Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – That Mustangs offense has some serious
giddy up.
Cal Poly sits on a 5-3 overall record with a 4-1 mark in the Big Sky
Conference, which puts the Mustangs a half-game back of first-place Montana
State. This, of course, is on the heels of a weekend in which Cal Poly took
down then-No. 7 Montana at home, 41-21.
Led by quarterback Chris Brown, the Mustangs rank first in the FCS in rushing
offense (347.6 rushing yards per game), yet they are overshadowed in a
conference with some of the biggest program names on the FCS level – Eastern
Washington and both schools from Montana.
Cal Poly joined the Big Sky four years ago after moving over from the Great
West Conference, and the Mustangs have been competitive ever since. In fact,
the team has its greatest chance to take the nation by storm this weekend when
the Mustangs host Montana State with a chance to upset Top 10 programs in
consecutive weeks.
Brown has the most rushing yards of any quarterback in the FCS this season
(856), which was strongly helped by his performance against Montana on
Saturday. The junior broke his own single-game program record for rushing yards
by a quarterback with 226, adding two touchdowns on 21 carries. He accounted
for three total scores in the game and averaged 10.8 yards per carry. His
previous single-game rushing record was set at 195 yards a year ago against UC
Davis.
Brown, Chattanooga’s Jacob Huesman, South Carolina State’s Javon Hargrave,
Youngstown State’s Joey Cejudo and Fordham’s Chase Edmonds have been named The
Sports Network’s FCS National Players of the Week following Week 9 action of
the college football season.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Chris Brown, Cal Poly, QB, Jr., 6-2, 195, Compton, California
Brown’s three touchdowns accounted for on Saturday weren’t an eye-popping
statistic, but the fact the signal caller broke his own school rushing
record for a quarterback against a Top 10 team (one with a strong defense)
elevates him drastically. He gained 226 rushing yards and averaged 10.8 yards
per carry in the win over Montana. The junior is on pace to break the Big Sky
rushing yards record for a quarterback, which was set in 2011 by Portland
State’s Connor Kavanagh (1,060 yards). He also completed 9-of-17 pass attempts
against the Grizzlies for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Jacob Huesman, Chattanooga, QB, Jr., 6-2, 220, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga continues to roll through the Southern Conference thanks to the
efforts of a strong defense and Huesman under center. His Mocs maintained their
unbeaten conference record over the weekend with a 38-31 win over Mercer.
Huesman completed 24-of-36 pass attempts for a career-high 359 yards with two
touchdowns, and added eight carries for 99 yards and another score. His 458
total offensive yards in the game were a career high, and his 41 career
touchdown passes place him fourth in school history, with one more year to go.
Chattanooga has its first 4-0 start in conference play since joining the SoCon
in 1977.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Javon Hargrave, South Carolina State, DL, Jr., 6-2, 295, Salisbury, North
Carolina
In the last few years, Bethune-Cookman has been one of the hardest teams to
defeat in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. But South Carolina State hasn’t
been far off the pace when it comes to top teams in the conference, and the
Bulldogs know a thing or two about making it to the FCS playoffs. On Saturday,
the Bulldogs took down the Wildcats to hand B-CU its first MEAC loss this
season, and Hargrave played a large part of SCSU’s 20-14 victory. The defensive
lineman recorded 11 tackles (all solo) and added a MEAC- and FCS-record six
sacks in the win. Hargrave also forced two Wildcats’ fumbles that helped the
Bulldogs defense contain a typically very active B-CU offense.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Joey Cejudo, Youngstown State, PK/P, Sr., 6-4, 205, Chino Hills, California
The Penguins showed what they are truly capable of this past weekend as they
took down South Dakota State in a Missouri Valley Football Conference clash.
Cejudo helped his Penguins in all aspects of the game on special teams. The
senior punted the ball five times for an average of 49.4 yards (with a long of
59 that pinned SDSU at its own 2-yard line late in the contest), made a 32-yard
field goal to tie the game at 3-3 in the first quarter, was 3-of-4 on extra
point tries, and had two touchbacks on six kickoffs in the contest. Oh, and all
this came just five days after he suffered a sprained right knee that nearly
forced him to miss the game.
FRESHMAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Chase Edmonds, Fordham, RB, Fr., 5-9, 185, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Edmonds is becoming a regular here, earning Freshman Player of the Week honors
for a third time. The running back is dominating all aspects of his rookie
season, and is showing why he’s a prime candidate for the Jerry Rice Award. On
Saturday, Edmonds tied a single-game Patriot League record with five rushing
touchdowns in his team’s 48-27 win over Lehigh. Edmonds carried the ball 32
times for 197 yards, and added a kickoff return for 24 yards and one reception
for nine yards. The freshman gained 230 all-purpose yards in the game, and now
ranks second in the nation in rushing yards (1,208), rushing touchdowns (16)
and all-purpose yards (1,611). Four of his rushing scores came in the first
half, and his 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put his team ahead
42-14. He’s just 388 yards and four touchdowns shy of reaching Fordham single-
season rushing records.
