Weber State University Athletics
Weber State Takes On #3 Cal Poly In The First Round Of The 2008 FCS Playoffs Saturday
11/26/2008 7:00:00 AM | Football
G A M E # 13 / NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs 1st Round
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY vs. @CAL POLY
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2008 * 6:05 P.M. (PST) / 7:05 P.M. (MST)
ALEX G. SPANOS STADIUIM * SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA
C A L P O L Y " M u s t a n g s"
HEAD COACH
RICH ELLERSON is completing his 8th season as head coach at Cal Poly. ... Ellerson is 56-33 (.629) and 60-40 (.600) overall as a head coach. ... Ellerson spent one season (1996) as the head coach at Southern Utah University. ... Ellerson is 3-1 lifetime vs. Weber State. His only loss the ?Cats came in his first season at Cal Poly (2001). That was a 43-40 FOUR OVERTIME loss in Ogden.
SERIES HISTORY
The series is tied 3-3-0. Weber State won the first three meetings, Cal Poly has won the last three.
1995 - Ogden 53-43 WSU
1996 - San Luis Obispo 30-20 WSU
2001 - Ogden 43-40 WSU (Four Overtimes)
2002 - San Luis Obispo 28-26 CP
2006 - Ogden 17-0 CP
2007 - San Luis Obipso 47-19 CP
LAST YEAR AT CAL POLY
RAMSES BARDEN, a 6-6, 230 wide receiver for Cal Poly, caught nine passes for a career high 219 yards and four touchdowns leading the Mustangs to a 47-19 win over the Wildcats in Cal Poly's 2007 home opener.
Cal Poly quarterback JONATHAN DALLY completed 13-20-0 passes for a career high 328 yards and set a Cal Poly single game record with six touchdown passes. The frustrating evening for the Wildcats began on the first offensive series with a fumble on the center exchange and three plays later ended with the ball being snapped out of the end zone for a safety.
The Wildcats had SIX FUMBLES in the game losing three and suffered one interception.
The two teams exchange field goals in the first quarter making it 5-3. ... The Mustangs then exploded throwing FOUR second quarter touchdown passes to take a 33-3 half time lead.
With 5:47 left in the third quarter, Barden caught his third touchdown pass of the night. On the ensuing kickoff by the Mustangs, Weber State's BRYANT ETEUATI got it on the 17-yard line and raced 83-yards for a touchdown to make it 40-11 after a successful two-point pass from JIMMY BARNES to ETEUATI.
But Cal Poly took the momentum back quickly throwing a 67-yard TD pass on the first play of scrimmage following WSU's kickoff making it 47-11. ... It was then Weber State's turn to get the momentum back as ETEUATI took the kickoff and nearly broke it for back-to-back returns. He did get it out to the Cal Poly 45-yard line and on the first play from scrimmage JIMMY BARNES hit TIM TOONE in stride on a 45-yard touchdown strike. TREVYN SMITH rushed for the two-point conversion.
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter. Cal Poly had a chance with a first and goal at the 12 following a fumble by SMITH. The Wildcats held the Mustangs on a fourth-and-three situation.
BRYAN ETEUATI's 263 All-Purpose yards was the 11th best single game effort in WSU football history and he becomes just the third player in Wildcat football history to have two or more kickoff returns for a touchdown.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly comes into Saturday's game ranked THIRD in both The Sports Network and the NCAA Division I FCS Coaches polls. The Mustangs are the FCS Scoring leaders this season averaging 45.30 points per game and lead Division FCS in Total Offense per game at 461.40 yards a contest.
The Mustangs average 300 RUSHING YARDS per game which ranks third. But they can throw the ball as well. They LEAD Division I FCS in team Passing Efficiency Rating at a gaudy 186.86.
The trigger man for the offense is quarterback JONATHAN DALLY (6-0, 190 Sr.). He not only runs the option offense to perfection as a runner, but thrower as well. He leads the team in rushing with 129 carries for 644 yards and nine touchdowns. He's also 105-172-1 passing for 1,775 yards and 21 touchdowns.
His favorite passing target is a big one. RAMSES BARDEN (6-6, 227 Sr. WR) has a lot of NFL scouts drooling. He combines speed and quickness with a large physical stature which makes it almost impossible to defend him one-on-one. He is has 61 catches for 1,149 yards and 16 touchdowns - THIS SEASON. ... In his career, he has hauled in 200 passes for 4,095 yards and 48 touchdowns. He AVERAGES 20.47 yards per catch.
In the option offense, the Mustangs have three players with 500+ rushing yards this season. Former Sacramento State running back RYAN MOLE (5-10, 192 Sr.) has 79 carries for 611 yards (10 TDs) and JAMES NOBLE (5-6, 180 Sr.) has 73 carries for 579 yards and nine touchdowns.
