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Week 9: Sac State vs (#11) Cal Poly

SDHornet

SDHornet

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Week 9: Sac State vs (#11) Cal Poly

The Hornets (5-3, 3-2 BSC) face off against a severely under-rated undefeated Cal Poly (7-0, 5-0 BSC) team in Hornet Stadium this week. CP is coming off of a surprisingly close game against Portland State and the Hornets are coming off of a close loss to #1 ranked Eastern Washington. Somehow CP has been flying under the radar in national circles and this team is easily a top 10 team and IMO a top 5 team. The schedule has been generous to CP in its first season in the BSC but that doesn’t diminish what they have accomplished thus far. I believe CP has the edge in the overall series by a game and they will no doubt come to play this week.

Offense
CP runs the triple offense and they do it with deadly efficiency. CP leads the BSC in rushing offense, scoring offense, and believe it or not passing efficiency. Bottom line is CP can beat a defense on the ground but can throw the ball when needed. It’s scary what they can do and there is little anyone can do to stop it. Their triple option runs through QB (#3) Andre Broadous. He can make things happen both on the ground and when needed through the air. CP has a slew of running backs and they are lead by the explosive (#10) Deonte Williams.

Even though this offense is a triple option attack, they run some quirky formations that still have all the capabilities as if they were running from under center. It’s hard to explain but it works and just makes them that much harder to defend. I have only seen a limited amount of CP games but they like to get (#10) Williams on the edge and his speed is deadly. Williams has the talent to take any play to the house and this offense will lull a defense to sleep only to bust a long play just when the defense thinks they have things under control.

Season Stats/Averages:
  • • Rushing Offense: 314.3 ypg (5.3 ypr), 23 TD’s (3rd FCS, 1st BSC)
    • Passing Offense: 109.7 ypg (14.8 ypc), 11 TD’s (118th FCS, 13th BSC)
    • Total Offense: 424.0 ypg (5.0 ypp), 34 TD’s, 7 FG’s (22nd FCS, 5th BSC)
    • Time of Possession: 29:22
    • Turnovers: 7 (6 Fum, 1 INT)
    • Penalties: 40 for 315 yds (45.0 ypg)
    • QB: (#3) Andre Broadous: 50 of 82 for 722 yds, 11 TD’s, 1 INT, 85 carries for 313 yds, 6 TD’s
    • RB: (#10) Deonte Williams: 134 carries for 926 yds, 9 TD’s, 7 recs for 47 yds, 1 TD
    • RB: (#5) Kristaan Ivory: 41 carries for 299 yds, 5 TD’s, 4 recs for 33 yds, 2 TD’s
    • RB: (#2) Cole Stanford: 10 recs for 279 yds, 2 TD’s
    • WR: (#7) Willie Tucker: 12 recs for 166 yds, 3 TD’s
The Hornet defense will have its hands full this week. One week is not enough time to prepare for this potent CP offense and it doesn’t help that the Hornets are coming off of a game against a pass happy team like EWU. However the Hornets are having a solid performance from the DL this season and the Hornet LB’s play well against the run. Assignment football is the key here. If the defenders stick to their assignments and don’t get caught looking in the back field then they might have a chance. The DL needs to take away the FB dive and the linebackers need to force an early pitch to try and string out the plays to the sidelines.

I assume Parker will forgo the nickel back and (#48) Fernandez will be the 3rd LB. My concern is if Parker tries to have (#91) Davis responsible for outside contain opposite Fernandez. He is just too slow to try and keep CP from attacking the edges. Fernandez and (#11) Badger are the faster of the LB’s. Fortunately for the suspect Hornet secondary they will not be getting tested every play but they will have to stay awake and clamp down on the CP WR’s when needed. I assume (#6) McMahon will be in the box for much of this game as the Hornets best chance is to throw everything at the line of scrimmage and hope they can slow down CP’s running game.

Defense
CP operates out of the 4-3 and they have a solid defense to go along with their impressive offense. No one has scored more than 28 points on this defense and they are well disciplined. This defense isn’t flashy but they get the job done. The CP DL is not huge but they have respectable size. The LB’s have good size and great pursuit. The one area of susceptibility for CP is their pass defense which ranks in the bottom half of the BSC.

