Cal Poly’s Jon Hall (center) runs at Idaho State’s Ryan Phipps at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Saturday night.
Last year the Cal Poly football team relied heavily on the connection between Jonathan Dally and Ramses Barden in its victory over Idaho State. On Saturday Dally completed just five passes for 88 yards. Barden caught just four balls for 77 yards. But it didn’t matter.
Cal Poly’s offense used a little role-reversal in a 49-10 win over the Bengals on a rainy night at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, rushing for a school Division I record 459 yards.
“They decided they wanted to try to shut down Tre’ and Ramses today – which isn’t really easy,” Cal Poly fullback Jordan Yocum said of the Mustangs’ starting receivers. “They gave us the running game and we are going to take what the defense gives us and be good at it.”
On just his second carry after returning from a hand injury that sidelined him for two games, senior running back James Noble took a pitch and ran into the corner of the end zone for his 32nd career rushing touchdown, tying the school record held by Louis Jackson.
The No. 4 Mustangs (6-1) continued to pound the ball on the ground, as Yocum recorded his first career touchdown on a 39-yard run straight through the middle of the Bengals defense.
“It felt great; the (offensive) line blocked great,” Yocum said. “They made it very easy so I could just cut back and run as fast as I could, but they did all the work.”
In the second quarter, Idaho State (0-9) running back Kenyon Blue dazzled with a 20-yard run, breaking three tackles to move the ball to the Cal Poly 24-yard line. An ensuing pass interference call on the next play set up the lone Bengals touchdown, as Clint Knickrehm scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the Cal Poly lead to 14-7.
With the aid of a crucial fourth-down offsides penalty against Idaho State lineman Jon Tuua, the Mustangs responded with a 4-yard touchdown run by Ryan Mole.
“We get after each other a little bit,” Mole said of a Mustangs rushing attack that had five players rush for at least 40 yards. “Everybody is going to make plays for us – everybody wants the ball.”
Not even Mother Nature could get in the way of the Mustangs’ dominance.
“With the rain, you’ve got to expect there to be more of a running game out there,” Mole said. “The ball is slippery and bad things can happen with that kind of wind and rain. It seemed like it was raining every time we had the ball, and stopped when we were on defense.”
After a three-and-out, Cal Poly put the game out of reach for the winless Bengals.
Barden caught a 25-yard pass and Mole added a 30-yard rush before eventually scoring on an 8-yarder to put the Mustangs comfortably ahead 28-7 at the half.
“They give you a lot of different looks and stunts to discourage the run game,” Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson said. “Our guys did a great job of handling it – both in terms of blocking and Jonathan getting the ball in the right hands, and those guys who got the ball did something with it.”
Yocum got the Mustangs going to start the second half, as he ran for a 42-yard touchdown to widen the margin to four touchdowns.
“We knew we could do it,” Yocum said of the rushing attack. “That’s a top offense – everybody can run the ball.”
After the defense forced a fumble near midfield, Barden continued the onslaught for the relentless Mustangs, adding a 27-yard touchdown reception. The catch gave him a touchdown in 16 consecutive games, leaving him just one shy of the Football Championship Subdivision (then Division I-AA) record held by former Mississippi Valley State star Jerry Rice.
The Bengals offense was held to just 278 total yards a week after the Mustangs gave up 41 points to Southern Utah.
“(The defense) stepped up tremendously,” Mole said. “They’ve been doing a lot of work just getting their things right, getting their calls right. I hope they keep doing it for the rest of the year because we’re going to keep putting points up. So if they keep stopping teams there is no way we should lose.”