Photo by: Garrett Becker
FIRST LOOK: Montana State vs. Cal Poly
10/2/2019 10:39:00 AM | Football
A quick look at Montana State's matchup with Cal Poly on Saturday
Here is a brief glance at Cal Poly, one of just three Big Sky foes the Bobcat meet in 2019 that the team also faced last season...
Summary: The Big Sky's two best ground games get it on in Alex G. Spanos Stadium Saturday, when Montana State visits Cal Poly. The Mustangs' personnel is different from last year's team that scored 42 points on the Bobcats, with Jalen Hamler taking over at quarterback and Duy Tran-Sampson bringing a different skill set than Joe Protheroe. Less a sledgehammer and more of a threat on the edge, Tran-Sampson rushes for five-and-a-half yards per carry and a tick under 100 a game. Hamler and receiver JJ Koski give the Mustangs a vertical element in the pass game that hasn't been present in recent years. Defensively, Cal Poly allows 478.0 yards per game.
2019 Record: The Mustangs enter this week's game with a 2-2 record, thundering San Diego in its lone home game (52-34). That game was more than a month ago, in its opener. In between Cal Poly lost a non-league game at Weber State, lost at Oregon State, and beat Southern Utah 24-21 in each team's Big Sky opener. Montana State is 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the Big Sky.
2018 Record: Cal Poly finished Big Sky play 4-4 and tied for 6th, and was 5-6 overall. The Cats finished 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the league, losing in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at North Dakota State.
Current Conference Standings: The Mustangs and MSU each won their season opener, and are 1-0 in the league.
Preseason Conference Prediction: Cal Poly was picked 9th by both the coaches and media in the Big Sky preseason polls. MSU was picked 4th by the media, 5th by the coaches.
Rankings: Cal Poly is unranked. Montana State is 6th in the STATS FCS poll, 7th in the AFCS FCS Coaches Poll.
MSU vs. Cal Poly
Series: The Mustangs lead 10-6, including a 6-2 edge in San Luis Obispo. The Bobcats have won the last two meetings, both in Bozeman.
Jeff Choate vs. Cal Poly: 1-0 (1-0/0-0/0-0)
Jeff Choate vs. Tim Walsh: 1-0 (1-0/0-0)
Tim Walsh vs. MSU: 7-7 (6-0/1-7)
Mustangs Leaders
Rushing: Duy Tran-Sampson 73-398-2, Jalen Hamler 77-241-5, Lepi Lataimua 15-122-1
Passing: Jalen Hamler 26-39-1, 528, 4
Receiving: J.J. Koski 17-374-2, Quentin Harrison 8-164-1
Tackles: Matt Shotwell 34, Aaron Cooper 26, Carter Nichols 26
Sacks: Matt Shotwell 3.5, Carter Nichols 2.0
Interceptions: Matt Shotwell 1, Sharky Reza 1, Kevin Howell 1, Bradley Mickey 1
About California Polytechnic State University
One of two Polytechnic schools in California, the school opened its doors in October, 1903. The school's beautiful campus and its auxiliary land holdings gives Cal Poly the second-largest college campus in California and one of the largest in the U.S. Cal Poly is consistently ranked among the top 100 colleges and universities in the nation, with an academic profile similar to Montana State's. It is known for its engineering, architecture and agriculture programs. Among the school's notable alums are Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, Jamba Juice founder Linda Ozawa, Noel Lee, who created Clif Bar, legendary NFL coach and TV commentator John Madden, and former Bobcat volleyball coach Dave Gantt.
Summary: The Big Sky's two best ground games get it on in Alex G. Spanos Stadium Saturday, when Montana State visits Cal Poly. The Mustangs' personnel is different from last year's team that scored 42 points on the Bobcats, with Jalen Hamler taking over at quarterback and Duy Tran-Sampson bringing a different skill set than Joe Protheroe. Less a sledgehammer and more of a threat on the edge, Tran-Sampson rushes for five-and-a-half yards per carry and a tick under 100 a game. Hamler and receiver JJ Koski give the Mustangs a vertical element in the pass game that hasn't been present in recent years. Defensively, Cal Poly allows 478.0 yards per game.
2019 Record: The Mustangs enter this week's game with a 2-2 record, thundering San Diego in its lone home game (52-34). That game was more than a month ago, in its opener. In between Cal Poly lost a non-league game at Weber State, lost at Oregon State, and beat Southern Utah 24-21 in each team's Big Sky opener. Montana State is 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the Big Sky.
2018 Record: Cal Poly finished Big Sky play 4-4 and tied for 6th, and was 5-6 overall. The Cats finished 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the league, losing in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at North Dakota State.
Current Conference Standings: The Mustangs and MSU each won their season opener, and are 1-0 in the league.
Preseason Conference Prediction: Cal Poly was picked 9th by both the coaches and media in the Big Sky preseason polls. MSU was picked 4th by the media, 5th by the coaches.
Rankings: Cal Poly is unranked. Montana State is 6th in the STATS FCS poll, 7th in the AFCS FCS Coaches Poll.
MSU vs. Cal Poly
Series: The Mustangs lead 10-6, including a 6-2 edge in San Luis Obispo. The Bobcats have won the last two meetings, both in Bozeman.
Jeff Choate vs. Cal Poly: 1-0 (1-0/0-0/0-0)
Jeff Choate vs. Tim Walsh: 1-0 (1-0/0-0)
Tim Walsh vs. MSU: 7-7 (6-0/1-7)
Mustangs Leaders
Rushing: Duy Tran-Sampson 73-398-2, Jalen Hamler 77-241-5, Lepi Lataimua 15-122-1
Passing: Jalen Hamler 26-39-1, 528, 4
Receiving: J.J. Koski 17-374-2, Quentin Harrison 8-164-1
Tackles: Matt Shotwell 34, Aaron Cooper 26, Carter Nichols 26
Sacks: Matt Shotwell 3.5, Carter Nichols 2.0
Interceptions: Matt Shotwell 1, Sharky Reza 1, Kevin Howell 1, Bradley Mickey 1
About California Polytechnic State University
One of two Polytechnic schools in California, the school opened its doors in October, 1903. The school's beautiful campus and its auxiliary land holdings gives Cal Poly the second-largest college campus in California and one of the largest in the U.S. Cal Poly is consistently ranked among the top 100 colleges and universities in the nation, with an academic profile similar to Montana State's. It is known for its engineering, architecture and agriculture programs. Among the school's notable alums are Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, Jamba Juice founder Linda Ozawa, Noel Lee, who created Clif Bar, legendary NFL coach and TV commentator John Madden, and former Bobcat volleyball coach Dave Gantt.
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