Cal Poly vs. South Dakota State: What to look for

Sophomore Kori Garcia has a real chance to prove he can make big plays on Saturday in South Dakota. The Mustangs will need him to do so if they are to have a chance on the road. By Owen Main

When Cal Poly plays South Dakota State on Saturday in Brookings, SD, there’s going to be a lot to look out for. Can the Mustangs bounce back from a flat-out disappointing opening-game defeat? Can they get a win and take a little pressure off themselves, proving that they can win without playmakers like Kristaan Ivory and Cam Akins?

Here are a few things to look for on Saturday.

Who’s healthy?

Last season, the Mustangs were decimated early-on. After games at Fresno State and Colorado State, they had lost a starting quarterback for the season, which is bad enough. On top of that, offensive linemen started to go down, defensive linemen played the rest of the season with injuries, and really the team was never again at full-strength.

Perhaps that’s the way a football season goes, but it doesn’t have to be like that.

This year, instead of playing two solid FBS teams, Cal Poly kicked-off their season against a lower-tier FBS team in New Mexico State in their only FBS matchup this season.

The Mustangs seem to have come out of the game relatively healthy — especially at skill positions. This could bode well for this week. The bye week is next week for the Mustangs, but the health of players at thin positions like running back, offensive line, etc… will be things to keep an eye on this week.

Quarterback

Cal Poly’s offense seemed predictable last week — something the triple option doesn’t have to be. Head coach Tim Walsh didn’t take quarterback Chris Brown out of the game until midway through the fourth quarter, presumably because he still had confidence that it wasn’t Brown’s fault that the offense wasn’t moving.

So, how effective will Brown be? If he isn’t, how quickly will Walsh go to Graves. Mustang fans are sick of the revolving door, but unlike last year, it has potential to be a positive this year if everyone can get the mixture just right.

Will the offense be effective?

Which brings us to the offense at-large. In the second half against New Mexico State, things looked really, really bad. The inability for the Mustangs to put any real drive together had to be a little disheartening.

This week they have a new opportunity to move the ball again. They learned last week that they can’t hang their hats on a good first half. Everyone at this level makes adjustments and Cal Poly will have to do so as well.

I’m a big fullback dive guy — probably too much so. I believe that in order to run a triple option effectively over the course of an entire game or season, the fullback dive has to be functional and has to be utilized early and often. As far as I can remember or see from the play-by-play chart from the last game, the Mustangs managed zero such plays in the second half last week. Will they stick with it this week and will that parlay into more consistent movement of the ball on offense.

Turnovers

For all the ineptitude the Cal Poly offense showed in the second half, there was a single play that killed the only spark they had. After the Mustangs defense drew an Aggie turnover, Chris Brown threw an errant pitch on the ensuing play, giving New Mexico State the ball back right away.

At whatever level, turnovers in football are killers. Brown committed two last week and I wonder if Walsh will even give him the opportunity to commit more than one against South Dakota State on Saturday.

Crunch Time

In the end, I think Cal Poly plays a decent game tomorrow, keeping themselves in the game against a really good South Dakota State team. The Jackrabbits stayed with top-25 and SEC opponent Missouri last week before losing 38-18. Cal Poly will do well to keep them under 30 points, which means the offense will have to come out of hibernation and then some.

I don’t know whether Cal Poly has enough playmakers left to put up big points on the road, but that’s why they play the game. This should at least be a fun game to watch until the end.