No. 10 Montana Aims For First Win Against Cal Poly Since '13
No. 10 Montana Aims For First Win Against Cal Poly Since '13
Montana will look to finally solve a triple-option offensive attack that has pushed Cal Poly to three straight wins—and four of six—in the series.
Tenth-ranked Montana will look to finally solve a triple-option offensive attack that has pushed Cal Poly to three straight wins—and four of six—in the series, dating back to 2010, when the teams meet again in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Saturday.
Who: Montana (3-1) vs. Cal Poly (1-3)
When: Saturday, Sept. 29, 6:05 PM CT
Where: Spanos Stadium, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Watch: LIVE on FloFootball
If Montana football isn’t back, it’s well on its way. The Grizzlies outlasted a strong Sacramento State team last week in Missoula, defeating the Hornets, 41-34.
In large part, the success of the Grizz can be attributed to the strong play of dual-threat quarterback Dalton Sneed, who passed for 234 yards, rushed for 206 yards and was responsible for four Montana touchdowns in the win.
Cal Poly was subject to a much different scenario a week ago, as the Mustangs ran into a buzzsaw in the form of third-ranked Eastern Washington.
On the strength of all-everything quarterback Gabe Gubrud and 133 rushing yards from running back Antoine Custer, EWU rolled to a 70-17 victory over Cal Poly—handing the Mustangs their third loss in four games to begin the season.
Sneed Continues Early Season Explosion
Montana’s Dalton Sneed enjoyed a massive, 440-total yard game against Sacramento State last week, but that was far from an aberration. Sneed has been up to those sorts of tricks all season long.
The redshirt junior ranks third in the nation in total offense, averaging 340 yards per contest, and ranks eighth in the FCS for points responsible (66).
His 200-yard rushing performance on Saturday was the program’s first since Jordan Canada went over 200 yards against Southern Utah in 2014.
Olson Is A Tackling Machine
Dante Olson has been everywhere for Montana.
The redshirt junior racked up 15 tackles against Sacramento State—the second-highest mark of his career—and now leads the Big Sky Conference with 55 tackles this season.
Fifty-five tackles is also good for third in the FCS, where Olson checks in at No. 18 for sacks and No. 23 in tackles for loss.
The Mustangs Can Run Wild
As is tradition, Cal Poly is once again extremely adept on the ground, ranking 12th in the FCS is rushing yards per game—thanks, in large part, to fullback Joe Protheroe.
Protheroe has netted 521 yards and four touchdowns on 113 carries this season, including 176 yards on 34 carries a week ago. The 100-yard game was the 16th of his career.