

The Mustang defense is ranked fifth in the FCS in turnover margin (+1.71 per game) and is tied for fourth in the FCS in turnovers gained and fifth in FCS in interceptions.

“With all our goals on the table going into the final stretch of the season (this is) a huge game this week against North Dakota,” quarterback Tony Smith said.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. PST Saturday.

Quarterback Tony Smith passed for over 100 yards and tallied four total touchdowns against Dixie State. Photo by Nick Camacho-Mustang Daily

For some, a .500 record, a 30-point one-sided victory would be impressive. But Cal Poly football head coach Tim Walsh still sees room for improvement in his team.

The Mustangs (4-3, Great West Conference) were able to lay Dixie State (4-5) to rest 44-14 Saturday night, but Walsh wasn’t focused on the 297 total yards and four touchdowns that the offense pieced together in its highest-scoring showcase this season.

“Offensively (there were) too many bumps in the road.We (have to) play a lot better down the stretch if we’re going to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves,” he said.

The opposition may have been questionable; Dixie State has been a Division II school for two years, making the jump from a community college in 2006.

But with the passing game struggling thus far, the team was happy to see quarterback Tony Smith connect on more than half his throws and amass four touchdowns, two through the air and on the ground.

Smith, however, said there was much to be desired in how the team played Saturday.

“Honestly I think we played OK; I don’t think we played breakout at all,” Smith said.

The defensive and special teams play that Cal Poly’s other sides of the ball put forth, once again.

In front of 9,231 fans in Alex G. Spanos Stadium, the Mustang defense caused four turnovers and held its opponent scoreless until 3:13 was left in the third quarter.

“(On defense and special teams) I thought we were dominant,” Walsh said.

In 3:07 Cal Poly was able to mount 21 points at the start of the second half. Smith’s one-yard touchdown run, set up by a 59-yard punt return by cornerback Asa Jackson, a punt block returned for a touchdown and a fumble return for a touchdown sent the game from a close-sided affair into a blowout.

“It was a good defensive effort today … lots of times I was looking (behind me) and I was seeing one of our guys get the ball,” linebacker Carlton Gillespie said.

Gillespie was just one of many Mustang defenders who pitched tents in the Red Storm backfield. He finished with four tackles, three for losses, and a forced fumble.

“The guys on the (defensive line) did a great job on making those lanes huge, and I was able to run through them,” he said.

However, in the midst of victory came some bad news. The injury bug that has plagued the Mustangs all season struck again.

“We lost another offensive lineman. We’re not playing with what we started (the season) with,” Walsh said. “Guys are going to have to realize that when they prepare in practice, they better be prepared to play, because anybody might play,” he said.

Slot back Jaymes Thierry did not suit for Saturday’s game and slot back Jon Hall was sidelined with a knee injury. Fullback Jordan Yocum, who was ruled out last week with a hip bruise, saw limited playing time, splitting carries with Jake Romanelli.

Romanelli led the Mustangs in rushing with 62 yards and Yocum fell behind him with 30. The Mustangs rushed for 103 net yards — their lowest rushing total all season.

That number could be a bit misleading, because for one of the few times this year, the passing offense established a rhythm.

Five different Mustangs finished the game with a catch: Jarred Houston and Dominique Johnson both recorded multiple. Johnson reeled in a 73-yard bomb from Smith for a touchdown in the first half, the longest toss and catch recorded this season.

With the Mustangs’ win Saturday, Cal Poly inched one step closer to a playoff berth. Only one team made the FCS playoffs last year yielding four losses, so each game is a must-win.

“We know what’s at stake. Our goal is obviously to win conference and go to the playoffs, and in order to do that, we need to win out,” Smith said.
Cal Poly will have a conference battle against North Dakota in the Alerus Center this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Cal Poly senior defensive lineman Ryan Shotwell sacks freshman quarterback Andre Broadous on Saturday. Photo by Nick Camacho / Mustang Daily

Cal Poly showed off its 2009 football squad under new head coach Tim Walsh during its Spring Game Saturday afternoon at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

The defense out-dueled the offense and won 29-28. The inter-squad game had some suspense to go along with it. The winner of the game, that matched up the Mustangs’ defense against their own offense, wasn’t decided until the clock had already run out.

Down by two, Cal Poly’s defense stopped the offense on the final play for three points and the victory. The clock read 00:00 before the play was called, but in the relaxed atmosphere of the Spring Game, the offense was able to finish their drive despite the clocks countdown.

It didn’t matter because the defense was able to come up with the stop regardless. On fourth down, junior quarterback Tony Smith threw an incomplete pass that was intended for senior running back Jaymes Thierry.

The defense was proud of their resilient performance to come back and win after falling behind their counterpart.

“They had a nice lead there, but we kept on pounding away and closing the gap,” senior strong safety David Fullerton said. “You can’t expect anything more from us than a game that comes down to the final play; that’s the competition you want.”

Cal Poly’s offense moved the ball 70 yards on the opening drive that ended in a five-yard touchdown pass from Smith to junior fullback Jordan Yocum. Junior kicker Jake West converted the extra-point kick, giving the offense a quick lead over the defense.

The offense scored a pair of touchdowns and a field goal, an improvement from last week’s one-touchdown and single-field-goal performance.

After last week’s scrimmage, Walsh was frustrated with the inconsistency of the offense, but was pleased to see some progress.

“I thought there was more (consistency), but I think we have to be more consistent then that to be honest,” Walsh said. “I think at times today we showed spurts and seconds that we can play.”

However, there seems to be no question that the heart and soul of this team is going to come from the defensive end.

“Our defense is really savvy,” Fullerton said. “But our offense is coming up there.”

The transition from last year’s offensive emphasis to this year’s defensive priority is to be expected as the offense lost seven starters in the off-season. Whereas the defense will be returning eight veteran starters.

According to Walsh, it doesn’t matter from which end the leadership will come because the character of the football team has what it takes to be successful.

“The most important thing is that these guys know how to win and they know how to play hard,” Walsh said. “Those are two things that you can’t teach.”

On the defensive end, the speed of defensive linebackers Eric Klemme and Kenny Jackson stood out as they got to the quarterback twice, recording a sack each.

“We’re based on speed,” freshman linebacker Jackson said. “We’re not always the biggest guys out there, but our speed kills.”

On the offensive end, Smith stood out and Yocum led the team in rushing with 39 yards on 12 carries. On a day when not many passes were completed, Joshua Swaney caught a 34-yard pass from senior quarterback Harlan Prather, leading the offense to the second touchdown of the game.