Cal Poly football matchup to watch: Joe Protheroe vs. UNC’s Trae Riek

The Cal Poly football team is knocking on the door of the FCS playoffs in the final week of the regular season, and fullback Joe Protheroe might deserve as much individual credit as any player on the roster for helping the Mustangs reach this point.

A preseason All-American and first-team all-Big Sky Conference performer, Protheroe has turned in a resilient junior season worthy of the recognition he received. Protheroe leads the Big Sky with 1,102 yards rushing on 202 attempts (5.5 yards per carry).

He’s one of three players in the Big Sky with 10 rushing touchdowns and has six 100-yard performances in nine games this season. Protheroe’s 122.4 yards rushing per game lead the conference by more than 30 yards and ranks fifth nationally.

“I don’t think there’s any question that every running back has a goal of rushing for 1,000 yards,” head coach Tim Walsh said. “He’s earned it, because he gets hit a lot. Even when he doesn’t have the ball, he gets hit a lot.”

Northern Colorado sophomore Trae Riek is tied for second in the Big Sky with more than 86 yards rushing per contest. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back has rushed for more than 100 yards in four of the eight games he’s played and has six total touchdowns to his credit.

During his all-conference freshman season, Riek set the Bears’ Division I single-season record for yards per carry by averaging 5.4 per rush. Like Protheroe, Riek has worked through injuries to lead Northern Colorado in all-purpose yards.

“Their backs are really athletic,” senior Josh Letuligasenoa said. “I think their receivers are probably the most athletic receivers, besides Eastern Washington, that we’ll see.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Cal Poly football matchup to watch: Joe Protheroe vs. UNC’s Trae Riek."