Cal Poly matchup to watch: Mustangs’ Dano Graves vs. SDSU’s Taryn Christion

Cal Poly football fans who may have been concerned following Chris Brown’s graduation last spring have reason to feel optimistic with the Mustangs’ quarterback play through the first two weeks of the season.

Fifth-year senior Dano Graves has turned in back-to-back strong performances, guiding Cal Poly’s triple-option offense like the veteran he is.

He rushed for a career-high 140 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening loss at Nevada, and followed that up by passing for 130 yards and two touchdowns and running for 98 more yards and another score against San Diego a week ago.

At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Graves has demonstrated the physical toughness required to effectively run the Mustangs’ offense, often being tackled more than 30 times per game.

“I’ve got to be smart out there and pick and choose when to take shots, when to get north and get the first down and when to get down and avoid hits,” said Graves, a former star at Northern California prep powerhouse Folsom High. “… It’s something that I accept and it’s something that I enjoy doing. Football is a contact game, I’ve been doing it my whole life, you know.

“Bring it on.”

On the other side of the ball Saturday night, No. 9-ranked South Dakota State will start Taryn Christion, a dynamic 6-2, 215 pound sophomore.

Christion beat out senior Zach Lujan for the starting spot in preseason training camp, and he nearly led the Jackrabbits to a season-opening win over nationally-ranked TCU two weeks ago.

In two games, Christion has complete 43 of 58 pass attempts for 557 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. He’s also rushed for two more scores as part of a talented and balanced South Dakota State offense.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Cal Poly matchup to watch: Mustangs’ Dano Graves vs. SDSU’s Taryn Christion."