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Get To Know The Great West: Cal Poly Brings High-Powered Offense, High Expectations Into ‘08
BY JEREMY HOECK
jeremy.hoeck@yankton.net
EDITOR’S NOTE: The University of South Dakota will begin play in the Great West Conference this fall in football. This is the fourth and final story in the series, looking at each of the four new opponents.
The 2008 schedule for the Cal Poly football program begins and ends with a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent.
And with 19 returning starters — including 10 to an offense that was second in the nation in total yardage — back from last year, the Mustangs could conceivably win both of their high-profile D-I games against San Diego State and Wisconsin.
Ranked No. 14 to start the season and picked to win the Great West Conference, the Mustangs understandably face high expectations this year.
“Our goals are definitely high; they couldn’t be any higher,” said Cal Poly senior offensive lineman Stephen Field, a two-time All-Great West Conference selection. “There’s a ton of leadership on offense this year. We understand where people think we should be, but for us, we want to be better then that.”
The offensive output last year was eye-opening: Cal Poly averaged 46 points per game, scored at least 50 points in five games and surpassed the 500-yard mark in total offense four times.
Quarterback Jonathan Dally passed for 2,238 yards and 29 touchdowns — with five interceptions — while wide receiver Ramses Barden caught 18 passes for touchdowns and averaged 26 yards a catch. With Field, the offensive line will have two seniors and two sophomores who saw playing time in 2007.
Still, what matters are not the preseason honors, but what happens out on the field.
“It’s nice to have that recognition, but they don’t mean a darn thing,” Field said this week. “If anything, it gives you something extra to prove; to back up those preseason expectations.”
Despite all of its offensive firepower, Cal Poly finished with a 7-4 record last year, including a 2-2 record in the Great West — the league the University of South Dakota joins. South Dakota State won the league title, with North Dakota State second, but both schools bolted, leaving the top of the Great West open for a new squad.
With newcomers North Dakota and USD beginning league play this year, there will once again change for a conference in just its fifth year of existence.
“We expect a lot of the same. We don’t expect there to be a lot of difference,” head coach Rich Ellerson said during a coaches’ teleconference this week. “It should be another competitive league.”
If Cal Poly wants to be the next league champion, it will need its defense — with five returning starters — to better last year’s 248 yards allowed average. Senior Sean Lawyer (28 tackles, 2.5 sacks) leads a defensive line that also starts junior Ryan Shotwell (29 tackles, 3 sacks) and two sophomores.
“If we’re going to have the kind of season we want, it’ll be because our defense will play like it has in the past,” Ellerson said. “While very gifted, we’re very green.”
Tonight, the Mustangs travel to San Diego, Calif., to take on the Aztecs of San Diego State, a Division I-A school in the Mountain West Conference. While many might predict SDSU to be favored in the game, two years ago, Cal Poly went down the coast and beat the Aztecs.
“Any time you get the chance to play a high-level opponent, it’s a good chance to prove what you can do,” Field said. “We’re familiar with what they do, so I don’t think we’ll be surprised at all.”
The game with San Diego State will give Cal Poly a good indication of where its football program is, especially when one considers the Aztecs’ second game of the season: Notre Dame.
“We’re going down into enemy territory,” Ellerson said. “They are very focused on this game; they’re not looking beyond us. They know they’ll see a mature and determined opponent.
“We’re still the underdog, but I don’t think we will sneak up on anybody.”
The 2008 schedule for the Cal Poly football program begins and ends with a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent.
And with 19 returning starters — including 10 to an offense that was second in the nation in total yardage — back from last year, the Mustangs could conceivably win both of their high-profile D-I games against San Diego State and Wisconsin.
Ranked No. 14 to start the season and picked to win the Great West Conference, the Mustangs understandably face high expectations this year.
“Our goals are definitely high; they couldn’t be any higher,” said Cal Poly senior offensive lineman Stephen Field, a two-time All-Great West Conference selection. “There’s a ton of leadership on offense this year. We understand where people think we should be, but for us, we want to be better then that.”
The offensive output last year was eye-opening: Cal Poly averaged 46 points per game, scored at least 50 points in five games and surpassed the 500-yard mark in total offense four times.
Quarterback Jonathan Dally passed for 2,238 yards and 29 touchdowns — with five interceptions — while wide receiver Ramses Barden caught 18 passes for touchdowns and averaged 26 yards a catch. With Field, the offensive line will have two seniors and two sophomores who saw playing time in 2007.
Still, what matters are not the preseason honors, but what happens out on the field.
“It’s nice to have that recognition, but they don’t mean a darn thing,” Field said this week. “If anything, it gives you something extra to prove; to back up those preseason expectations.”
Despite all of its offensive firepower, Cal Poly finished with a 7-4 record last year, including a 2-2 record in the Great West — the league the University of South Dakota joins. South Dakota State won the league title, with North Dakota State second, but both schools bolted, leaving the top of the Great West open for a new squad.
With newcomers North Dakota and USD beginning league play this year, there will once again change for a conference in just its fifth year of existence.
“We expect a lot of the same. We don’t expect there to be a lot of difference,” head coach Rich Ellerson said during a coaches’ teleconference this week. “It should be another competitive league.”
If Cal Poly wants to be the next league champion, it will need its defense — with five returning starters — to better last year’s 248 yards allowed average. Senior Sean Lawyer (28 tackles, 2.5 sacks) leads a defensive line that also starts junior Ryan Shotwell (29 tackles, 3 sacks) and two sophomores.
“If we’re going to have the kind of season we want, it’ll be because our defense will play like it has in the past,” Ellerson said. “While very gifted, we’re very green.”
Tonight, the Mustangs travel to San Diego, Calif., to take on the Aztecs of San Diego State, a Division I-A school in the Mountain West Conference. While many might predict SDSU to be favored in the game, two years ago, Cal Poly went down the coast and beat the Aztecs.
“Any time you get the chance to play a high-level opponent, it’s a good chance to prove what you can do,” Field said. “We’re familiar with what they do, so I don’t think we’ll be surprised at all.”
The game with San Diego State will give Cal Poly a good indication of where its football program is, especially when one considers the Aztecs’ second game of the season: Notre Dame.
“We’re going down into enemy territory,” Ellerson said. “They are very focused on this game; they’re not looking beyond us. They know they’ll see a mature and determined opponent.
“We’re still the underdog, but I don’t think we will sneak up on anybody.”
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