Defensively, the Mustangs tackle by committee. They have 10 players with at least 30 total tackles this season, but no one with more than 80. FRED HIVES II (5-10, 200 Sr. MLB) is the team leader with 78. ... CARL GILLESPIE (6-1, 235 Jr. WLB) and SEAN LAWYER (6-1, 260 Sr. DE) each have a team high eight quarterback sacks, and as a team the Mustangs have recorded 36 QB sacks this season for a minus 266 yards.
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY "WILDCATS"
HEAD COACH RON McBRIDE
2008 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year
Weber State head coach, RON McBRIDE, is in his FOURTH SEASON as head coach the Wildcats. In 2005 he guided the Wildcats to a 6-5 (.545) record overall and a 4-3 (.571) mark in Big Sky Conference play. Last year the Wildcats were 5-6 overall and 4-4 in Big Sky play.
MAC is now 24-21 at WSU (.534) and 112-84 (.571) overall in his 17th seasons as a head coach. McBRIDE picked up his 100th career coaching victory in the 23-0 shutout of Northern Colorado last October. ... McBride was 88-63 in 13 seasons as the head coach at the University of Utah from 1990-2002. McBride is 0-2 lifetime vs. Cal Poly.
On TUESDAY (Nov. 4 election day) McBride signed a new contract which will keep him at WSU through the 2012 season. ... On Wednesday, November 26, McBride was named the "Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year.
Despite six bowl appearances and three conference titles during 13 years as the head coach at the University of Utah, Ron McBride never won a Coach of the Year.
In his fourth season at Weber State, the 69-year-old McBride was voted the 2008 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year by his league peers on Wednesday.
McBride guided the Wildcats to arguably the best season in school
history. The Wildcats claimed a share of the Big Sky regular-season title
for the first time in 40 years, finishing 7-1 in league and 9-3 overall.
Weber State earned the Big Sky's automatic bid to the Division I Football
Championship playoffs, which begin on Saturday with the 12th-ranked Wildcats taking on Cal Poly. It's just the school's third playoff appearance, and first since 1991.
Weber State was picked to finish fifth by the coaches and media in the preseason polls. Weber State climbed to as high as eighth in the nation after beginning the season unranked.
"This is huge for this team and the guys who work for me," McBride said of the honor. "It just says that you are doing some good stuff for the football program, and the other teams respect what you are doing. That's a huge plus."
Weber State's regular season included the program's first win over Montana in 10 seasons, a 7-0 start to conference play, and a six-game winning streak. On Tuesday, a record 12 Wildcats were named to the All-Conference first team. Sophomore quarterback Cameron Higgins, a candidate for the Walter Payton Award, was named the Offensive MVP, and junior running back Trevyn Smith was a unanimous first-team pick.
McBride came to Weber State in 2005 after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Kentucky. From 1990-2002, McBride was the head coach at Utah, where he compiled an 88-63. He guided the Utes to conference titles in the WAC and Mountain West Conferences, and led them to three bowl victories
"I thought time was running out, to tell you the truth," McBride said of not having won a Coach of the Year honor. "When you get to be 69, and you are still flailing around, that's not bad, I guess. I appreciate this. It makes me happy, and I'm happy for the program and for the kids."
McBride's record in 17 seasons as a head coach at the Division I level is 112-84. McBride went 88-63 at Utah, and is 24-21 at Weber State. He is one of just a handful of coaches to win league titles in three Division I conferences.
McBride is the fourth Weber State coach to win the honor. Current Weber State Athletics Director Jerry Graybeal won the award in 2003. Sark Arslanian was named Coach of he Year in 1965, and Mike Price took home the honor in 19897.
RADIO / TV
All Weber State football games will be carried LIVE on radio station KLO (1430 AM).
CARL ARKY will be making the call on Saturday with BRAD LARSEN, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations at Weber State, providing color commentary. ... Saturday's Pre-Game Show airs at 6:30 p.m. (MST). ... A note, the Montana Tech / Weber State men's basketball game on Saturday, November 29 will NOT be broadcast on KLO since it starts at the same time as the football game. ... The football game is NOT being televised, but will be video streamed by the NCAA, just go to NCAA.com and look for the link and click on the game. It is FREE.
T R A V E L P L A N S
The official travel party is set to depart from Salt Lake City via chartered jet on Friday, November 28 at 11:00 a.m. (MST), arriving at the Santa Maria, California airport at 11:55 a.m. (PST). ... Team headquarters on Friday night will be the RADISSON HOTEL SANTA MARIA located on 3455 Skyway Drive. The telephone number there is (805) 928-8000. ... The team and travel party will depart by chartered jet from Santa Maria leaving Sunday morning (Nov. 30) at 12:30 a.m. (PST), arriving back in Salt Lake City at 2:20 a.m. (MST).
