San Diego Toreros bring eight-game winning streak into matchup with Cal Poly

Cal Poly football coach Tim Walsh gave a pointed response when asked if it’s more difficult to evaluate an opponent such as San Diego, which competes in a non-scholarship conference and spends much of its season playing on the East Coast.

“I really do think they’re extremely well coached in all phases of the game, to be honest with you,” Walsh said. “They beat people bad all year long.”

Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Dale Lindsey, the Toreros went 9-1 and were undefeated in the Pioneer Football League, where San Diego is the only team in the conference located west of Iowa.

The Toreros hope to end a five-game losing streak against the Mustangs when the two teams meet in the first round of the FCS playoffs at 4:05 p.m. Saturday.

“They give us a little whipping every year,” Lindsey said. “So we’re going to try to get ourselves ready and make a good showing.”

A quick look through the Pioneer Football League statistics reveals just how dominant the Toreros were this fall.

They led the league in nearly every category, including scoring offense (38.6 points per game) and defense (12.1), total offense and defense, rushing and passing defense, sacks allowed and time of possession, among others.

Running back Jonah Hodges led the Pioneer Football League in rushing (119 yards per game), scoring (17 total touchdowns) and all-purpose yards (173.5). Defensive end Jonathan Petersen paced the conference in tackles for loss and sacks, and cornerback Devyn Bryant broke up a league-best 16 passes.

Was it enough to prepare for a Cal Poly team ranked in the top 25 for the past nine weeks?

“We know how to game plan them very well,” Bryant said. “We’ve just got to come out with the attitude that we can do this.”

During the Mustangs’ 38-16 victory in September, Cal Poly piled up 484 total yards, 354 of them on the ground. Senior quarterback Dano Graves completed 5 of 8 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yard scoring strike to Kyle Lewis just before halftime that swung the momentum in the Mustangs’ favor.

Fullback Joe Protheroe averaged 7.3 yards per carry in rushing for 131 yards and two touchdowns, which set the tone for a 1,200-yard season.

“We went into halftime with a lot of confidence,” Bryant said. “They just pulled away in the third quarter. That’s kind of been our M.O. with them throughout all the years that we’ve played them.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2016 at 12:57 PM with the headline "San Diego Toreros bring eight-game winning streak into matchup with Cal Poly."