Cal Poly downs Sixth-ranked Montana 41-21

At the beginning of this season, Cal Poly’s offense was stagnant and out of synch while their defense was spotty at-best. With both units humming, the Mustangs took it to Montana on Saturday night.

In front of 10,775 fans at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, the Mustangs racked-up 528 yards of offense–421 of them on the ground, en route to a 41-21 victory over the Grizzlies.

The win for Cal Poly avenged a 21-14 loss last season in Missoula that Cal Poly had clearly been thinking about for about a year. The win was just the fourth time Cal Poly has ever beat Montana in 19 tries.

The win pushes Cal Poly’s record two games over .500 for the first time this season at 5-3. They are now 4-1 in Big Sky Conference play.

Chris Brown set a quarterback single-game record for Cal Poly with 226 yards on 21 carries Saturday night. By Owen Main

Brown breaks his QB rushing record

Chris Brown rushed the ball 21 times for 226 yards and two touchdowns. The 226 yards was the most a Cal Poly quarterback has ever rushed for. Last season Brown set the high mark with 195 yards in a victory at UC Davis. He smashed it against Montana.

Many of Brown’s rushes were designed or option plays, but some of the biggest gainers were broken-down pass plays where the junior saw a hole and took advantage.

No Nicholls, no problem

Slotback Chris Nicholls missed the game for the Mustangs, but the rushing game didn’t seem to waver. Brandon Howe carried the ball 19 times for 98 tough yards and a touchdown. Kori Garcia rushed it 13 times for 47 yards and a score. Garcia also caught a touchdown pass.

What seemed like an unknown at the beginning of the year — Cal Poly’s depth at the running back position — has now become a strength, despite their relative inexperience. Lance Mudd and Joe Prothero continue to play the “change of pace” roles while Howe, Garcia, and Brown provide a real triple threat running the ball.

When Nicholls returns, teams will have a whole lot to game-plan for.

Kori Garcia has continued to provide Cal Poly with solid rushes. By Owen Main

Graves impresses

Cal Poly quarterback Dano Graves, who played the entire Montana game last season, came in for Brown in the fourth quarter. With Brown cramping, Graves led Cal Poly on a 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to ice the game. Graves rushed the ball six times during the drive, culminating on a spectacular second-effort touchdown from one yard out.

Knock em down

Cal Poly’s tackling has greatly improved from the beginning of the season. After the game, head coach Tim Walsh said that tackling is something the Mustangs have been starting practice off with, and it seems to have paid off.

While tackling leader Nick Dzubnar only had 7 tackles — a season low for him — Cameron Ontko totaled 10 tackles and Josh Letuligasenoa and Chris Judge each nabbed a big sack to slow-down Montana’s offense.

The 500 Club

The Mustangs have now accumulated 500-plus offensive yards in five of their past six games. The one game they didn’t get 500 yards, they managed 485 total yards in a close loss in Flagstaff against Northern Arizona. On Saturday, the Lumberjacks, who also have just one conference loss, beat Eastern Washington.

When compared to the 24 points Montana gave up to #1 North Dakota State, Cal Poly’s 41 points on Saturday look pretty good.

Lots of fans showed up to Spanos on Saturday night to make for a great atmosphere. By Owen Main

Atmospheric pressure

The breeze was blowing at the end of the game, but the real change in atmosphere at Alex G. Spanos Stadium was that fans nearly filled it up. Granted, many of those fans were Montana fans. Grizzly loyalists filled the entire “visitors” section as well as about half of the general admission bleachers behind the South end zone.

It was, by far, the best home turnout of the season and should give the team some momentum toward a potential sellout next weekend in their homecoming game versus Montana State.

Top-25 Love?

Cal Poly hasn’t sniffed the top-25 yet this season. With the win, it will be interesting to see whether they get put into the rankings. They’ll definitely get some votes. Based on how they’ve been playing, I think a top-20 ranking wouldn’t be too far-fetched.

Photos by Owen Main

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