With the clock expiring in overtime, Cal Poly forward Mark Crowe banked in a three-pointer and the Mustangs beat Bethune-Cookman on Saturday night in Mott Athletics Center. After scrapping back from a late multi-possession deficit in regulation and once again in overtime, it was a finish fitting of the somewhat frantic game it was. Donovan Fields led all scorers with 28 points. Marcellus Garrick finished with 13 points and Crowe’s game-winning three pointer gave him 10 points on the night.

The game on Saturday was the Mustangs’ only game over a two-week span (Dead Week and Finals Week are to thank for that), but we did get to see some improvement in-person for the Mustangs.

Bethune-Cookman beat the Mustangs last season and won what is probably the weakest conference in all of Division I college basketball. Still, they took the Mustangs to the wire in a game that was really fun to watch. The win moves Cal Poly’s record to 3-5 on the young season. 

Find the box score from the game here. 

Chef Don

With 28 points on Saturday, Donovan Fields earned his first Big West Conference Player of the Week award.

Donovan Fields was flat-out cooking early in the game. The senior point guard from Newburgh, NY showed off from three point range, mid range, and off the dribble inside. For his 28-point performance, Fields earned himself the Big West Athlete of the Week award. The last Mustang to earn that was Victor Joseph last season.

Fittingly, Joseph was in the crowd on Saturday night with Fields and fellow senior Marcellus Garrick verbally engaging him throughout the game, resulting in a number of wide grins for all parties.

The win was Cal Poly’s third overall this season. 

The Crowe

Cal Poly hosted Bethune-Cookman at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, CA 12/8/18

Mark Crowe has been developing steadily since his redshirt freshman season last year. In 2017-18, the Texas native scored just over 2 points per game and shot 25 percent from three-point range. With some work in the offseason, Crowe has been a much bigger contributor so far this year, averaging nearly 11 points per game (good for second on the team) while shooting 47 percent from deep.

Crowe’s versatility on the defensive end paired with improved shooting have earned him the second most minutes on this year’s Mustang roster, one that is probably as set in its rotation and roles as it has been at this time during any of the past few seasons.  

Who’s getting better?

A team picked in the preseason to finish eighth out of nine teams in the preseason, the question I’m always asking is, “Who is making little improvements game-to-game?”

Two players I noticed who finally seem confident and totally engaged are freshmen Daxton Carr and Junior Ballard. Ballard made his first three-pointer at home and Carr’s energetic dunk in the first half helped keep the Mustangs out in front. Freshman Tuukka Jaakkola has also shown some improvement in video streams that have been available. All three will need to be real contributors for Cal Poly to play the way they want to on both ends come conference play. 

The Road Ahead

After taking finals this week, Cal Poly will head to Haas Pavillion in Berkeley to take on Cal on Saturday, followed by a quick trip to Bakersfield next Tuesday to play future conference opponent CSU Bakersfield. The next home game will be the Saturday before Christmas, when the Mustangs host UTA. The Mavericks, who beat Cal Poly easily 77-56 last season are just 3-6 this year. 

Photos by Owen Main. For more photos, visit photos.fansmanship.com . 

Day two of Cal Poly football camp began a little after 9:00am on Saturday morning. As the morning sun bathed over Doerr Family Field, Cal Poly’s offense, specifically the skill position players were the most vocal and energetic. 

Coming off injury

Quarterback Khaleel Jenkins looks as though he hasn’t missed a beat after missing most of last season due to injury. Cal Poly actually has five quarterbacks in camp, including Jake Jeffrey — who took most of the snaps last season — and redshirt freshman Kyle Reid. 

A new addition

Preseason All-American Joe Protheroe was not at practice, and for good reason. His wife gave birth to their third child this week. I don’t think Cal Poly fans will lose any sleep over Protheroe knowing the plays. He is expected to begin practicing in plenty of time to be available for their first game.

