Cal Poly football matchup to watch: B.J. Nard vs. EWU’s Cooper Kupp

Defending Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp hasn’t been a successful venture for most programs in college football over the past three seasons.

He will be remembered as arguably the best pass-catcher in FCS history, with many of the all-time career records already to his credit. In his final lap through the Big Sky Conference — following much speculation he would declare for the NFL Draft last year — Kupp has gone about his business as usual.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior, who won the Walter Payton Award and was named the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year in 2015, leads the conference with 67 receptions for 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.

“They’re a very explosive team,” Cal Poly safety B.J. Nard said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons. I think they’re a very exciting team to play.”

For the No. 14-ranked Mustangs, containing Kupp and Eastern Washington’s high-flying offense will have to be a complete team effort. They had success against the dynamic wide receiver when the two teams met a year ago, holding Kupp to 21 yards on four receptions in a 42-41 overtime defeat.

This season, Cal Poly’s secondary ranks in the upper half of the Big Sky in pass defense, allowing 242.6 yards per game.

The starting quartet of Nard (34 tackles), redshirt freshman Kitu Humphrey (31), and juniors Jerek Rosales (30) and Kevin Griffin (27) have improved their open-field tackling from last season.

Reserves Mekai Sheffie, Aaryn Bouzos and Carter Nichols each have extend playing time under their belts as well, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mustangs use five or six defensive backs against Eastern Washington on Saturday night.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Cal Poly football matchup to watch: B.J. Nard vs. EWU’s Cooper Kupp."