Cal Poly Earns Fifth Straight Win
Junior quarterback Chris Brown rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another as Cal Poly earned its fifth straight victory, upsetting No. 8/9 Montana State 35-27 in a Big Sky Conference football game Saturday night in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
With the victory, Coach Tim Walsh’s Mustangs moved into a first-place tie with Eastern Washington in the Big Sky, both with 5-1 conference records. Montana State fell into a tie for third place at 4-1 and both the Mustangs and Bobcats are 6-3 on the year.
For the second straight week and fourth time this season, Brown rushed for two scores and passed for another. He rushed for 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns and passed for 107 yards and a score last week against then No. 6/7 Montana, a 41-21 Mustang victory.
On Saturday, Brown scored on one- and two-yard runs and finished with 97 yards on 29 carries. He also completed eight of 11 passes for 107 yards, including a 23-yard scoring strike to Kenny Mitchell in the third quarter, giving Cal Poly a 21-17 lead.
Montana State answered with a four-yard run by Anthony Knight midway through the third period, giving the Bobcats a 24-21 advantage.
After the kickoff and a 47-yard run by Brent Michaels, Mustang senior fullback Brandon Howe bolted 24 yards for a touchdown and a 28-24 Cal Poly lead with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
Luke Daly kicked a 41-yard field goal with 1:47 left in the third period to pull Montana State to within a point at 28-27, but the high-powered Bobcat offense was held off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Montana State, which scored 77 points against UC Davis and 59 against Sacramento State in its other two trips to California this season, entered Saturday’s game averaging 518 yards and 47 points a contest.
Brown’s two-yard run with 2:38 remaining in the game capped a 17-play, 79-yard drive, all plays on the ground and consuming eight minutes and two seconds, giving Cal Poly a 35-27 lead.
Montana State drove to the Cal Poly 19-yard line in the final minutes of the game, but sophomore quarterback Dakota Prukop was intercepted by Mustang junior cornerback Karlton Dennis at the two-yard line with 1:01 to play.
It was the only turnover of the game and Dennis has a team-leading three interceptions on the season.
Cal Poly exceeded 480 yards in total offense for the seventh straight game, outgaining Montana State 483-466. First downs were in the Mustangs’ favor as well, 25-22, and Cal Poly converted 10 of its 17 third-down plays as well as three of four fourth downs.
Sophomore slotback Kori Garcia surpassed the 100-yard mark in rushing for the third time this season, accumulating 124 yards on 17 carries and scoring once on a two-yard run early in the second quarter. Another Garcia score in the second quarter was wiped out by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Howe finished with 86 yards on 17 carries, scoring once. Mitchell was Cal Poly’s top receiver with four catches for 71 yards.
For Montana State, Prukop rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries and completed 10 of 18 passes for 167 yards. Anthony Knight, who replaced injured running back Shawn Johnson in the first quarter, netted 48 yards and scored twice on runs of one and four yards. Mitch Griebel, Tiai Salanoa and Gunnar Brekke each caught three passes for the Bobcats.
Mustang senior linebacker Nick Dzubnar, placed on the Buck Buchanan Award watch list two weeks ago, led all defenders in the game with 18 tackles (12 solo). He also had 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup.
Khari Garcia made 15 tackles, Alex Singleton 14 and Cole Moore 12 for Montana State.
Cal Poly plays at Idaho State next Saturday. Kickoff in Pocatello, Idaho, is set for 1:35 p.m. Pacific. The Bengals (6-3, 4-1 Big Sky) defeated Portland State 31-13 on Saturday.