Season Stats/Averages:
  • • Rushing Defense: 125.0 ypg (3.5 ypr), 11 TD’s (29th FCS, 4th BSC)
    • Passing Defense: 232.7 ypg (11.3 ypc), 6 TD’s (81st FCS, 8th BSC)
    • Total Defense: 357.7 ypg (5.0 ypp), 17 TD’s, 7 FG’s (52nd FCS, 3rd BSC)
    • Opponent Time of Possession: 30:38
    • Turnovers Forced: 14 (6 Fum, 8 INT’s)
    • Opponents Penalties: 35 for 353 yds (50.4 ypg)
    • LB: (#9)Kennith Jackson: 66 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, 2 BU’s, 2 PD’s
    • LB: (#41) Nick Dzubnar: 58 tackles, 2..5 TFL, 1 sack, 3 BU’s, 3 PD’s
    • DB: (#4) Nico Molino: 41 tackles, 2.5 TFL’s, 4 INT’s, 9 BU’s, 13 PD’s
    • LB: (#11) Johnny Millard: 40 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, 1 INT, 1 PD
    • DT: (#94) Sullivan Grosz: 38 tackles, 6.5 TFL’s, 3.5 sacks, 1 BU, 1 PD, 2 FF
I am assuming (#4) Magleby gets the start since (#12) Safron left last week’s game with a hand injury. If that is the case there is no telling how this Hornet offense will rally behind Magleby. Safron might not have the best arm but the players really rally behind him and never give up. I think (#8) Graham can have a big day if he can get into space. Graham brings it every game so the Hornets will need to find ways to get him the ball. If the Hornet passing attack can be effective, I think the Hornets will be able to hang with CP. If the offense sputters, this game will get out of hand quickly.

Special Teams
CP looks to have okay special teams units but nothing better than what the Hornets have already seen this season. CP looks to have a solid kick returner in (#22) Chris Nicholls and they have not allowed any blocked punts or kicks. Their kicker seems to have a leg but has not been perfect and he looks to be accurate when pinning a team inside the 20.

Season Stats/Averages:
  • • K/P: (#89) Bobby Zalud: 7/10 FG’s (long of 51 yds), 35/35 PAT’s, 27 punts for 1,096 yds (40.6 ypp), 0 TB’s, 3 FC’s, 10 I-20
    • KR/PR: (#22) Chris Nicholls: 9 kr’s for 239 yds (26.6 ypr), 10 pr’s for 123 yds (12.3 ypr)
    • Kick Coverage: Allowed 394 yds on 21 returns (18.8 ypr)
    • Punt Coverage: Allowed 135 yds on 12 returns (11.2 ypr)
The Hornets lead the BSC in kick return average so they could make some plays here. The Hornets also blocked a punt last week so maybe this unit can create some turnovers or good field position. I think the Hornets have a slight edge in the special teams area and will need to make an impact here.

Intangibles
It’s an emotional week for the Hornets. The tragic loss of (#43) John Bloomfield is no doubt hanging around this program but the Hornets need to regroup and focus on this game. Injuries are also mounting for the Hornets so those down on the depth chart need to step up. I’m not sure if CP has any key injuries heading into this game.

The Hornets need to regroup and pull off an upset if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. It’s going to take a complete game to knock off this talented CP team so minimizing mistakes will be crucial. Having the game at home is huge and the atmosphere for this game should be electric. The Hornets have proven time and time again that they can hang with anyone but getting wins against the elite BSC teams have been elusive for this program.

Go Hornets!

Game Info
 
Should be another great game. Wish I could've there, but my daughters have late soccer games that day and my wife will be out of town. You can bet I will be glued to my computer watching on Big Sky TV.

Deonte Williams and Brandon Michalkiewicz were teammates of John Bloomfield at Sierra College. I know both are taking his loss hard. My and all of Cal Poly's hearts go out to John's family and Sac State. Such a tragic loss.
 
What a tough week this will be. I'm sure the guys will play for John; but such a somber time. I hope we stuff the option and win big this week. Great job SD.
 
Mustang Man said:
Nice write up SD.

Is Safron out for sure?
Click to expand...
Thanks and I have no idea on Safron, OG67 is our insider. I imagine Sperbeck will be keeping this info close to the chest. Mags has a better arm than Safron but Safron makes plays with his legs. Safron wasn’t exactly tearing it up either so if Mags is the guy this week (and beyond) I don’t anticipate much of a drop off in ability. Regardless of who gets the start I don’t think it would impact CP’s defensive preparation for this game. :twocents:
 
Hornetsports Preview:

FBPrevHeader102712.jpg


http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/football/release.asp?release_id=10739
 
I am really excited to have Sac State back on the schedule every year. Having it be a conference game all the better. I think this is a rivalry that is good for both schools. Players from each team know players from the other and it is a bus trip that fans can travel to which should help with attendance #'s.
 
