It took No. 20 Cal Poly (3-1) nearly two years, but against No. 19 McNeese State the Mustangs tallied their first road win since 2008, defeating the Cowboys 40-14 Saturday night in Cowboy Stadium.
Not since Oct. 18, 2008, when the Mustangs posted a 42-28 victory over South Dakota State, had the Mustangs earned a road win, snapping an eight-game losing skid and marking the first win on the road of the Tim Walsh era.
It may be safe to say the Mustangs can thank their ground game for the majority of it. Behind quarterback Andre Broadous — who started for the first time in his Cal Poly career — the Mustangs put together a 310-yard rushing attack. The Mustangs posted rushing scores by junior slotback Mark Rodgers, Broadous and fullback Jordan Yocum as the Mustangs were able to pull out their third win of the season.
To start the game, Jake West got the Mustangs going with a 39-yard field goal and Cal Poly added a three-touchdown second quarter to put their lead to 24-7 at the half.
The Mustangs then scored on a 24-yard interception return by redshirt freshman linebacker Johnny Millard and Rodgers ran 22 yards for a touchdown to put the Mustangs ahead 38-7 after three quarters.
The Cowboys, who scored a touchdown in the opening minute of the second quarter on a one-yard run by Marcus Wiltz, completed the scoring in the fourth quarter on backup quarterback Cody Stroud’s six-yard run.
Broadous finished his first start with a team-high 89 yards on the ground and one score, a 39-yard touchdown run in the second quarter which gave the Mustangs the lead at 10-7. Behind him, Rodgers added 72 yards while Yocum finished with 67 yards, scoring on a four-yard run 18 seconds before halftime.
Junior fullback Jake Romanelli also rushed for 59 yards on 12 carries.
Broadous completed seven of 10 passes for 77 yards, including a 44-yard strike to senior wide receiver Dominique Johnson in the second quarter, which set up a Yocum touchdown run.
Johnson was Cal Poly’s top receiver with four catches for 62 yards.
On defense, cornerback Bijon Samoodi led the Mustangs with six tackles, while tackle Erich Klemme added four tackles, two for lost yardage and one sack. Greg Francis tallied his sixth career interception while Marty Mohamed nabbed his third of the season.
The Mustangs, who held McNeese State to just 52 yards rushing, scored 37 straight points after falling behind 7-3 and took advantage of five Cowboy turnovers.
Cal Poly continues its five-game road trip with a visit to Fresno State on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. The Mustangs, who started the road trip Sept. 18 at Texas State, also visit Old Dominion and Southern Utah before returning to Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Oct. 23 against North Dakota.