Quarterback Jonathan Dally threw two touchdowns and ran for three more as Cal Poly closed out its season with a 55-7 victory over Iona College.
The win ensured a second-straight 7-4 season but is not expected to earn the Mustangs a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) playoffs.
Dally threw a 48-yard touchdown to Ramses Barden to give Cal Poly a 7-0 lead with 5 minutes left in the first quarter as the Mustangs never trailed. Dally was just 4-of-10 passing but hit Ryan Mole with an 11-yard touchdown that gave the Mustangs a 21-0 lead.
The junior playcaller added 100 rushing yards on 17 carries, scrambling for touchdowns of 2, 9 and 7 yards out of the triple option.
Iona (7-4) foiled the shutout on Dane Samuels’ 5-yard touchdown run with 10:12 remaining.
Cal Poly’s defense scored for the third consecutive game on David Fullerton’s 95-yard interception return.
Kevin Spach and Michael Chowtham rounded out the scoring with touchdown runs of 1 and 5 yards.

Statistically speaking, Saturday’s football game between Cal Poly and Iona College pits one of the Football Championship Subdivision’s top offenses against the top-ranked defense.
Cal Poly comes in ranked second in the FCS in total offense at 491.4 yards per game. Only Appalachian State, which beat Michigan to open the season, has put up a better numbers at 492.9 yards per game. Iona is 50th among 116 FCS teams, averaging 383 yards.
Iona comes in ranked No. 1 in total defense, allowing just 254.1 yards per game. Cal Poly ranks 78th in allowing 386.9 yards per game.

For those who can’t get enough Cal Poly hoops, here’s my first-run story from tonight’s men’s game. I usually write one quick first write for The Tribune Web site minutes after the game and then follow it up with my typical game story with quotes, etc., which you’ll find in the next day’s paper and at SanLuisObispo.com. Many of you have bookmarked this site, so I’ll try to post the first-run stories here after games. You also can usually read them in the breaking news column at SanLuisObispo.com.

Cal Poly 83, Utah State 69
Cal Poly had four players in double figures in an 83-69 victory over former Big West Conference foe Utah State.
Titus Shelton and Lorenzo Keeler each had 19 points to lead the Mustangs, who were 7 of 12 from the 3-point line in the second half.
Dawin Whiten added 17 points, and Chaz Thomas had 14 for Cal Poly (2-2).
Thomas broke a 36-36 tie with a layin early in the second half and the Mustangs never trailed again. Cal Poly’s next 18 points came on six three-point plays.
The preseason favorite in the Western Athletic Conference, Utah State came into the game with a 15-1 record against Cal Poly, winning the previous eight meetings.
The Aggies (2-2) were led by Stephen DuCharme’s 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jaycee Carroll had 18 points.

Former Cal Poly baseball player Jimmy Van Ostrand and the Canadian senior national team were knocked out of the IBAF World Cup on Wednesday with a 7-6 loss to Australia in Taipei, Taiwan.
Canada fell one win shy of moving on to the medal round, finishing fifth in Pool B.
Van Ostrand hit .400 in Canada’s seven games, going 8 for 20 with a triple.
The first baseman’s biggest game of the tournament came Nov. 8 in an 18-0 romp of Thailand. The former Cal Poly outfielder and first baseman was 3 for 5 with two singles, a triple, two runs score and four RBI.
The national team went 4-3 at the World Cup and will return to Taiwan in March for the final qualifying tournament for the Olympics.
Tribune file photo by David Middlecamp.

Two more Minnesota products are expected to sign with the Cal Poly men’s basketball program.
Hopkins’ Anthony DiLoretto and Maranatha’s David Hanson, brother of current Mustang forward Matt Hanson, will sign with Cal Poly during the early signing period, according to today’s Minnesota Star Tribune.
The NCAA’s early signing period began Wednesday and runs through
Nov. 21.
Cal Poly has not announced any signings as of this post.
The Mustangs have drawn a rash of players from the North Star State, including current Mustangs Hanson, John Manley and Zach Thurow.
Cal Poly’s all-time leading scorer Chris Bjorklund was from the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” as was former Minnesota transfer Shane Schilling.

I’m writing more about this topic in Monday’s paper, but it’s already quite evident Cal Poly head football coach Rich Ellerson’s emotional postgame comments after the fourth-quarter letdown against North Dakota State tonight raised eyebrows everywhere from SLO to Fargo.

