Cal Poly nearly pulls the upset in Tempe

Joe Protheroe led Cal Poly on Saturday night with 130 yards on 28 carries. By Owen Main

On a hot, dry night in Tempe, Cal Poly almost did the unthinkable — beat a Pac 12 school ranked in the top-15 in the FBS just a week ago.

Instead, Arizona State used two fourth quarter touchdowns to distance themselves from the Mustangs and win 35-14.

The real story, though, was Cal Poly’s ability to hang with Arizona State. The Mustangs went down 14-0 in the first half, but found some rhythm with Joe Protheroe and Jared Mohamed up the middle in the second quarter en route to 14 points that got the team back into the game. A 21-14 deficit at the half was erased Cal Poly’s first drive of the second half, as Chris Brown found tight end Reagan Enger near the end zone for a touchdown.

Tu’uta Inoke and Cal Poly’s defense have been a pleasantly productive corps over the first two games. By Owen Main

The following goal-line stand by the Mustangs was the height of their momentum. On the ensuing drive, ASU had the ball inside the one yard line for a first down. Two reviewed plays later, Cal Poly stopped a fourth down play via a Fernando Cabico interception. Cabico was in the game because Chris Fletcher left the game with an ankle injury on the play before.

Cabico’s interception hushed the crowd of 46,500 and brought a buzz on the Cal Poly bench that was palpable. The Mustangs got a first down on the ensuing drive, but couldn’t harness the momentum and ride it to another score.

To have a chance to win, the Mustangs had to have a number of breaks, and they almost got them. Along with two turnovers caused by Cal Poly’s defense, two punts were muffed by Arizona State kick returners. Both times the ball was pounced-on by a Sun Devil before Cal Poly could get to it, but Cal Poly was painfully close to having the ball with great field position in both cases. Punting was something that let the Mustangs down at times in Montana, but Stephen Pyle punted the ball eight times for an average of over 40 yards per and pinned Arizona State inside the 20 yard-line three times. In a near-upset like this, there are always a few “what-ifs.” Special teams turnovers were the what-ifs on Saturday.

A few muffed punts were tantalizingly close to turnovers in Cal Poly’s favor. By Owen Main

Tim Walsh said after the game that there were a number of things Cal Poly still has to improve on. Despite the opening-night win and the solid performance against Arizona State, Cal Poly’s offense has still only averaged just over 20 points per game, which isn’t likely to be enough in the Big Sky.

Chris Brown, Tim Walsh, and Saga Tuitele all have to find a way to have more passing efficiency. Cal Poly fans who clamor for more passing are longing for the days of Cole Stanford at this point. Maybe that’s Cal Poly’s next wrinkle. The way their schedule is laid-out they’ll sure need a few more.