Cal Poly looks for ringer in Horseshoe Classic

Two weeks ago Cal Poly was struggling with injuries. But with a week’s rest coming off a bye, it will be school and conference rival UC Davis that will try to cope with injuries in Saturday’s annual Horseshoe Classic at Davis’ new Multi-Purpose Stadium.

“We are a better football team coming out of the bye than we were going into it,” Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson said in a telephone interview.

The Aggies (2-4, 0-1), on the other hand, are coming into the game beat up following a 35-16 loss to Great West Conference leader North Dakota State.

Perhaps the most notable injured player for the Aggies was Tim Plough who went out of the game in the first half with a knee injury.

Plough, a key component of the UC Davis offensive game, has completed 64 percent of his passes this season and has passed for 1,355 yards and 11 touchdowns. His Saturday start is questionable according to the UC Davis athletics Web site.

Quarterback Matt Engle was called upon to replace Plough in last week’s game and managed to complete 21 of 33 passes for 221 yards.

The Aggie offense boasts a heavy passing game with 1,683 yards in six games but struggle in the running game with only 624 total rushing yards; they have failed to get above the 80-yard mark in their last two games.

Red shirt freshman Joe Trombetta has accounted for 525 of those rushing yards. Along with five rushing touchdowns, he is averaging 105 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry.

Trombetta, the Aggies’ top scorer with seven touchdowns, has made himself a useful target in the passing game as well. He has reeled in 33 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

Trombetta is topped in receiving only by junior wide receiver Brandon Rice. Rice, who has played in all six of the Aggies’ games this year, is the top target for both of Davis’ quarterbacks. He has posted 490 yards on 37 receptions and is averaging 81.7 yards per game.

Defensively the Aggies have struggled to stop the pass, giving up 1,543 yards so far this season as well as 10 touchdowns.

However, in spite of its own rushing faults, Davis has managed to limit the rush of opposing teams to 541 yards – an opponent average of 98.5 yards per game. The Aggies have given up 11 rushing touchdowns so far this season.

“We have to run our offense,” Ellerson said. “We can pass the ball but we need to be able to run the ball. If we can’t put up a hundred yards against (UC Davis) then we lost the game.”

Cal Poly (3-2, 0-0) will be looking to break UC Davis’ ability to guard the run with the return of the James Noble-Ryan Mole duo. The two were available for the Northern Colorado game but didn’t play in order to prevent further injuries.

Ellerson said that Mole is “100 percent” and that Noble “should be at 100 percent” Saturday’s game.

Sophomore Jono Grayson and junior Jon Hall have filled in for those two well. Grayson posted his first ever 100-yard game with Cal Poly against Northern Colorado. He has 242 yards in three games this season and is No. 2 on the team in rushing.

Hall, the team leader in rushing with 282 yards on 50 attempts, has earned a work-horse reputation by chipping away at real estate with an average per carry of 5.5 yards per carry. He leads the team in rushing with 282 yards on 50 attempts.

The Mustang overall offense remains balanced with only a 17-yard difference between total rushing yards and total passing yards. Rushing has yielded the most yardage with 1,135 so far this season.

“How they defend it will dictate how we respond,” Ellerson said of the Mustang offense.

The passing game is headed up by junior quarterback Jonathan Dally, who has posted 1,108 yards passing and a 13-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio so far this season.

Dally proved two weeks ago that he can also be a threat on the ground as well with four touchdowns against Northern Colorado on runs of 2, 14, 1 and 7 yards.

Dally continues to look to junior wide receiver Ramses Barden as a favorite target. The Dally to Barden staple alone earned 498 yards and six touchdowns in Cal Poly’s three-game homestand.

Ellerson said that junior center Stephen Field, who was injured early in the season, will be returning to the offensive line Saturday. He said that Jason Cox, who has filled in for Field at center, may see some time at tackle.

Cal Poly has held the Golden Horseshoe for the past year after rallying back from a 10-3 deficit to defeat the Aggies 23-17, but it is UC Davis who owns the series record with 16 wins to Cal Poly’s 14. The teams have tied twice.

This year’s game will mark the first time the series has been played in the recently completed Aggie Stadium. The new $31 million facility features state-of-the-art artificial turf and a seating capacity of 10,763.

“It looks like a nice setting,” Ellerson said.

The game will mark the 33rd time the teams have met since the series began in 1939.

“We love to play these guys,” Ellerson said. “It’s a team we respect (and) that’s who you want to measure yourself against.”