Hold onto the ball

It’s clear from talking with Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh and others around the program that ball security is a priority this season. Things happening in practice also made that apparent to anybody watching. Fumbling is a weird beast, but here’s hoping the added conscious awareness can help the Mustangs win the turnover battle. When they don’t, things can go downhill fast. 

Odds and ends

• Bradley Mickey, a redshirt sophomore from Arroyo Grande who missed the beginning of last season with an injury, has switched his number to 17 this season. Seventeen is the number of Mickey’s friend Ryan Teixeira, who passed away in March 2017. It is also the namesake of the charity — 17 Strong — that he started. You can find it at seventeenstrong.org .
• A few freshman were interesting to see out on the field. As they start practice at the college level for the first time, it’s always fun to observe who is still wide-eyed and who comes into camp with a college football mentality. Among the guys I caught a glimpse of, quarterback Jalen Hamler (Lawndale) was probably the one I watched the most. He looks fast. 
  This season, freshmen can play in up to four games and still keep their redshirt. This is a big deal for a Cal Poly program that has traditionally redshirted a LOT of their players. If the rule had been in place a season ago, Cal Poly might have used players like quarterback Kyle Reid alongside Jake Jeffrey as the season wound down. 
• Cal Poly will play their first game on September 1st in Fargo, North Dakota against the best FCS team in the nation — North Dakota State. The Bison seem like they win the national championship every season. The Mustangs’ schedule, start to finish, is probably more difficult than last year’s, despite having no FBS opponents on the slate (a rarity). In conference play the Mustangs will take on Montana at home and Montana State, Eastern Washington, and Northern Arizona all on the road. 
• I taped a podcast with head coach Tim Walsh last week that I’m hoping goes up before the weekend is over. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher — just search Fansmanship. 

Photos by Owen Main. Browse the gallery online and purchase photos here. 

You can also just contribute to the cause via Paypal (owen@fansmanship.com) or Venmo

On Friday night, Kyle Colvin dropped 19 points and Carter Gran added 14 and Mission Prep held-on late to beat Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo.

One thing that always strikes me about Arroyo Grande is how they play together. The Eagles almost always pass-up an OK shot for a really good shot. On this night, Mission did the same at home and finished with the victory.

Photos by Owen Main. To view all photos click here

Atascadero beat Righetti to move to 2-0 and Paso Robles downed San Luis Obispo, dropping the Tigers to 0-2 in the young league season.

In their junior season, it looks like the Leaupepe twins are coming into their own. On Thursday night, Dynn Leaupepe scored 29 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished five assists. Not to be outdone, Lynn scored 26 points of her own to go with nine rebounds and two assists in Cal Poly’s 78-67 win over Blue-Green rival UCSB.

Dynn Leaupepe shows some emotion after an and-one bucket on Thursday night. By Owen Main

Hannah Gilbert played a great defensive game, fronting UCSB’s big post players all night while tallying 13 points and seven rebounds. Forward Amanda Lovely also had a monster game with 8 points and 12 rebounds.

Cal Poly was down 35-29 at halftime, but outscored the Gauchos 49-32 in the second half to pull away. Coco Miller went 7-13 from three-point range for UCSB to pace them with 23 points. Onome Jemerigbe used her quickness to get to the rim and score 17, but Cal Poly’s game-plan of laying off a number of Gaucho guards and sag and help on UCSB’s bigs really paid-off as the game wore-on.

Cal Poly will host CSUN on Saturday night at Mott Athletics Center at 4:00pm.

Photos by Owen Main. Find them all by clicking here.

The Pac 8 will be a fun league to keep an eye on this year. On Tuesday night, many SLO County teams kicked off the new year with league games.

Girls

San Luis Obispo hung on to beat Atascadero 55-52. The game was physical both ways — about 30 fouls were called in the first half. SLO’s Lily Svetich was in early foul trouble, but the Tigers maintained a healthy lead until the final frame, when the Greyhounds had a strong comeback bid fall short.