SloStang said:
I am really excited to have Sac State back on the schedule every year. Having it be a conference game all he better. I think this is a rivalry that is good for both schools. Player from each team know players from the other and it is a bus trip that fans can travel to which should help with attendance #'s.
Click to expand...

:+1:
 
SloStang said:
I am really excited to have Sac State back on the schedule every year. Having it be a conference game all the better. I think this is a rivalry that is good for both schools. Players from each team know players from the other and it is a bus trip that fans can travel to which should help with attendance #'s.
Click to expand...

albeit a terrible bus trip lol
 
SacHornet said:
SloStang said:
I am really excited to have Sac State back on the schedule every year. Having it be a conference game all the better. I think this is a rivalry that is good for both schools. Players from each team know players from the other and it is a bus trip that fans can travel to which should help with attendance #'s.
Click to expand...

albeit a terrible bus trip lol
Click to expand...
True, but it beats paying for a charter flight. That and fans that can not afford (like students) to fly to an away game can make this game. Also have to love that the serries is so close at 16-15. There have been many great games between the two teams. I will always remember Sac State beating Cal Poly the last game of the regular season the year Cal Poly won the DII National Championship. I expect many more great games. :clap: :thumb: :clap:
 
There are many teams with whom we have a love/hate relationship, but the two games that should ALWAYS be on our schedule, regardless of sport (even down to club level), are UC Davis and Cal Poly. UOP (if they have a team in that sport) would also fit, but DEFINITELY UCD and CP.
 
SloStang said:
True, but it beats paying for a charter flight. That and fans that can not afford (like students) to fly to an away game can make this game. Also have to love that the serries is so close at 16-15. There have been many great games between the two teams. I will always remember Sac State beating Cal Poly the last game of the regular season the year Cal Poly won the DII National Championship. I expect many more great games. :clap: :thumb: :clap:
Click to expand...
Yup, can’t beat the cost of a bus trip and a game with reasonable travel for fans and family. I plan to make the trip to SLO to catch one of these games in the future.
 
SDHornet said:
Mustang Man said:
Nice write up SD.

Is Safron out for sure?
Click to expand...
Thanks and I have no idea on Safron, OG67 is our insider. I imagine Sperbeck will be keeping this info close to the chest. Mags has a better arm than Safron but Safron makes plays with his legs. Safron wasn’t exactly tearing it up either so if Mags is the guy this week (and beyond) I don’t anticipate much of a drop off in ability. Regardless of who gets the start I don’t think it would impact CP’s defensive preparation for this game. :twocents:
Click to expand...


I believe Safron is good to go...had to get some stitches but nothing to bad.
 
K and OG: If that's the case, then the staff did the right thing given that we are still in the regular season. Were we in the playoffs, there is precedent of a quarterback with a bad off-hand playing at a fairly high level, and I have no reason to believe that Safron would not.
 
Predictions

Score: 27-24 Hornet win. CP should be favored in this one and I don’t like our chances, but I’m sticking with the homer pick. The defense will need to find a way to stop their triple option attack and the offense is going to need to move the ball and score points. This should be a close game but if our offense sputters CP will be able to rack up points with great efficiency.

Attendance: 14,108. I’m hoping this game can crack the 14k mark. With CP doing well and with a lot of alums in the region they should show up in force. I also expect Hornet fans to show up as well given that we are still in the playoff hunt and this is the renewal of an old rivalry.
 
I'm really excited about this game. I think it's going to be close, have tremendous atmosphere and will determine whether we have a chance to get to the playoffs and if we should be a playoff team. It's also the only game ill be able to get to this year, so they'd better win ;)

Lets go Hornets!!!
 
I'll be in front of the computer with a Pizza and a six pack wishing I was there. I also think it will be a great game. I am predicting the green and gold team will win. :)
 
Game day articles from the Telegram Tribune (San Luis Obispo paper):

Graham is a double threat at Running Back: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/10/26/2276317/graham-is-a-double-threat-at-running.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Both teams need a win in renewal of rivalry game: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/10/26/2276327/both-teams-need-a-win-in-renewal.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
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