Mustangs turn things around, rout Portland State

Karlton Dennis and Cal Poly’s defensive secondary played one of the most complete games I’ve seen out of them since Nico Molino roamed the passing lanes. By Owen Main

“Is this the most points the triple option has ever scored,” texted a friend of mine Saturday night in the waning moments of Cal Poly’s 42-14 shellacking of Portland State.

It was interesting trying to explain that two years ago with Andre Broadous and Deonte Williams, the Cal Poly offense regularly put up big numbers.

On Saturday, Chris Brown and the Cal Poly offense rose beyond the pressure of a home opener and an 0-2 record. To put it simply, they ran the triple option with high levels of efficiency and trounced a Portland State team that stuck close with Oregon State only a week ago.

The numbers speak for themselves. Cal Poly got off 74 rushing plays, gaining 470 yards on the ground. When they did pass it, they were mostly efficient — 4/7 for 61 yards and a touchdown. The Mustangs committed zero turnovers.

Cal Poly led in first downs 25-15, and that number seemed even more one-sided before the fourth quarter. Chris Brown, Cal Poly’s starting quarterback, didn’t need to play in the fourth quarter and Cal Poly controlled possession for almost 60 percent of the game.

Kori Garcia managed his first 100-yard rushing game for Cal Poly — going for 103 yards on a team-high 18 carries. Brandon Howe touched the ball early and often en route to two touchdowns, 81 yards, and 14 carries. Brown showed why he’s the starter, rushing for 159 yards himself on just 12 carries, including two touchdowns. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

While the offense finished drives with touchdowns, the defense chose the home opener to get stingy. Improved play from defensive backs Fernando Cabico, Chris Fletcher, Jordan Williams, and Karlton Dennis went a long way to stifle Portland State’s passing game. Whatever gap responsibilities the Mustang front-seven that had been missing over the first two weeks were apparently fixed, too. Big plays from Jake Irwin, Chris Lawrence, and Josh Letuligasenoa sparked a unit that showed it can also play at a pretty high level — something that fans wondered about after the Mustangs’ first two performances.

Tim Walsh’s comments after the game were really interesting, especially when it came to his own mentality and emotions over the past few weeks. I think anyone could see this win really meant a lot for the team and program coming off a six-week stretch where they lost five key players and two football games that they felt like they could have won. There might have been a lot of pressure coming into the game, but the Mustangs answered the bell, and then some.

Senior fullback Brandon Howe scored a pair of touchdowns as Cal Poly got back to a more varied triple-option. When a fullback gets three-plus yards on pretty much every play, the triple option offense is really hard to stop.

Chris Brown had a huge game, too. He has always been one of the more exciting players on the field and now it seems like the game is slowing down for him. His commentary also seems to reflect that maturity and growth.

Photos by Owen Main

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