Listen to this week's Big Sky Conference football coaches press conference
Watch the first Fritz Blitz with Fritz Neighbor“Beautiful weather, great people,” Barden said. “Wonderful fan support. Very scenic. It takes some of the best parts of California and throws them all together in one spot.”
Now this town of 44,000, just off the Pacific coast at the midway point between Los Angeles and San Francisco, has a pretty good football team to boot.
Quarterback Jonathan Dally, in his first season at Cal Poly after two at Hancock College, set a school record with 29 touchdown passes last fall. That included a record six in one game against Weber State. He was responsible for 41 TDs overall.
All Barden did was catch 57 passes for a school-record 1,467 yards and 18 touchdowns in '07. Add in some hard-to-defend option and the Mustangs gained 487 yards per game.
And after opening with a 29-27 win at Bowl Subdivision school San Diego State last week, the 2008 Mustangs look every bit as potent. Of course that doesn't guarantee a postseason run: The rub is that last fall they finished 7-4 and missed the playoffs for a second straight season.
“We come in with a talented team every year,” said Barden, who was a freshman on the 2005 team that beat Montana in the first round of the FCS playoffs. “It's always disappointing when you feel you don't do as well as you wanted.
“We feel like we left some things on the table last year. We spent a strong offseason preparing to be there this year, and not be on the sidelines.”
Saturday will be a litmus test for these Mustangs, who get a home game against the Griz for the first time since 2001. Their last four matchups with the Griz (2003, twice in '05 and '06) came in Missoula.
In the interim, Cal Poly's Alex G. Spanos Stadium has been expanded and now seats over 11,000. It will host perhaps this weekend's biggest game in the FCS, and Cal Poly has plenty to showcase.
The emergence of Dally, a junior college transfer, made the passing game that much more dynamic. Barden - who was recruited for a time by Stanford before one of the Cardinal coaches put Cal Poly on his trail - is joined by Tredale Tolver, a 5-9 senior who is at least as fast as Barden. Like Barden, Tolver was all-Great West Conference.
While the Mustangs went vertical more last season, the slot back tandem of James Noble and Ryan Mole split carries in the triple-option run game. Noble, who ran for 1,578 and 1,009 yards his first two seasons, gained 464 on 84 carries last fall. Mole ran for 424, and fullback Jon Hall piled up 449.
Many Griz fans remember Mole from his days at Sacramento State. The 190-pounder ran for 175 yards against UM as a freshman in 2004, was injured against the Griz in 2005 and sat out 2006 after transferring. Noble, 5-6 and 170, has gained 100 yards in two of his three games against Montana.
Ellerson likes Mole because he takes some pressure off Noble.
“What happened to James, when he was the main guy, was he just wasn't holding up,” Ellerson said.
There are many more questions on a defense that plays a three-man front “double-eagle flex” predicated on speed. The players who pile up the stats are usually the rush end, in this case converted linebacker Sean Lawyer, and middle linebacker (Fred Hives II).
Jordan Beck (2004) and Kyle Shotwell (2006) won Buck Buchanan Awards playing middle backer for the Mustangs, and Chris Gocong won the Buchanan in 2005 playing the rush end.
Hives had 10 tackles including a sack against San Diego State. Lawyer had five stops.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Ellerson. “And like a lot of first games, when you slow it down and look at the tape, you wonder why you practice all the time. Because all of that went out the window.”
Cal Poly won the turnover battle 5-1 and held the ball for 16 more minutes than the Aztecs, yet needed a field goal from Andrew Gardner as time expired to win.
“Kind of a mixed bag,” said Ellerson. “I think we found out some things.”
James Chen, a 260-pound sophomore nose guard, was hurt early on against San Diego State, though he's listed as starter this week. Lawyer played alright, in Ellerson's estimation. Hives drew faint praise.
“Not oh-my-goodness, but solid,” said Ellerson.
“We have to be more aggressive,” the coach added. “We have to play on our opponents' side of the line. We missed assignments. If it was all freshmen, that'd be one thing.”
He wasn't all that happy with his special teams (“It's a mess”), either, but Cal Poly remains a potent team. One with a tough schedule that includes a November road game at Wisconsin.
But that's then. Montana is next. San Luis Obispo has another nice diversion for those Saturday night football fans.
“This is the most important game of the season,” began Barden. “It's the only one we get until next week.
“I can't wait, for so many reasons, but that's the main reason. We have a lot to learn from last week to this week, and we're looking forward to performing in what should be a marquee matchup.”
Up Next: Montana at Cal Poly
Saturday, 7:05 p.m. (MST)
Alex G. Spanos Stadium
(11,075, natural grass)
After two seasons on the FCS playoff sidelines, the Mustangs hope to make their mark behind a loaded offense and youthful D.
Location: San Luis Obispo, Calif. Enrollment: 18,500.
Series history: Montana leads 11-1.
Man in charge: Rich Ellerson (Hawaii, 1977) is 49-31 in his eighth season at Cal Poly, and owns 53-39 career coaching mark.
Ones to watch
6 Sean Lawyer (6-1, 260, sr., San Jose, Calif.): The Mustangs' flex defense tends to make standouts of the “rush end,” and that's Lawyer, who moves up from outside linebacker.
8 Jonathan Dally (6-0, 190, sr., Santa Maria, Calif.): He threw a school-record 29 TD passes last fall; and while slot backs Ryan Mole and James Noble are lethal, Dally led the team in rushing with 763 yards.
11 Ramses Barden (6-6, 227, sr., Altadena, Calif.): On a loaded offense his star shines the brightest with school records of 1,467 receiving yards and 18 TDs in 2007. His 32 career TDs are another record.
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