Normally a practice reserved for popes, you don’t usually see many people dropping roman numerals and going by “the second” these days.
Cal Poly linebacker Fred Hives II is one who does. If you’ve ever wondered why, this video is for you.
If not, there’s still plenty of other good stuff. Mustangs coach Rich Ellerson makes a cameo on this one. With his screen presence, I think he’s pining for a spinoff. And Hives also tackles helmet malfunctions.
I bet you were not looking forward to this.
I talked to Mustangs athletic director Alison Cone today about the Cal Poly football team possibly making up a lost game with McNeese State, and she wasn’t holding her breath.
Basically, the only hope for the Mustangs could be to hope some multi-team arrangement gets worked out where bye weeks are changed and all kinds of accommodations have to be made by multiple parties.
Cone made it sound messy.
It seemed Cal Poly was most focused on getting an NCAA Division I opponent locked up but even made calls to Division II and an NAIA school.
The D-I game would be a logical step. The Mustangs need seven D-I wins to be playoff eligible. They already have two wins and only six more D-I games as it stands.
But filling the game with anyone else? What sense would that make?
Let me know what you think. And find out Cone’s answer to that question in Friday’s edition of The Tribune.
EDIT: CLICK HERE to read the story with Cone’s comments.
It’s a bye week for Cal Poly football. News this week might be slow.
So I have a question for blog readers. What are your thoughts on the Cal Poly fall sports programs so far?
Have the football and volleyball teams lived up to their lofty expectations?
Students began classes this week. Will they provide an extra boost at home events?
What about the soccer teams? The men will host UC Santa Barbara in a televised game next month. Will it live up to last year’s meeting?
With a tough loss to Montana and a cancellation against McNeese State, will the football team make the playoffs?
Do you like this blog?
Let me know. I’d love to get some response, and I’ll be alert to respond in the comments to any questions.
The Cal Poly football team had 11 players listed at quarterback going into the season. Seven of them tried out for the position during training camp.
And, according to the McClatchy Mothership (The Sacramento Bee), the Mustangs are looking at bringing in another one next year.
Bee writer Bill Patterson wrote that Cal Poly is bringing showing heavy interest in Burbank senior Miles Freeman (6-1, 190).
It could be a situation where Freeman is a candidate to switch positions in college, but Patterson touts his “ability to read defenses” in the triple option — Cal Poly’s base offense.
With senior Jonathan Dally running out of eligibility, one of the most interesting storylines next year will be the search for his replacement.
If there was going to be a football game between Cal Poly and McNeese State this weekend, I would have done a video interview with Mustangs defensive lineman Sean Lawyer, who was named Great West Conference Defensive Player of the Week after racking up 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks against Montanta.
And he would have said a lot of cool things.
Can you picture it?
Too bad Hurricane Ike got the game cancelled. Otherwise, I could have posted the video.
Hurricane Ike has caused officials from McNeese State to call off Saturday’s game with Cal Poly, which was scheduled for 7 p.m. local time in Lake Charles, La.
Early word from Cal Poly is that Athletic Director Alison Cone is looking to fill one of the team’s bye weeks with a make-up game against another opponent — perhaps another Louisiana opponent?
Expect to hear more soon.
On a personal note, it is disappointing the game was cancelled, but, to be sure, players, coaches and reporter are probably pretty relieved about not having to be flown into a hurricane.
You’ve read Pat Hill’s rantings on the Mustangs maybe joining the WAC.
Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but the Cal Poly football team did ink two dates with Fresno State. The deal was announced today, and you can expect a story in Thursday’s edition of The Tribune.
The basic details are these: Cal Poly will travel to Bulldog Stadium for September games in 2010 and 2013.
Sounds like a great matchup for local fans: It’s a short commute and a good opportunity for some bragging rights. I know for a fact there are plenty of Central San Joaquin Valley transplants in San Luis Obispo County.
These road trips might be the only Saturdays in history where the traffic is heavier on Eastbound 46 than Westbound 46.
Cal Poly football coach Rich Ellerson opened up the kicking competition this week after junior Andrew Gardner (94, above) missed a 27-yard attempt that would have given the Mustangs the late lead in a 30-28 loss to Montana on Saturday.
Gardner also missed a 39-yarder against Montana.
Since Monday, Gardner and former Atascadero High kicker Jake West have been dueling at the end of practice while teammates crowd around and try to distract both guys.
