Cal Poly football team had their opportunities this season

This year’s Cal Poly team started the season with what was one of the toughest schedules in FCS. Let’s take a blow-by-blow look at what happened and what the future holds.

Game 1 – @ #12 Montana

Cal Poly looked way out of this game until a few things happened late and the Mustangs were able to drive enough for a 49-yard, game-winning field goal by redshirt freshman kicker Alex Vega. It was the first field goal attempt of Vega’s career and helped the Mustangs knock off Montana, who had beaten the number-one team in the nation the week before.

How long ago does that game seem now?

Senior Burton deKoning and Cal Poly’s defense looked really good early-on in the season. By Owen Main

Game 2 –  @ Arizona State

It’s been a while since Cal Poly played a Pac-12 opponent. In Tempe, the Mustangs were in the game well into the second half until ASU took control late. If you were there, you know that Cal Poly made some huge plays and controlled a lot of this game. Injuries, nicks, and bruises started to pile-up some (Chris Fletcher was lost for the season), but Mustang fans had reason to be optimistic going forward.

Game 3 – #9 Northern Iowa

Northern Iowa ran all over Cal Poly in the Mustangs’ first home game of the season. By Owen Main

This is the first of a number of games this season where Cal Poly was kind of dominated up front. Northern Iowa won this one in the trenches and early, jumping out to a 21-0 lead en route to a comfortable 34-20 victory. The Panthers racked up only 10 more yards of total offense than Cal Poly, but the Mustangs turned the ball over three times to Northern Iowa’s single giveaway, and Cal Poly was never really in the game.

Chris Brown’s two interceptions in this game weren’t the only reason the Mustangs lost this game, but I think they probably influenced how plays were called for much of the rest of the season.

Game 4 – @ #15 Montana State

Cal Poly was blown-out in their first Big Sky Conference game 45-28. Like the week before, this game wasn’t really ever close. Every time Cal Poly had a chance to snatch momentum, it was just out of their grasp. Like the week before, Cal Poly’s opponent got out to a three touchdown lead, which is really just too much for anyone to expect a team in the Big Sky to come back fully from, especially Cal Poly. Montana State gained over 600 yards of offense in this one, and Cal Poly was reeling at 1-3 (0-1) on the season.

When Kori Garcia and Cal Poly beat Idaho State, there was still a possibility that the Mustangs could make the playoffs. By Owen Main

Game 5 – Idaho State

Things started to look up for the Mustangs against the Bengals. Idaho State wasn’t ranked coming into this game, but they did grace the top-25 at one point this season and Cal Poly had a great scheme to combat what they were trying to do. Cal Poly out-scored Idaho State 14-0 in the first quarter and 24-6 in the third en route to a blowout 58-26 victory.

This game was really one that bucked the turnover trend all season as Cal Poly committed zero while racking up over 600 yards of offense.  The Bengals, on the other hand, gave it up three times. The win gave Cal Poly one of their three conference victories and gave them a chance still going into game six.

Game 6 – @ #7  Eastern Washington

This was the first of Cal Poly’s three straight “opportunity” games in the Big Sky this year. It was damn close. The Mustangs were within minutes of putting it away until Eastern Washington found a way to tie it and send it into overtime, where they won by a point. Cal Poly only had 16 passing yards in the game, but managed 503 on the ground. Neither team turned the ball over either.

Eastern Washington was in the top-10 all season before losing their final three games. They have been a conference juggernaut, but were beatable this season, and the weary Mustangs just couldn’t quite get over that hump on the road. I didn’t think the bye week could have come at a better time.

Game 7 – vs. #13 Portland State

Khaleel Jenkins showed some promise against Portland State, but the Vikings were really good this year and Cal Poly couldn’t overcome their turnovers. By Owen Main

The Vikings came to San Luis Obispo after a bye week and showed everyone that they were legit, but the story from Cal Poly was four turnovers compared to Portland State’s one. When you turn the ball over four times, it’s hard to beat any good team.

Chris Brown didn’t play in this game and Khaleel Jenkins looked promising as a true freshman, but five fumbles (four lost) as a team wasn’t going to work. Incidentally, Portland State only won on a last-minute field goal and Cal Poly looked decent. Just not quite good enough to beat these highly-ranked teams. Portland State, in fact, was the seventh straight team ranked in the national polls Cal Poly played to start the season. Game 8 wouldn’t be any easier.

Game 8 – @ #24 Southern Utah

In a road game against the eventual conference champs, Cal Poly out-gained SUU by over 150 yards, had SIX turnovers, and lost the game 54-37. This was was about as frustrating as it can get for the Mustangs and their fans.

Not only was it maddening that a ball-control triple option offense turned it over SIX times, but a few of those were returned for touchdowns and, to top it off, the loss put Cal Poly out of contention for any kind of postseason hope.

The real shame was that it wasn’t as if Cal Poly had been completely out-classed by Eastern Washington, Portland State, and Southern Utah. They played right with each of those teams. Ten turnovers was two more than Cal Poly had in all of 2014 and they stacked them up into their two biggest games of the season. It’s enough to drive a man to drink.

The Sac State game was as close to a rout as Cal Poly and Jordan Hines had this year. By Owen Main

Game 9 – Sacramento State

In their first game against an opponent who wasn’t ranked in the 2015 polls, Cal Poly dominated, winning 36-14. While they had matching records coming into this one, it’s clear who had the advantage.

Interestingly, neither team committed a turnover this whole game.