Photos by Owen Main – Find them all here

Mission Prep, Righetti, and St. Joseph were also winners on the opening night.

On the boys’ side, Mission Prep, St. Joseph, Atascadero, and Arroyo Grande all won.

Lots of close games and lots of great basketball to be played. League play is in full swing.

After losing their first two games, Cal Poly men’s basketball traveled East on Wednesday night to battle Fresno State and try to get their first win of the year. Instead, they may have just got more questions.

David Nwaba threw down two nasty dunks in the first half on Wednesday night. By Owen Main

Fresno State used a 24-9 run over the final 12:15 of the first half to take a 12-point lead into halftime and never looked back. The Mustangs looked good early with sophomore wing David Nwaba slamming down two fast-break dunks to give Cal Poly a 10-7 lead. But the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Mustangs 26-14 in the first half during the decisive run.

“A pivotal part of the game was when they attacked the glass and got three or four possessions at one time. That’s back-breaking, said Cal Poly head coach, Joe Callero. “Playing defense doesn’t matter. You have to finish the play. We haven’t finished the play. We haven’t had that mindset of finishing that play every time. Hopefully it’s something we develop here before conference play, obviously.”

Cal Poly inched back into the game, cutting the lead to five with 14:05 left in the game. But then the Mustangs went cold, not scoring for 6:12 as Fresno State built back an insurmountable 14-point lead. Most of their scoring droughts are coming when starters go out and rotations change.

“We’re not complimentary yet,” said Callero. “We may have turned the ball over once [in the first half], but we didn’t compliment each other for 20 minutes. We played good for 10 to 12 minutes and then there’s eight more minutes where we’re just out there. We’re not complimenting each other, and I think that’s the biggest issue we’re still trying to iron out with the team right now.”

Chris Eversley led Cal Poly with 14 points and seven rebounds. David Nwaba scored in double figures for the second time in three games, tallying 11 points. Jamal Johnson and Brian Bennett added nine. Kyle Odister was the only other Mustang to score — he had three points. Only five Cal Poly players — the starting five — scored all game.

Cal Poly shot 17-53 for the game, a 32 percent clip.

“Those are shots we usually make,” said Eversley. “Those are shots we make in other gyms as well, especially at home… . It’s just a mixture of making the shots when they’re open and then just shot selection.”

David Nwaba brought a lot of energy early for Cal Poly on Wednesday. By Owen Main

In previous years, Cal Poly could always be counted on to play with some extra savvy, even if they weren’t physically matched-up with whatever team they were playing. This season, they seem to be a better physical match with longer, more athletic players at some positions, but they haven’t yet garnered results for Callero and his team.

“I’m not surprised by our let-down because it’s still what we do in practice,” said Callero. “We have not sustained a practice. A team has not established a practice ethic that will sustain high-major basketball to win games… . We’ll have 20 minutes of really great practice. We’ll have 10 minutes of  good practice, and we’ll have 10 minutes of a poor practice, and the bottom drops out of the concentration level.”

Fresno State sported four guards and a forward who each averaged at or above 9.7 points per game. Four of the top-eight players in their rotation are freshmen. Five players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs on Wednesday night, led by Allen Huddleston, who dropped 14. Overall, Fresno State out-rebounded Cal Poly 45-28, including a 10-6 advantage on offensive rebounds.

“A pivotal part of the game was when they attacked the glass and got three or four possessions at one time,” said Callero. “That’s back-breaking.”

The Mustangs played 12 players including freshman Taylor Sutlive, who went scoreless in his first action in a Cal Poly uniform. In all, non-starters only took six shots.

“Right now we’re really working on trying to sustain an energy and a focus,” said Cal Poly coach Joe Callero. “We came out really trying to stay focused and energized. I thought we had a nice start. We have not found a rotation off the bench that gives us any sustainability, something we have to clearly work on.”