“I let (my players) down,” Ellerson said minutes after the 31-28 loss. “That’s on me. They should fire me.”

The game’s only a few hours old and Ellerson’s “fire me” comment has already been published on Web sites by The Tribune, Lompoc Record and The Forum in Fargo, N.D., where the North Dakota State Bison took a step closer to the Great West Football Conference crown and remained unbeaten after overcoming a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Ellerson apparently echoed similar comments during a postgame interview with ESPN 1280 AM, which I’m sure added to the disbelief of Cal Poly fans as they drove home after another Homecoming collapse.
While the comments were surprising, it was evident Ellerson was trying the shoulder the load of the loss and did not want the debacle being blamed on his assistants, an interception in the red zone, a blown assignment in the secondary or a missed field goal early in the game.
Because I’m a beat reporter, and not a columnist, I try to refrain from injecting my opinion on these types of topics (which has been the challenge of trying to publish and interesting blog), but I will reiterate what I wrote in my game story for Sunday’s paper.
It’s doubtful Ellerson would find himself on the hot seat any time soon after leading Cal Poly (6-4, 2-2) to its fifth straight winning season — not to mention the fact that he’s under contract through at least the 2013 season.
This is Cal Poly football we’re talking about, not New York Yankees baseball.
After enduring three straight 3-8 seasons, Cal Poly fans and message board honks should keep in mind that the Mustangs have enjoyed winning campaigns in six of Ellerson’s seven seasons. The Mustangs went to the playoffs in 2005 for the first time and were one win – make that one quarter – away from a possible playoff bid the next two seasons. Two bad quarters against the Dakotas shouldn’t override 47 wins in the Mustangs’ other 76 games under Ellerson.
Flipping through the Mustangs media guide, Cal Poly hasn’t strung together five straight winning seasons since Joe Harper put together 13 straight dating from 1968-80.
Ellerson also has a .603 winning percentage in his seven seasons. Only three of Cal Poly’s 15 head football coaches have done better – Howie O’Daniels (.621), Roy Hughes (.662), Joe Harper (.685).
What are your thoughts on Ellerson’s “fire me” comment?
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this one. Post your thoughts in the comments section below.

If a page and a half of Cal Poly football previews in Saturday’s paper isn’t enough, here are some additional stories previewing Saturday’s Great West Football Conference showdown between No. 24 Cal Poly and No. 2 North Dakota State:

Mustangs return home to face a big challenge in Bison
The Tribune – Nov 5, 2007
Cal Poly goes from 0-9 Southern Utah to 9-0 North Dakota State.

The mountains behind the Southern Utah campus in Cedar City make for a great backdrop on a lazy Saturday afternoon, especially when there are no fans to block the view. According to Saturday’s box score, only 4,021 fans attended the game – and that number was probably a bit high.

The longest road trip in the Rich Ellerson era has come to an end … thankfully.
The Cal Poly football team finished its grueling four-game road trip on Saturday with a lackluster 28-21 victory at hapless Southern Utah (0-9).
When it was all said and done, and the Mustangs finally rolled into town Sunday, Cal Poly had gone 3-1 and traveled more than 7,500 miles in the process.
Yours truly followed every mile of the trip and every minute of the four games, which is why I’m falling asleep … as I write … this last post.
I’d give you a rundown of how the game went and how beautiful Southern Utah was but … my eyelids can’t keep up with fingers any more.
Instead of falling asleep by reading my sluggish post here … read about the game here … and here … and here.
Before I doze off … the news worth mentioning today is Cal Poly moving up to No. 24 in Monday’s Sports Network top 25 media poll.
Cal Poly (6-3) remains unranked in the Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll.
The Mustangs have won six of seven since dropping two straight to Texas State and Idaho to open the season.
Cal Poly hosts one of the top teams in the country when 9-0 North Dakota State comes to town for a Homecoming game Saturday. … The Great West Football Conference favorites are ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll and No. 2 in the media poll.
The Mustangs have to win and then pray like heck if they want a part of the Great West title and a spot in the postseason.
Just thinking about the possibility of another road trip for the playoffs — the day after stuffing myself on Turkey Day — makes me sleeeeeepy …