Cal Poly edges Weber State on the road: What we learned

Nick Dzubnar and company made the right plays at the right times on Saturday against Weber State. Photo by Owen Main

On Saturday, Cal Poly beat Weber State 30-24 on the road, improving their conference record to 2-1 and their overall record to 3-3. The Mustangs didn’t pile-up gaudy numbers, but they made some plays when it counted and overcame some questionable calls to earn the road victory.

The game featured a lot of really fun talking points, including the fact that Chris Brown rushed for, passed for, and caught a touchdown pass. Kori Garcia and Brown each caught a touchdown from the other, and Nick Dzubnar had another double-digit tackle game. Importantly, the Mustangs again won the turnover battle.

So, what did we learn from last week’s game?

There is no such thing as an easy road win

Let me be clear, no road win in the Big Sky is an easy win. Cal Poly beat the Wildcats 49-0 last season at Spanos, but Weber State had two weeks to prepare for the Mustangs and were ready for the triple option. Cal Poly had a really tough time getting wide. Kori Garcia — one of the usual pitch-men — was held to 14 yards and seven carries. The Mustangs netted 289 yards rushing, but no rusher for Cal Poly went over 100 yards in the game.

Weber State contained and tackled very well, making Chris Brown and Brandon Howe shoulder most of the offensive load. Brown and Howe did enough, carrying the ball a combined 50 times for 177 yards. Neither Brown nor Howe averaged even four yards per carry.

Pounding the football has been good

Howe has become a real staple of the Cal Poly offense, and rightfully so. The one thing I think I know about the triple option offense is that, to be effective, one must pound the ball with the fullback — whether or not it results in a big play. Establishing the fullback over the past few weeks is what led to Cal Poly being forced into using some trickeration on Saturday.

A reverse and halfback pass back to the quarterback were really key plays on Saturday, but none of it is possible unless Cal Poly establishes their fullback and option game. Howe rushed the ball 28 times against Southern Utah and 23 times this past Saturday. Without Saga Tuitele’s willingness to create a constant battle up the middle, the “trick plays” Cal Poly used would not have been as effective.

Since Weber State was selling out to stop the triple option, Cal Poly’s trick-play responses simple and effective.

Anybody still want to question the playcalling?

Speaking of Saga, the guy was taking a lot of heat after the first few games. Picture the situation though:

Cal Poly started the season with two of their best playmakers unavailable. Guys who were untested were thrown head-first into the mix, and for at least a few weeks, the play-calling seemed designed to match the experience level of the players. Kori Garcia, Howe, Lance Mudd, Joe Prothroe, and Kenny Mitchell were all brought along kind of slowly. So were all the players on the offensive line and receivers like Jordan Hines and Roland Jackson.

As the season has gone on, comfort levels have obviously gone up. Coaches have a better idea of their players’ strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, I think, GUYS GET BETTER.

Here’s my mini-rant: One of the things I like best about college sports is that PLAYERS GET BETTER over the course of a year or from one year to the next. Chris Brown is a lot better now than he was at the beginning of the season. Brandon Howe is more comfortable. Offensive linemen understand schemes and have gelled. Defenses have been through battles together.

Coaches get better too. Especially at the FCS level, it’s important to think about a head coach or assistant’s performance as dynamic, not stagnant. Some criticized Saga after the first few games, but I think praise is due right now. He’s done a really nice job making adjustments, even when other teams are doing a great job stopping first, second, and third options. The Mustangs have now scored 30 or more points in the last four games (during which time they’ve gone 3-1). That’s 2/3 of their season until now. The Mustangs are averaging over 37 points per game over the past four games. Throughout the whole season, their average is up to 29.5.

Here are the three Brown touchdowns:

And here are all the highlights from the game in Ogden, Utah:

Special teams glitch

Cal Poly’s special teams had been very solid over the first five games, despite injuries to kickers. On Saturday, it was shaky at-best. Weber State ran a kickoff back for a touchdown and Cal Poly missed a PAT. The kickoff return for a touchdown could have been especially debilitating. It’s not too often that you win a game you didn’t completely dominate, on the road, where you gave up a kick return touchdown.

Halfway through the season, with a lot of really tough games ahead of them, I wonder if Cal Poly can withstand any more huge special teams blunders. Their margin of error isn’t large, so the answer is probably that they cannot.

This team is still getting better

OK, you saw my rant earlier, but it’s a point to make. Unlike a pro team that you might be able to write-off, most Cal Poly teams do tend to evolve over the course of the season. Guys execute better. Defenses get more dynamic and sharp. Coaches make better play calls. Freshmen evolve and become seasoned, and a junior quarterback continues to establish himself.

Contrary to the belief of some naysayers, this is a team whose season is not completely trashed after a shaky 1-3 start. Myriad outcomes for this season are right in front of them, especially in the form of the next three weeks. On Saturday, they go to Sacramento State to try to avenge a loss to the Hornets two years ago. After that, Montana and Montana State come to Spanos on back-to-back weekends.

If Cal Poly can win on the road in Sacramento and go into the Montana games with three straight W’s under their belt, fans in San Luis Obispo will take their chances against two of the best teams in FCS. If you are a Mustang fan, you have to be happy that this team has kept themselves relevant after a shaky start to the season. Starting on Saturday, we can find out if the Mustangs are a true contender or if they’ve been playing over their heads for the past few weeks, and the margin between the two is thin. They’ve fought hard to give themselves a real chance, but for Cal Poly, it’s now or never — continue to evolve or fade into mediocrity.

How do you think Saturday will go? How will the Mustags fare? Comment below.