Callero also called Nwaba “probably the most important ingredient” to keep the energy level up. “But he fatigues so quickly,” said Callero. “He goes a million miles an hour and gives us energy and then, oh boy, he’s gotta get a five minute rest, and during that period we’ve got to be able to find that next energy, and that next rotation — something we’ve got to work on.”

The Mustangs are 0-3 for the first time since Joe Callero’s first season at the helm.

“It’s tough,” said Eversley. “Nobody wants to be in this position, but at the same time it’s a marathon, not a sprint… . We want it like this. We want to be in adverse situations so we’re sitting in the Honda Center on a Saturday night preparing to play on Sunday in March.”

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Russ Smith is the kind of player who can lead Louisville into another deep tournament run this season. By Owen Main

The last two NCAA men’s basketball National Champions have come from the state of Kentucky. Louisville and Lexington are 77 miles apart and this state is clearly the center of today’s college basketball universe.

Attend one game in downtown Louisville and you’ll quickly learn. The defending national champion Louisville Cardinals are not just a championship team — they are a championship program.

Pregame

The KFC Yum! Center, Louisville’s home for the past five years, is a first-class facility, sitting on the water in downtown Louisville. On game nights, there is a palpable buzz, with thousands of fans magnetically streaming toward the arena — all adorned in red and white. The Yum! Center is only a few miles from the University — a relatively straight-shot for students who come to games. For alumni and fans from the community, the Yum! Center sits in a prime downtown location. Restaurants abound for pre and post-game festivities and everything downtown seems within walking distance. Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky, but it’s a manageable city to be sure.

In-game atmosphere

The Yum! Center seem like an NBA-caliber arena and the team that plays in it has lots of players who are soon to be pro’s. It holds over 22,000 fans (fifth largest college basketball arena in the country) and is only three years old. It feels brand new.

After visiting the Yum! Center, I’m beginning to think that probably every mid-western college basketball fan base must be really good. The sea of red and white throughout the arena undulated with every big Louisville play. When Hofstra made a run to cut the lead to seven points early in the second half of Tuesday night’s game, the fans came even more alive — willing their team to defensive stops and giving energy with every bucket.

In about five minutes, Louisville’s lead that had been whittled to seven points quickly ballooned to 15, 20, and 25 points. The crowd of 20,112 at the Yum! Center was rocking and things were back in balance.

The Team

The Louisville Cardinals are the national champions, and they play like it. They ooze confidence on offense and are held to an insanely high standard defensively by their coach, Rick Pitino.

Guards Russ Smith and Chris Jones both put in very good all-around performances — defending about as well as they were able to score. Particularly impressive to me was the inside play of forward Montrezl Harrell. Harrell plays bigger than his height (he is listed at only 6′ 8″) and has a pretty polished game for a 19 year-old. He will be a force. One thing I always appreciate about Rick Pitino teams is the mental and physical pressure they put on an opponent. Hofstra’s guards looked like they were used to being in complete control. Up against Smith and Jones, though, they were frazzled at times. Pitino’s teams are always deep and they never let-up the pressure.

Recommendation

If you’re going to a game at the Yum! Center, make a night out of it. Dress warm and get downtown early for dinner. Rumor is that you might pay a little more on game day (night), but it’s probably worth it. Strike up a conversation with someone wearing red. Fans of all ages fill the streets before and after a game. Whoever you talk with you’re likely to get someone’s opinion on the state of college basketball. Culturally, it seems nobody is immune — and everyone has picked a side in this state. Red or Blue.

Two seasons ago, the University of Kentucky won the national title. Last season, it was Louisville’s turn.

As you drive in Kentucky anywhere near Lexington and Louisville, you are bound to see cars, houses, t-shirts, and flags adorned with Louisville red or Kentucky blue. Truly, this has to be the hub around which the world of college basketball spins.