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
The Wildcats are scheduled to practice at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Friday, November 28 at 4:00 p.m. (PST). ... Anyone wishing player or coach interviews should contact WSU SID Brad Larsen (801) 626-6010 or cell (801) 698-9548.
47TH SEASON OF FOOTBALL
Weber State is in its 47th year of playing football on the four-year level, and the 46th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
In 1962, Weber State attained four-year status and played as an NCAA Division II member until 1978 when they moved up to the newly created NCAA Division I-AA level (now I-FCS). ... Weber State's ALL-TIME RECORD in football is 242-258-3 (.481).
TEAM CAPTAINS
The team elected five captains for the 2008 season. ... The DEFENSIVE CAPTAINS will be J.D. FOLSOM (6-3, 230 Sr. SLB), RYAN GALOVIC (6-0, 220 Sr. ROV) and KEVIN LINEHAN (6-3, 255 Jr. DE).
The OFFENSIVE CAPTAINS are PAUL CARPENTER (6-6, 305 Sr. OT), CAMERON HIGGINS (6-2, 195 Soph. QB) and MARCUS MAILEI (6-1, 245 Sr. FB) .
BRYANT ETEUATI (5-7, 160 Sr.) will be the SPECIAL TEAMS captain.
?CATs DROP TO 12TH IN BOTH POLLS
Following the home field 33-26 loss to Eastern Washington last Saturday, the Wildcats dropped from 8th to 12th in both The Sports Network poll and NCAA Division I FCS Coaches polls.
The highest ranking the Wildcats have ever attained in Division I FCS, came back in 1980. The Wildcats lost their season opener @Northern Iowa, the reeled off four straight wins at home. The only I-AA poll at the time was by the Associated Press.
The Wildcats were ranked 5th following their win over Montana but then lost their last six games of the season to finish 4-7 and coach Pete Riehlman was dismissed as head coach and replaced by Mike Price.
The highest ranking ever by a WSU football team came in 1966. The Wildcats were ranked THIRD in the old "small college poll". WSU finished the 1965 season ranked FIFTH with an 8-1 mark and were Big Sky Conference Co-Champions. The Wildcats began the 1966 season with a 32-14 road win at Northern Arizona and moved up to third. The Wildcats then hosted #1 ranked San Diego State in Ogden, but lost 38-34. WSU ended the 1966 season with a 6-3-0 mark.
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING
Weber State is in the Division I FCS playoffs for the first time since the 1991 season and makes just its third overall appearance in the playoffs which began back in 1977. WSU's first appearance came in 1987.
The Wildcats are 1-2 in playoff action. In their first appearance ever in the playoff (1987) the Wildcats defeated Big Sky rival Idaho, 59-30, at Idaho in the opening round, then lost @Marshall, 51-23, in the quarterfinals.
In 1991, the Wildcats were sent to Cedar Falls, Iowa where they dropped a 38-21 decision to Northern Iowa. ... A complete run down of those three games is contained on PAGE EIGHT of this release
CLASH OF THE OFFENSIVE TITANS
Saturday night's match up feature to of the top OFFENSES in NCAA Division I FCS. .. Cal Poly leads the Division in Scoring (45.30), Total Offense (461.40) and Passing Efficiency (196.86) and is 3rd in Rushing Offense (300.80 ypg).
Weber State is 9th in Scoring (35.92), 8th in Total Offense (452.00), 4th in Passing Efficiency (169.59) and 5th in Passing Offense (321.83).
Cal Poly grinds it out on the ground averaging just over 32 minutes of possession time per game, but has a big time receiver in Ramses Barden they go to when needed.
Weber State throws the ball all over the field, but has a big time running back in Trevyn Smith who not only run, but catch the ball as well
...The Defense Is The Key
Cal Poly's offense has only been held UNDER 40 points, three times this season. They scored just 29 vs. San Diego (but won 29-27), they were held to 28 by Montana (28-30 loss) and to 35 last week @Wisconsin (35-36 L OT).
Weber State has only be held UNDER 30 four times this season. The ?Cats are 1-3 in those games. They lost 17-36 @Hawai'i, 21-37 @Utah, won 17-10 at home vs. Northern Colorado and last week lost 36-33 at home to Eastern Washington.
Cal Poly's defense is holding opponents to 24.3 points per game and 351.7 yards of Total Offense (97.1 rushing / 245.6 passing).