Game 10 – @ UC Davis

Chris Brown had another hat trick – throwing, passing, and catching a touchdown, and Cal Poly won the Golden Horseshoe back from the rival Aggies. Again, Cal Poly was again clearly the best FCS team in California, though this season that didn’t carry a lot of weight.

The trick play that got Brown his receiving touchdown was an interesting one. With nothing to lose, the Mustangs were ready and willing to open things up and have some fun. Hey, when you turn it over 10 times in two games running normal triple option plays, there’s no reason not to try some trick plays.

Weirdly, Cal Poly fumbled twice and UC Davis didn’t commit any turnovers in this one, or else it would have probably been a much more lopsided game. Also unusual — Davis out-possessed Cal Poly in this one, despite the Mustangs’ 674 yards of total offense (the Aggies racked up over 500 themselves).

The important thing for Cal Poly fans is that they got the Golden Horseshoe back. I’m not sure what version of the horseshoe came back, but I’m fairly certain Cal Poly owns it both figuratively and physically at this point.

Game 11 – North Dakota

Wondering how banged-up a triple-option quarterback can get by the end of the season? Look no further than that pad on Chris Brown’s shin. By Owen Main

There’s no other way to put it other than the fact that the weary Mustangs laid a big egg in this game. North Dakota got out (familiarly) 21-0 on the home Mustangs and romped them 45-21. North Dakota’s offensive line was huge and their defense did a great job against the triple option. Once the Mustangs started to get the ball down field, good things happened, but it was too little, too late.

This was the only game all season that Cal Poly had more receiving yards than rushing yards. Cal Poly finished their season on Saturday a disappointing 4-7 on the season.

What’s it mean?

This season was a constant struggle between Cal Poly demanding that they were a ball-control team who gets rushing yardage at-will, and then fumbling games away. Opponents scored 65 more points off turnovers than Cal Poly did.

Rushing record

Cal Poly amassed a program and Big Sky record 4,260 yards. In doing so, they broke their own mark of

Chris Brown’s last year

Chris Brown was electric throughout the last three years. He finished his Cal Poly career with over 3,000 yards rushing and passing and is now top in career rushing touchdowns and tied for the all-time Cal Poly lead in total touchdowns. His offenses always threatened to be explosive, but turnovers did the Mustangs in this season.

Fletcher loss hurt

Chris Fletcher was a really great cornerback and losing him in the Arizona State game set Cal Poly’s defense back. Fernando Cabico did a fine job most of the season, but it put strain on Cal Poly on third down and obvious passing situations. Fletcher was also an emotional leader on this team. Rebuilding the defensive secondary and the defense in general will have to be a primary focus for Tim Walsh and his staff this offseason.

Did it just come down to turnovers?

When you’re in a competitive conference, there are many factors that will affect whether you win games. When you’re a triple option team, 18 turnovers over the course of 11 games, while not really opening up the offense a ton, is probably not going to cut it. Considering 10 of those turnovers came in two of the most important games of the season, it’s no wonder Cal Poly didn’t have a ton to play for over the last three games.

Graves kept his redshirt

One development this season was about who didn’t play. After transferring from Air Force and getting a few starts last year, Dano Graves redshirted this season — sitting out in order to complete his senior year next year. I have almost no doubt that Graves is the de-facto starter for 2016, though Khaleel Jenkins showed some sparks of explosiveness last year and should be ready should Graves be injured or ineffective.

Lost skills

Some of Cal Poly’s best skill position players won’t be around next season. Willie Tucker and Jordan Hines — both of whom had streaks in their careers that made me wonder why they weren’t targeted more — will graduate this year. They are the most dynamic receiving tandem Cal Poly has had in a few years, though their numbers never fully realized the potential their talent promised. Roland Jackson Jr. dominated a few games last season with his speed, but didn’t get nearly as many looks in his senior season either.

The Mustangs also lost Carson McMurtrey, who proved himself a good blocker on the edge over the past few years. McMurtrey played most of the beginning of the year with a cast on one hand, showing that Cal Poly receivers don’t really actually need to be able to use their hands to be effective.

I guess the good news is that Kori Garcia, Kyle Lewis, Joe Protheroe, DJ Peluso, Alex Suchesk, and Malcom Davis will all be back, having had significant playing time last year. If Cal Poly was going to throw a lot more, I feel like it would have been this year. As far as personnel, I don’t see the Mustangs throwing a lot more any time soon.

Hogs gone

Center Stephen Sippel and tackle Weston Walker have both been solid offensive linemen for Cal Poly the past few seasons. Don’t think they won’t be missed as Cal Poly’s program moves forward, though Cal Poly has probably done a decent job developing linemen to take the place of the two departed seniors.

Getting defensive

Some key seniors were lost on defense too. Along with Fletcher, Burton deKoning, Tu’uta Inoke, Fernando Cabico, and Karlton Dennis were all seniors this season. Kaulin Blair got significant time at safety and will be gone next year as did Logan Mayes, a transfer from Washington State whose season was mired by lower body injuries.

Could have, would have….

Cal Poly’s strength of schedule was such that the Mustangs probably could have gone 7-4 and still had a really good chance of making the playoffs. For the fist time in a long time, the team was basically out of playoff contention for the final month of the season. Next year, they have to have an easier schedule, but they also lose some really great players. Will they be able to make up for those losses, and stop fumbling? Only four months until spring practice, and maybe a glimpse into 2016.

What are your questions about Cal Poly football going into next season?