Photos by Owen Main

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Cal Poly freshman Justin Dhillon (11) celebrates after his first-half goal on Friday night. By Owen Main

The old saying goes, “a tie is like kissing your sister.” Cal Poly and UCSB learned how a Blue-Green tie truly feels, ending knotted at one goal apiece on Friday night in front of a sold-out 11,075 fans at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

In a hotly-contested match, Cal Poly scored early, gave up a goal at the end of the first half, and held-on for a 1-1 tie.

The game featured big plays by freshmen on both sides. Cal Poly’s Justin Dhillon began the scoring in the ninth minute. The tallest Mustang on the pitch, Dhillon headed a George Malki corner kick past UCSB goalkeeper Josh McNeely to give Cal Poly an early 1-0 lead. The Mustangs would give up the lead when UCSB’s Achille Campion found the back of the net in the final minute of the first half to tie the score. It would be the final goal of the match for either side.

“It was incredible,” said Dhillon of his first Blue-Green Rivalry experience as a player. “The fans here are awesome. I love representing my school and especially scoring a goal in front of them was unbelievable.”

With a relatively small team, Cal Poly’s corner kicks don’t usually get sent straight into the box, but Dhillon, the tallest field player on the pitch for the Mustangs, took advantage. The play that led to Dhillon’s goal was contrary to  how Cal Poly generally wants to play.

“We wanted to move the ball and the reality of tonight is that we had a very very difficult time communicating with the players on the field with all the noise,” said Holocher, who couldn’t give usual instructions on corner kicks. “So, for whatever reason, we played more direct than we normally do.

“It was a great goal. Really well-placed corner by George and [Dhillon] headed it down which is great. It’s good for him as a freshman to get a goal in this kind of environment.”

Dhillon’s ball squirted past the UCSB keeper and he and the team sprinted toward the Mustang Manglers section.

“George crossed the ball off a corner and I headed it home,” said Dhillon. “I just took off on a full sprint. I may have been tired but all that kind of slipped away, I was so excited, the adrenalyne was rushing through everything and it was unbelievable.”

With the tie, UCSB failed to win for the first time in 2013 Big West play. The Gauchos came into the game on a seven-game winning streak.

“They are number-one in our conference,” said Dhillon of the Gauchos.  “They are a very good team and I think we put up a good performance against them and ended up being the first [team] they’ve not won against in nine games.”

Two of Cal Poly’s seniors – George Malki and Chris Bernardi – team-up in their final home version of the Blue-Green Rivalry. By Owen Main

Holocher gave credit to UCSB after the game when asked how good they really are.

“I think they’re good enoguh to make a run in the NCAA playoffs for sure,” said Holocher. “I think they can beat anybody. They’ve got enough good, strong, big, physical individual players that make things difficult.”

For eight Cal Poly seniors, this was their final home edition of the Blue-Green Rivalry. It left some with a bitter taste.

“I’m definitely hurting inside, but I know my team and myself left everything on the field tonight and some things just didn’t go our way,” said Mackenzie Pridham, the Big West’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year and current goals leader.

Home fans and the Mustangs themselves were poised for a game-winning goal and a raucous student section having an opportunity to rush the field. Instead, fans had to settle for the tie.

“I kind of feel empty, in a way,” said Malki. “I’m glad we came out with a tie, but I’m disappointed that we didn’t come out with a win.”

Freshmen, though, may have played the two biggest roles in the game and cemented their roles in this matchup for years to come. Dhillon scored his second career goal and on the UCSB side, the freshman goalie, McNeely made his impact felt as well.

“Their goalkeeper had an unbelievable game,” said Pridham. “In my opinion he came up with four or five big-time game-changing saves. He had three or four on me, one on Ari, and a copule other big-time ones. He was on it.”

Cal Poly and UCSB play again on November 9th in the regular-season finale in Isla Vista. The game will be televised on Fox Sports West.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Cal Poly made almost evrey miske you can make in their 24-10 loss to Yale on Saturday. By Owen Main

This was supposed to be the week for Cal Poly to “get right.” After winning their Big Sky Conference opener two Thursdays ago in Portland, Cal Poly was supposed to find their legs and rhythm against a visiting Yale team.

