Bobcats Fall to #21 Cal Poly
9/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Darrell Jones scored two long touchdowns and Cal Poly’s stingy defense held off a late Montana State’s rally as the 21st-ranked Mustangs beat #11 Montana State 24-21 in San Luis Obispo Saturday night.
Facing a 17-7 deficit at halftime, Montana State’s defense responded to the challenge. The Bobcats allowed just 39 yards and forced three turnovers in the second half, but a late Poly scoring drive helped Cal Poly win in front of over 8,000 fans, the third-largest crowd in school history.
“Our defense played well enough to beat any team on our schedule again,” said MSU coach Mike Kramer. “Our offense just could not get anything going. We burned ourselves out with penalties at bad times. Travis played well, but he ran way too much for what we try to accomplish.”
While Cal Poly’s defense provided the game’s turning point early in the second half. Trailing 17-7 at the intermission, the Bobcat defense forced turnovers on Cal Poly’s first three possessions of the second half. In fact, MSU took the ball away on the first two Mustang plays of the second half, and the third play of Cal Poly’s third drive. Those drives each started between the Cal Poly 30 and 40 yard lines.
“I thought that if we didn’t score on that first possession of the third quarter, it would really be nip and tuck for us to win,” Kramer said. “Give their defense credit. We got the ball in good shape three times and only got seven points out of it. When they did that, they literally broke our will.”
The Bobcats converted only the second of those possessions into a score. Quarterback Travis Lulay found Brandon Roosevelt for a 17-yard scoring strike.
With the Bobcat offense unable to get the ball into the end zone, the Mustangs iced the win with 7:40 to play. Mustang quarterback Chris Peterson scored on an eight-yard run to give Cal Poly a 24-7 lead. The Bobcats bounced back on late touchdown runs by Travis Lulay and Jimmy Beal, but couldn’t draw closer than three points.
Cal Poly jumped on the Bobcats early. After MSU’s first offensive possession, Darrell Jones took a Nate Cook punt at the Bobcat 31 yard line and raced 69 yards for a touchdown. The play was the first of its kind allowed by the Bobcats since 2000, but MSU has now allowed a special teams touchdown in each of its two losses this season.
“He split us between the guards,” Kramer said. “It was a great return by that kid.”
Jones also accounted for Cal Poly’s offensive touchdown in the first half. With 49 seconds to play in the second quarter and the Mustangs facing a third-and-17 from the 50 yard line, Poly quarterback Chris Peterson found Jones on a slip screen, and the speedy junior broke the initial tackle and raced 50 yards for a score.
Cal Poly opened the scoring on its first possession of the game. After marching 65 yards on 11 plays, Byungwoo Yoon nailed a 31-yard field goal.
Montana State has now lost five straight to Cal Poly, and 13 consecutive non-conference road games. MSU hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday at 1 pm.
Facing a 17-7 deficit at halftime, Montana State’s defense responded to the challenge. The Bobcats allowed just 39 yards and forced three turnovers in the second half, but a late Poly scoring drive helped Cal Poly win in front of over 8,000 fans, the third-largest crowd in school history.
“Our defense played well enough to beat any team on our schedule again,” said MSU coach Mike Kramer. “Our offense just could not get anything going. We burned ourselves out with penalties at bad times. Travis played well, but he ran way too much for what we try to accomplish.”
While Cal Poly’s defense provided the game’s turning point early in the second half. Trailing 17-7 at the intermission, the Bobcat defense forced turnovers on Cal Poly’s first three possessions of the second half. In fact, MSU took the ball away on the first two Mustang plays of the second half, and the third play of Cal Poly’s third drive. Those drives each started between the Cal Poly 30 and 40 yard lines.
“I thought that if we didn’t score on that first possession of the third quarter, it would really be nip and tuck for us to win,” Kramer said. “Give their defense credit. We got the ball in good shape three times and only got seven points out of it. When they did that, they literally broke our will.”
The Bobcats converted only the second of those possessions into a score. Quarterback Travis Lulay found Brandon Roosevelt for a 17-yard scoring strike.
With the Bobcat offense unable to get the ball into the end zone, the Mustangs iced the win with 7:40 to play. Mustang quarterback Chris Peterson scored on an eight-yard run to give Cal Poly a 24-7 lead. The Bobcats bounced back on late touchdown runs by Travis Lulay and Jimmy Beal, but couldn’t draw closer than three points.
Cal Poly jumped on the Bobcats early. After MSU’s first offensive possession, Darrell Jones took a Nate Cook punt at the Bobcat 31 yard line and raced 69 yards for a touchdown. The play was the first of its kind allowed by the Bobcats since 2000, but MSU has now allowed a special teams touchdown in each of its two losses this season.
“He split us between the guards,” Kramer said. “It was a great return by that kid.”
Jones also accounted for Cal Poly’s offensive touchdown in the first half. With 49 seconds to play in the second quarter and the Mustangs facing a third-and-17 from the 50 yard line, Poly quarterback Chris Peterson found Jones on a slip screen, and the speedy junior broke the initial tackle and raced 50 yards for a score.
Cal Poly opened the scoring on its first possession of the game. After marching 65 yards on 11 plays, Byungwoo Yoon nailed a 31-yard field goal.
Montana State has now lost five straight to Cal Poly, and 13 consecutive non-conference road games. MSU hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday at 1 pm.
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