Cal Poly football aiming for third straight win against Montana Grizzlies

When college football teams head into fall training camp each summer, tangible goals are outlined for the upcoming season. One of the first proverbial boxes to check is almost always winning a conference championship.

Even for a program like Cal Poly that struggled its way to a four-win campaign in 2015, there’s a clearly defined expectation of contending for a Big Sky Conference title. And though it’s been four years since the Mustangs brought a championship trophy back to San Luis Obispo, players and coaches don’t shy away from those lofty goals.

That’s why Saturday’s conference opener against perennial power and No. 6-ranked Montana — which won 12 consecutive Big Sky championships from 1998 to 2009 — should have Cal Poly football fans excited. Add in the enthusiasm provided by the student body during the annual Week of Welcome, and the 12:05 p.m. kickoff at Alex G. Spanos Stadium could be electric.

“There’s no question it’s a huge game to open the Big Sky,” head coach Tim Walsh said. “But, to be honest with you, in the Big Sky, every week everybody can beat everybody. It’s going to be pretty difficult for somebody to run the table and go 8-0.

“But you can’t go 8-0 if you don’t win the first one.”

The Mustangs (2-1) have played as well as anyone in the conference through the first three weeks of the season. They came up just short in overtime against FBS-level opponent Nevada in Week 1 and responded with consecutive wins over San Diego and then-No. 9 South Dakota State.

Cal Poly’s triple-option offense hasn’t missed a beat, with senior quarterback Dano Graves directing the Mustangs to 392.3 rushing yards per contest, the No. 1 mark in the country by more than 50 yards.

Junior fullback Joe Protheroe enters Saturday’s matchup as the nation’s leading rusher and is coming off a career-best 217-yard, two-touchdown effort that earned him Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“I think they’re a much better football team this year,” second-year Montana coach Bob Stitt said. “They were a good team last year, and they’re much better this year. They’ve got a quarterback that’s more than a runner. He can hurt you with the passing game.”

The Grizzlies (2-0) have turned in two largely different performances this month. They scored 35 second-half points to pull away from Saint Francis in the season opener. In Week 2, Montana scored one offensive touchdown and was shutout in the second half of a 20-14 upset of No. 3 Northern Iowa.

The constant has been the frenetic pace the Griz play at offensively, having run 151 plays in two games. Fifth-year senior quarterback Brady Gustafson has another year of experience to lean on, though Montana’s vaunted aerial attack has yielded some inconsistent results so far.

“It’s one of those classic matchups, I guess you could say,” Walsh said. “Both defenses are playing pretty well. We run the ball, and they throw the ball. Let’s tee it up and see who can play better.”

The Griz and Mustangs rank first and second in the Big Sky in total defense, allowing 302 and 317 yards per contest, respectively. Both teams use a 4-3 base defensive front and feature a dynamic pass-rusher in Montana’s Caleb Kidder and Cal Poly’s Josh Letuligasenoa.

With each offense aiming to control the pace of play and consume time off the clock, the pressure will be on the defenses to make those game-altering plays.

That’s been easier said than done for the Griz recently.

The Mustangs have gotten the better of Montana two years in a row, earning a wild 20-19 victory last fall and defeating the Griz at home, 41-21, in 2014. Three years ago, Montana needed overtime to secure a 21-14 come-from-behind victory over the Graves-led Mustangs.

Nevertheless, there’s a certain buzz that comes with playing a two-time national champion program like Montana, which is known to have one of the best traveling fan bases in the conference.

“We’re not looking at it as if they’re this super team — anybody can be beat,” Cal Poly junior Kyle Lewis said. “There’s no type of intimidation in that sense. We just need to go out and play our game. I feel like if we do that, any game is possible to win.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Cal Poly football aiming for third straight win against Montana Grizzlies."