Instead the Mustangs turned the ball over four times, had at least two big special teams plays against them, and committed nine penalties for 91 yards including at least two after defensive stops in the second half on drives where Yale ended up scoring.

“Give Yale credit and give us criticism. I can take it,” said Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh after the game.

So, credit to Yale. They executed a drive that took 5:37 off the clock in the fourth quarter to go up by two touchdowns and put the game away. They executed. Like Walsh said, they deserve a lot of credit.

That being said, here is a quick list of the ten or so REALLY bad, back-breaking plays for Cal Poly:

First Quarter

• Chris Brown pitch to Kristaan Ivory fumbled on the 8th play from scrimmage for Cal Poly.
• Cal Poly punter Paul Hundley has his punt blocked.
• On the ensuing drive, Yale’s Derek Russell (the holder) runs a fake field goal into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown to put Yale up 7-0.

Second Quarter

• On 2nd and 6 from the Yale 27, Chis Brown throws an interception.
• Willie Tucker’s knee is injured and he is lost for the game.
• Wesley Flowers picks up a 15-yard personal foul penalty after Yale is stopped on first down inside their own ten yard-line
• A Yale punt hits a Cal Poly special-teamer, putting the Cal Poly defense back on the field and giving Yale good field position late in the first quarter.

Third Quarter

• After stalling Yale’s drive on third down Andrew Alcaraz picks up a personal foul, extending Yale’s opening drive. The Bulldogs would capitalize and kick a field goal on the drive.
• Cal Poly once again stalls a Yale drive on third and five, but Vante Smith-Johnson is flagged for a personal foul, giving the Bulldogs another automatic first-down. Yale would finish the drive with a touchdown to go up 17-10.
• A ray of hope is extinguished. Chris Brown seems to find Cam Akins for a 67-yard touchdown, but it comes back because of an illegal formation penalty. It goes down as a five-yard penalty, but really costs the Mustangs 72 yards and seven points.

Fourth Quarter

• Cal Poly played the fourth quarter relatively cleanly. They couldn’t stop Yale on their final scoring drive that ate up most of the fourth quarter and Chris Brown did throw a desperation interception, but generally-speaking, Cal Poly played a clean (if ineffective) final quarter. ** Interesting stat — the Mustangs were out-possessed 11:03 – 3:57 in the fourth quarter.

There are so many reasons why this was a really bad loss for Cal Poly. Maybe I’ll find some silver lining at the end of this, but for now, here is a list of reasons why this game was really a stinker for the Mustangs — the criticism if you will.

1) They had eight days to prepare

After playing an inspired second-half last week, Cal Poly seemed they may have hit their stride as Big Sky play began. From a fan’s perspective, an eight-day-day break followed by a game against an Ivy League school was everything someone could ask for in terms of notoriety matched with a team that would be a decent tune-up for the remainder of the Big Sky Conference schedule.

Instead, Cal Poly played really bad, sloppy football. Contrasted with Yale’s virtually mistake-free game, the Mustangs were outclassed and outplayed by a team with no athletic scholarships.

2) The 2:05PM start

I’m not just trying to find things to complain about here. I think the time of day that college athletes play probably makes a difference, especially if it’s earlier in the day. Late September and October are traditionally warm times in San Luis Obispo county and Saturday didn’t disappoint. Temperature at game time was over 85 degrees. The fans who were there seemed more concerned with staying in the shade than getting themselves into a fevered pitch. It’s true, the team didn’t really give the fans any reason to get excited, but I was still less than impressed with the energy.

Getting people to go outdoors to sit in the hot sun in the middle of the afternoon usually doesn’t bode well in San Luis Obispo. The reported attendance for the game was 8,376 fans, which means that the stadium was about three-quarters full.

