Sunday, September 02, 2007

Don't mess with Texas

Cal Poly used to enjoy its trips to Texas.
In 2003, the Mustangs opened the season with a program-defining 34-13 upset victory at I-A Texas-El Paso.
But their last two trips to the Lone Star State have been bad, bad news.
In 2005, they lost 14-7 at Texas State in the quarterfinals of the I-AA playoffs.
On Saturday, another loss in San Marcos, 38-35, in a somehow winnable game that was much more lopsided than the score indicated.
Cal Poly came in ranked No. 15 in the country.
Unranked Texas State was picked to finish fifth in its own conference, so if you’re wondering if it’s time to hit the panic button, it might just be.
Cal Poly next travels to I-A Idaho, which covered the spread and looked tougher than many would expect in a 38-10 loss to USC. Yes, that USC. The No. 1 team in all the land (FCS and FBS).
Idaho goes from USC to Cal Poly, which after Saturday’s game isn’t exactly sure who its No. 1 quarterback should be and is obviously young and very inexperienced on the defensive side of the ball.
And the botched fake punt attempt? ... I'll be shocked if they ever call that play again. The Mustangs are 0-for-3 on that one.
The most disappointing part of the game for the Cal Poly faithful was the struggle in the running game (on both sides).
The Mustangs’ touted running back combo of Ryan Mole and James Noble barely combined to rush for 100 yards. On the other side of the ball, the Mustangs’ usually stellar run defense allowed almost 400 yards rushing.
Cal Poly, a team built on a triple-option offense and a run-stuffing defense, isn’t going to win many games if those numbers continue - even if the fake punts start working

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is going to be a long season! I was worried about the defense....and why on earth would a fake punt even be considered after the Troy debacle?

Go Poly!

Anonymous said...

Hopefully they can settle on one quarterback -- I cannot remember a quarterback tandem ever becoming a winning tandem.

Truth Be Told said...

"Unranked Texas State was picked to finish fifth in its own conference, so if you’re wondering if it’s time to hit the panic button, it might just be."

Or maybe Texas State was underrated by being chosen fifth in the conference when they should have been ranked higher than that. That said, you really don't have as much to worry about as you think. #11 Ramses Barden is a force to be reckoned with and managed 207 yds on 8 receptions. Keep in mind that this was the first game testing a new offense. Again I feel Texas State was underrated coming into this game and both teams played a great and exciting ball game, so I wouldn't panic to much just yet. Maybe the teams will meet again in the playoffs. I just wouldn't count Cal Poly out just yet.

Anonymous said...

FIGHT ON,POLY!!!!
That guy not picked up by Bengals wouldn't fit in, unless he knows how to do jail time.
Good writing......GG