Sure, the Cal Poly football team has played in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs before. They’ve even won a game in the postseason.

However, every time that they’ve done so at the Division I level, it’s always been after a lengthy road trip to exotic locales, like Missoula, Montana or San Marcos, Texas.

On Saturday, though, all that changes, when the Mustangs begin play in this year’s FCS bracket at — wait for it — Alex G. Spanos Stadium, with kickoff against Weber State set for 6:05 p.m.

The Mustangs finished the regular season 8-2 following last weekend’s heartbreaking 36-35 overtime loss to Wisconsin, but head coach Rich Ellerson said in Monday’s press conference that the focus of his team is on this week, not the one before.

“Nah, that’s ancient history,” said the eighth-year coach. “We accomplished all the challenges that our schedule presented to us when we looked at it last summer. We had a good year: We won our conference, we beat (UC) Davis. We took that opportunity to go into the Big Ten at Camp Randall Stadium. We didn’t win, but we proved that we belonged.”

And after all that?

“While we didn’t come away with the “W” there, we got a chance to test ourselves, and we’re sitting right here, where we hoped we’d be,” Ellerson added.

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Where they are is matching up against a Weber State squad that poses an interesting problem for Cal Poly: While the Mustangs have won the last three meetings, including a 47-19 rout in September 2007, the Ron McBride-coached visitors come in with a 9-3 mark this year and a share of the Big Sky title, only losing out on the title outright with a home loss to Eastern Washington last weekend.

“It’s largely the same guys we played, but they’ve really added some talent,” Ellerson said. “They’ve made some great additions, and they’ve matured well. Their personality, or style of play is all over the place. They’re doing a great job, really efficient in the passing game, got skilled receivers all over the place.

“But the personality of their coach and their team is still power,” he added. “They’re going to challenge you physically, on both sides of the ball.”

It figures to be an offensive showcase, as the numbers put up by both sides are staggering.

The Wildcats — making their first appearance in the FCS playoffs since 1991 — enter the game No. 4 in the FCS in passing efficiency (169.59), No. 5 in passing offense (321.83 yards per game), No. 8 in total offense (452.0 ypg) and No. 9 in scoring offense (35.92 points per game). Quarterback Cameron Higgins sits third in passing efficiency (171.52) and fourth in total offense (308.42 ypg).

McBride, who spent 13 seasons as head coach at Utah, hands the ball over to Higgins and the rest of the offense, which includes tailback Trevyn Smith (1,344 yds, 18 TD) and receivers Tim Toone (67 receptions, 1,230 yds., 6 TDs) and Cody Nakamura (41 rec., 682 yds., 9 TDs).

“They’ve got scary returners, they’ve got great receivers, and they’ve got a running back that’s hard to knock down,” Ellerson said. “(Higgins) is on fire, and there’s a lot of guys on the line that have a lot of time playing for them. We had a hard time blocking them a year ago, and they’re a year better.”

To counter that, Cal Poly’s offense will be led by the nation’s leader in passing efficiency, senior QB Jonathan Dally, who comes in with a 186.86 passer rating for the best offense in all the FCS. Dally also lead the team in rushing yards with 644 (five other Mustangs have 295 or more), including consecutive 100-yard games the last two weeks, capped by a 118-yard night against the Badgers.

The Mustangs also lead the nation in scoring offense (45.3 ppg) and total offense (461.40 ypg), sit third in rushing offense (300.8 ypg) and fifth in fourth-down conversions (66.67 percent).

Dally’s primary target, future NFL Draft pick Ramses Barden, extended his FCS record of consecutive games with a touchdown catch to 19 with a 25-yard scoring reception in overtime vs. Wisconsin. The scoring strike also broke the NCAA Division I record, previously held by Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald (now wiht the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals).

There was some issue with where the game was to be played: When the bracket was unveiled on the selection show on ESPNU, Weber State was originally listed as the home team for the first-rounder. However, a check of the official bracket on the NCAA website confirmed that the game would be played in San Luis Obispo.

“We were in a little bit of limbo when we first heard,” Ellerson said. “We were walking out the door when we heard it would be at home. So we were excited, then doubly excited.”

Toone felt that the location of the game mattered to the Wildcats.

“I don’t think anyone really cared,” Toone said in the Deseret News earlier this week. “We’ve played better away than we have at home this year anyway — especially the offense.”

The loss to Wisconsin likely cost Cal Poly one of the top four seeds in the FCS playoffs, and a guarantee of home games in at least the first two rounds. That means that a win over Weber State could set up a second-round road game at fourth-seeded Montana, against a Grizzlies squad that split the Big Sky title with the Wildcats and dealt the Mustangs their only home loss this year back on Sept. 6th. However, if Texas State can upset Montana, the Mustangs could host the Bobcats in the quarterfinal round, something that Texas State did in 2005, handing Cal Poly a 14-7 loss in San Marcos.

November 28, 2008