I don’t know if the 2:05 game time had anything to do with it. The team definitely didn’t give them a lot to cheer for, but the energy from the crowd left a lot to be desired. It’s the greatest thing ever for a visiting team and makes it like a slow-moving nightmare for home fans.

3) The crowd was… there.

I’m going to take a shot here that may not make everyone happy.

The student crowd at the soccer game on Friday night was much larger, more energetic, and vocal for 90 straight minutes than the football student section was at any time during Friday’s game.

At least two students I talked to during the game talked about knowing people who didn’t come because of the late night they’d had on Friday night. Whatever you want to say about whether the narrative of students not getting there in HUGE numbers, the results showed. There were a number of students in the sunny student section, but the game was far from a sellout and lots of students left after halftime, making the scene during the second half more quiet, weird, and morose, especially late in the third and early in the fourth quarter.

4) They got off to a slow start. Again.

Cal Poly simply has got to get first quarters and first halves figured out. Cal Poly took the opening kickoff and promptly fumbled a pitch. They stopped Yale at the goal line only to give up a fake-They got down in the game 7-0 and only managed a 10-7 lead at halftime. The team was never able to flip the switch and show the sharp, inspired play that allowed them to beat Portland State. That Portland State game seems like so long ago right now…

“I had slow eyes today,” said Brown, describing his reads on the triple option. “I take full responsbility.”

Cal Poly managed only one first-down in the second half. Ten of their 13 drives totaled five plays or less.

5) Turnovers

Four turnovers for a triple-option team is not good. Tim Walsh won’t have that kind of performance long-term. Cal Poly fumbled, was intercepted, turned the ball over on special teams, and made two or three defensive penalties (see above) on third down that were basically turnovers, giving the opposing team a second chance. Like a good team, Yale captialized.

6) Special teams play

I have gone easy on Cal Poly’s return game, but their special teams in general, aside from the play of their two kickers, has been somewhere between nervous-making and a roll of the dice. Chris Nicholls, a preseason pick for All-Big Sky Conference on special teams hasn’t been used much to return punts, players blocking on punt returns don’t seem to have a clue about their surroundings, and returners are allowing good punts to put Cal Poly’s offense in a tough spot, deep in their own territory.

In this game, Special Teams gave up a touchdown on a fake punt and touched a Yale punt to turn the ball over.

I will give credit to Sullivan Grosz for a blocked field goal in the first half — it was a big positive special teams play — but teams will continue to have confidence that their “special” special teams plays can work against Cal Poly.

This year, the punt return team has been scored on twice in one game and the field goal unit has had a kick blocked. I might be forgetting a play, but there hasn’t been one return from Cal Poly where I’ve said to myself, “that could have gone the distance.” On punt returns, they averaged 8.5 yards last year. This season they are averaging 3.4 yards per punt return while their opponents average 13.5 yards.

Needless to say, special teams still has a lot of work to do.

7) National implications of a “top” Big Sky team losing to an Ivy League school

This is one of those things that isn’t tangible. Cal Poly playing Yale is a game that should have brought with it a rooting interest from the rest of the Big Sky and the entire West Coast of FCS football. I’m a big believer in East Coast bias with most things, including polls in college football. Cal Poly losing to an Ivy League school will have implications both for them and possibly for other schools in the Big Sky come playoff time.

A baseball equivalent would be if Cal Poly went and played a random (and not very good) East coast team and then got swept. It doesn’t help Cal Poly and it doesn’t help anyone they play.

Willie Tucker routinely goes head over heels to make plays for Cal Poly. It is unknown how long he’ll be out for. By Owen Main

8) Injury to Willie Tucker

Willie Tucker has been Cal Poly’s best receiver the past two years. He is explosive and has great hands. Him getting hurt was a part of a very moody and quiet crowd atmosphere. The longer the game went on, the weirder it got.