Here’s what I know: I went out to practice Wednesday, and Gardner made all three of his attempts from roughly 40 yards out. West, the kickoff specialist, missed all three. He had the distance, but not the direction, which is supposed to be Gardner’s specialty.
But Gardner is just 2 of 5 from within 40 yards so far this season. Though, it looks like Gardner’s regained some confidence in practice at least.
On Wednesday, receiver Ramses Barden squirt-bottled water on the kickers — perhaps simulating the rainy conditions expected (courtesy of Hurricane Ike) for Saturday’s game against McNeese State in Lake Charles, La.
Gardner was nails.
There’s one more day to go in the competition, which Ellerson said will be decided by cumulative total. I don’t know what happened the previous two days since I wasn’t at practice, and Ellerson wasn’t telling.
One will win. One will lose. We find out Friday… or Thursday… sometime soon.
“Whoever’s going to go out on the field for us is going to have won something before they go back,” Ellerson said.
Also, I mentioned Hurricane Ike, and as of Wednesday the team was confident the game would not be canceled. Forecasts are predicting much of the storm will bypass Lake Charles.
The team’s plan is to fly in and out of Houston, where the storm is expected to be stronger, but Cal Poly is still planning to make a return trip to San Luis Obispo before departing for the following week’s game against Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. Only an unforseen change would keep the Mustangs in the Texas-Louisiana area.
“If we couldn’t get out of there on Sunday and we couldn’t get back until Monday or Tuesday, then we’d try to find a way to stay,” Ellerson said, “but that doesn’t look like that’s in the cards.”
Montana football coach Bobby Hauck asserted his team as the “underdog” going into Saturday’s game at Cal Poly.
That statement came despite all of this: Montana finished 11-1 last season, while Cal Poly was 7-4. The Grizzlies are 11-1 all-time against the Mustangs, including a 10-9 win in the most recent meeting in 2006. Montana is ranked at No. 5, while Cal Poly is 11th. And the Grizzlies had two weeks to prepare for the Mustangs. They even canceled a scrimmage to spend more time on Cal Poly’s schemes.
Maybe Hauck is just dying to use the “no respect” speech for once. His team hasn’t been an underdog since the 2006 season opener. He said he’s unsure of his team’s youth. The Grizzlies only return three starters on defense.
Saturday’s game could be another down-to-the-wire affair between the two teams, and the reality in close games is nobody wants to be favored. Look how it worked out for San Diego State last week.
Aztecs coach Chuck Long’s week-long string of pleas that Cal Poly was a good team fell upon deaf ears. San Diego State was favored. That’s all there was to it. Now he’s fighting for his job.
The Mustangs returned 10 starters from the best FCS offense in the country last year and are coming off that emotional 29-27 last-second win against San Diego State. Monstrous receiver Ramses Barden makes it near impossible to focus on Cal Poly’s option running attack with three experienced seniors running behind four returning starters on the offensive line.
But how much can Cal Poly really be “favored” against a team with 10 returning starters of its own, a senior-dominated offensive line, a Buck Buchanan Award candidate at safety and a senior quarterback who led the team to an undefeated regular-season record last year?
Well, I searched long and hard online until I found a web site that actually posted betting lines on FCS games, and Cal Poly is indeed giving three points to Montana.
What’s three-points-worth of a no-respect speech?
Following another suggestion from you posters: I looked into the season ticket situation for Cal Poly football.
Though not ready to release exact numbers, the ticket manager for the Mustangs said Wednesday that season tickets were selling at record pace this season. I’m not quite sure what that means without the numbers, but stay tuned for more.
Here’s the lowdown with this weekend’s game.
As of Wednesday night, there were only a couple hundred reserve tickets left for Cal Poly’s home opener against Montana on Saturday, according to the ticket office. If those sell out before the game, there will be one more option for anyone interested in going.
Since school is not in session, students are losing out on their free tickets.
Between 2,000 and 2,500 general admission seats usually reserved for students will go for $14 apiece for adults ($8 for seniors, youth and Cal Poly staff) Saturday at Spanos Stadium.
They can be purchased as early as 3 p.m., and the ticket office recommended showing up between 4 and 4:30 to purchase general admission seats.
Getting their early gives you the best chance to save your seat, according to the ticket manager. Expect delays if your plan is to show up 30 minutes or less prior to the 6:05 kickoff.
