Mustangs host Eastern Washington in matchup of prolific offenses

For the better part of the last decade, the road to the Big Sky Conference championship has gone through Eastern Washington.

The No. 3-ranked Eagles have won at least a share of the conference title four of the last six years, and they’re the last team not named North Dakota State to win the FCS national championship.

With a record-setting offense, overlooked defense and an aggressive head coach in Beau Baldwin, Eastern Washington’s football factory again appears to be the class of the conference.

That said, No. 14 Cal Poly and its unorthodox triple-option attack has as good a chance as any team to knock off the Eagles when the two teams meet at 6:05 p.m. Saturday inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

“This is a football game we’d love to win,” said head coach Tim Walsh, who is 0-4 against Eastern Washington since taking over at Cal Poly in 2009. “But I think it’s going to be an extremely difficult challenge for us.”

Having played one of the most difficult nonconference schedules in the country, Eastern Washington (7-1 overall, 5-0 Big Sky) seems like a lock for the 24-team FCS playoffs with winnable games against Idaho State and Portland State remaining to close out the regular season.

The Mustangs (6-2, 4-1 Big Sky) have suffered two close setbacks — at FBS team Nevada in overtime in the season opener and at conference-leading North Dakota last month — during a much improved 2016 season. They close the year with a road trip to Weber State and get Northern Colorado at home Nov. 19, and they will likely need to win both to secure a postseason berth.

“Coach Walsh has always done a great job,” Baldwin said of Cal Poly. “The thing that I’ve seen the most, they know who they are and they buy into it 100 percent. It’s impressive to watch.”

Both offenses figure to put on a show Saturday night.

Eastern Washington brings the No. 1 passing offense in the country to San Luis Obispo, and the Mustangs will counter with the nation’s top-ranked rushing attack. Both teams are averaging more than 37 points and 500 yards of offense per contest.

Eagles’ quarterback Gage Gubrud leads the FCS in passing yards (3,198) and touchdowns (31), and there’s an outside chance three wide receivers will have more than 1,000 yards by the end of the season.

All-American Cooper Kupp has already reached that threshold with 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns on 67 receptions. Kendrick Bourne isn’t far behind with 815 yards receiving and three touchdowns, and Shaq Hill has pulled in 44 passes for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games.

“Offensively, they’re going to take what you give them,” Cal Poly defensive coordinator Josh Brown said. “If you’re going to play max coverage stuff, then they’re going to run the ball. If you’re going to play guys in the box, they’re going to throw the ball.”

The Mustangs have a similarly balanced approach on offense.

Junior fullback Joe Protheroe is closing in on his first 1,000-yard season, needing 79 more to reach that milestone. He’s also scored 10 total touchdowns in seven games, despite being the focus of many opposing defenses.

Senior Kori Garcia is coming off a season-high 146-yard performance against Sacramento State last week, which moved him into sixth on Cal Poly’s all-time rushing list. Junior Kyle Lewis has proven he can beat opponents in a variety of ways, with a team-high 1,022 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns to his credit.

Then there’s senior quarterback Dano Graves, the most efficient passer in the Big Sky. He’s thrown 15 touchdowns against two interceptions and needed fewer than 100 attempts to pass for more than 1,000 yards through the first eight games.

The lingering questions ahead of Saturday night: Which defense will get the most stops? Who will be the sharpest on special teams?

Led by a trio of senior linebackers in Chris Santini, Josh Letuligasenoa and Joseph Gigantino, the Mustangs allow fewer yards and points per game than the Eagles.

Eastern Washington’s defense is anchored by senior safety Zach Bruce and senior middle linebacker Miquiyah Zamora, who combined to make 19 tackles against the Mustangs last season.

“We’ve got to do our deal and do it better than we did last week, there’s no question about that,” Walsh said. “If we do, playing at home, give ourselves an opportunity in the fourth quarter to win the game.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Mustangs host Eastern Washington in matchup of prolific offenses."