Weber State's defense is holding opponents to 21.50 points per game and 342.08 yards of Total Offense (123.83 rushing / 218.25 passing).
Cal Poly has 36 quarterback sacks (3.60 per game), Weber State has 29 (2.42) per contest.
RUNNING QUARTERBACKS
The Wildcats have seen some good running quarterbacks this season, but none with the eye-popping number of Cal Poly's Jonathan Dally. Here is a game by game break down of WSU's opposing quarterbacks running stats in 2008
Garrett Graves (Montana Western -1 rush / 37 pass
Inoke Funaki (Hawai'i) 20 rush / 87 pass
Dexter Hill (Dixie State) 14 rush / 141 pass
M. Bethel-Thompson (Sac State) 35 rush / 152 pass
Brian Johnson (Utah) 4 rush / 194 pass
Cole Bergquist (Montana) 12 rush / 272 pass
Cody Kempt (Montana State) 21 rush / 169 pass
Bryan Waggener (No. Colorado) -13 rush / 106 pass
Lance Kriesien (No. Arizona) 64 rush / 36 pass
Michael Herrick (No. Arizona) -9 rush / 102 pass
Drew Hubel (Portland State) -9 rush / 208 pass
Russell Hill (Idaho State) 1 rush / 139 pass
Matt Nichols (E. Washington) 71 rush / 242 pass
The 71 rushing yards by Matt Nichols last week at home is the most by an opposing quarterback this season, so the Wildcats have some idea fresh on their minds of what they will be facing this Saturday.
"R E D Z O N E" N O T E S
Weber State has scored at least 10 points inside the "red zone" in every game this season except at home vs. Northern Colorado (7) and Eastern Washington (7). . . . The Wildcats are 43-52 (.827) in red zone scoring opportunities this season. Of the nine failures, seven have been stopped by TURNOVERS (four interceptions, three fumbles). The other two were on a loss of downs and a missed field goal. . . . When the Wildcats have scored touchdowns after crossing into the red-zone, 17 have been rushing scores, 20 have been passing touchdowns and six have been field goals.
BLOCK HEADS
In the first seven games this season, neither Weber State nor its opponent, had recorded a BLOCKED KICK. ... But in the last five games, Wildcat opponents have had five blocked kicks (2 punts, 2 PATs, 1 field goal). ... Weber State had two blocked field goals vs. Portland State.
QUICK NOTES & FILLERS
The loss at home last Saturday did the following: ...Snapped a six-game win streak overall and an eight-game win streak at home. ... It would have only been the 4th UNDEFEATED HOME SCHEDULE in WSU history. ... Prevented a 10 win season which has only happened once (1987: 10-3) in school history. . . . The Wildcats have had 48 FIRST DOWNS in the last two games. . . . Eastern Washington became the first team to have a +50% success on THIRD DOWN against the Wildcats this season. The Eagles were 12-21. That is the most third down conversion tries by a team vs. WSU this season and the most successful one achieved in one game. Utah was 5-10 vs. the Wildcats. . . . The 38:02 possession time by Eastern Washington is by far and away the most by a team vs. Weber State this season. The previous best was 33:54 by Dixie State on Sept. 13 in Ogden. In the first (3:46) and fourth (3:44) quarters, the Wildcats had the ball for less than four minutes. The least amount of possession time in one quarter this season for the Wildcats was 3:38 in the fourth quarter vs. Dixie State. . . . Weber State has a season high 98 TOTAL TACKLES in last week's game vs. Eastern Washington. . . . Montana State and Idaho State have the only two SAFETIES vs. Weber State this season. Both came on WSU punting attempts when the ball was snapped out of the end zone. . . . The September 20 game at Sacramento State is the only WSU game this season in which neither team had an INTERCEPTION. . . . The week previous (Sept. 13) vs. Dixie State is the only WSU game this season in which neither team lost a FUMBLE. . . . The Wildcats have had at least ONE QUARTERBACK SACK in every game this season except @Utah (Sept. 27) and @Idaho State (Nov. 8).
R O N M c B R I D E Q U O T E S
ON CAL POLY: "They are obviously a really good football team. They are well coaches, disciplined and play hard every down. Their offense is a hard one to prepare for because you have to account for every player on every play, and if you don't, then there's a touchdown. I've coached at Wisconsin and I know how physical they are in the Big 10 and Cal Poly stood toe to toe with them the entire game on both sides of the football."
ON THE WILDCATS "We got a wake up call last week, but if there is one thing which they team has done well this year, it is getting themselves focused for the task at hand. It's basically a new season except if you lose, your done, it's that simple. Health wise we are in good shape. That's been a real key for us this season."