The extent of Tucker’s injuries aren’t known yet, but Cal Poly better find some more playmakers if he is out for an extended period of time. Look for Cam Akins to get more time on the field next week.

9) It’s all Big Sky the rest of the way

Cal Poly’s remaining seven games are all against Big Sky opponents. In order, they are Weber State, Montana, Northern Arizona, UC Davis, Sacramento State, Eastern Washington, and Northern Colorado. To make the playoffs, they probably have to win six of the seven games because an at-large bid with a (6-2) conference record, (8-4) overall record, and a loss to Yale probably won’t be looked at favorably by the playoff committee, even though two of those losses would have come against FBS schools.

Silver Lining?

The silver lining may be that Cal Poly has almost their entire Big Sky schedule ahead of them. They are still undefeated in conference, so technically all of their season goals are still attainable. Walsh said that they could go 1-7 in conference if they play like they did on Saturday, but for now Cal Poly is focused on Weber State.

The other nice thing is that there was some accountability taken, especially by Walsh and Brown.

“I take responsibility for it. They’re my players,” said Walsh. “I believe in the guys that are playing, but we didn’t play Cal Poly football the way we’re capable of playing.”

Were there any backbreaking plays that stood out to Walsh right after the game?

“Two personal fouls in the third quarter, the ball hitting a guy on a punt, a scramble for 52 yards, a wide receiver not lining up on the line of scrimmage that scores a 70 yard touchdown — I think that’s enough mistakes to cost you a game,” said Walsh.

Are the mistakes correctable?

“I think everything’s correctable. I’m kind of the ultimate optimist on that,” said Walsh “It sure wasn’t today during the course of the game. When we’ve had bad performances in the past, we’ve always had the opportunity to battle back — our character started to show. I don’t think we showed great character today as a team and that’s probably one of my biggest disappointments.”

What does Brown need to work on?

“You don’t want turnovers,” Brown said. “You don’t want turnovers, you don’t want turnovers. I would say it’s not because of lack of experience it’s just fundamentals, staying true to my fundamentals and what our coaches are teaching me and what our coaches are teaching other players.”

How do you limit turnovers?

“Going back to basics,” said Brown. “Going back to base one. That’s the only way we can move forward.”

On slow starts –

“It’s on us to come out and play harder. I take full responsibility as far as keeping our offense going and keeping the tempo up, keeping the linemen’s head up, keeping our receivers’ head up…”

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Mackenzie Pridham winds up for the first goal of the game. By Owen Main

Two years ago, Cal Poly men’s soccer head coach Paul Holocher talked to me about a more open, visually pleasing style of play Cal Poly was trying to implement. It has taken some time and has been a process, but the benefits are being reaped for the Mustangs and soccer fans who like goals.

With a 5-1 dismantling of UC Riverside on Friday night, Cal Poly is now second in the nation with 2.7 goals per game. Just as importantly, the team moves to (1-0) in Big West Conference play and (8-3-0) overall. Mackenzie Pridham, who scored Cal Poly’s first goal on Friday, came into the game 11th in the nation in goals and netted his ninth in 11 games. He took a pass, spun to his left and scored with his left foot into the far right corner.

Cal Poly took their 1-0 lead into halftime, but turned up the intensity in the second half. Freshmen Ari Lassiter and Justin Dhillon provided a spark off the bench as Lassiter netted two goals to match Dhillon’s two assists. Dhillon also scored the first goal of his career within the final minute of the game to cap-off Cal Poly’s seventh game this season where they’ve scored 3-plus goals.

While there are always some scary moments with Cal Poly’s wide open style of play, the Mustangs continue honing their craft. The question remains whether their ball-control, open style of play can stand-up through an entire Big West Conference season with the likes of 6th-ranked Cal State Northridge, 25th-ranked UC Irvine, and two games against UCSB still on the schedule.

On Sunday, Holocher’s group hosts Cal State Fullerton at Alex G. Spanos Stadium at 3:00 PM.

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