It isn't officially Homecoming Week, and Weber State and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo have never played against each other in a football game.
Nonetheless, several faces on the Mustangs sidelines for tonight's 6:05 p.m. kickoff are familiar ones in Wildcat country. Unfortunately for Weber State, or perhaps vice-versa, a big portion of the Wildcats' playbook will also be familiar to the Cal Poly-SLO coaches.Three Mustang coaches, including head coach Andre Patterson, have strong ties with the Wildcat program - they were all assistants under the regime of former WSU coach Mike Price.
Price's son Eric, who played for Weber State for two years, is now the receivers' coach for the Mustangs. Patterson served on the 'Cats staff during the 1988 season as a part-time defensive line coach. The other Wildcat connection is offensive coordinator Phil Early, who was also a part-time staffer on the '88 squad.
"He knows the system and what we're all about," said Arslanian of Patterson. But it's that knowing part that has the Mustangs' coach nervous about the game against the 'Cats high-powered offense.
"It's scary because I know how good they are," he said, noting that he's especially wary of the Wildcat's tandem of quarterback Bryan Martin and wide receiver Pokey Eckford. "That combo's probably the best we've ever seen."
But defense has been the Mustangs (1-2) forte this season as they've allowed 308.7 yards and only 14.7 points a contest. Weber, on the other hand, is coming off of a season-high 576-yard total-offense performance and averages 440.7 yards and 33.7 points a game.