Coming off of a 45-0 loss against Boise State, the Hornets are preparing for their home opener against the Cal Poly Mustangs and using the bye week to get ready for Cal Poly’s unorthodox offensive and defensive schemes.

Cal Poly does a multitude of things both offensively and defensively that makes them a hard team to prepare for in only one week, Coach Steve Mooshagian said.

The Hornets are using the bye week as a “teaching week” Mooshagian said, to get the players ready for what they’re going to see on game day.

“Preparing for Cal Poly has influenced our practice because a lot of what Poly does offensively and defensively is foreign to our players,” Mooshagian said.

Cal Poly, from the Great West Football conference, finished last season at 8-5 where the team made it to the playoffs, but lost in the second round to Texas State, 14-7. Their offense averaged 352.8 yards and 27.2 points a game last season, while their opponents averaged 17.8 points a game.

Offensively, the Mustangs like to spread out and move their receivers around, Mooshagian said. “Their receivers are big and tall and they like to utilize them making mismatches against the secondary and defensively they run a version of the flux defense that isn’t seen often.”

“We’re doing a lot of repetition and seeing the things they do on the [practice] field and then on tape,” said quarterback Marcel Marquez.

As for the starting quarterback position for the Hornets, the coaching staff is looking at either the returning junior Crosby Wehr or junior Marquez, who was ineligible to play in the Boise game due to a transcript-transfer hold. The coaches will look at how this week’s practices go to decide on who will be running the offense.

“This is a good week for Marcel to catch up [in] the bye week, but we will make a decision (this) week,” Mooshagian said.

The game is scheduled for Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and is the first game of the season at Hornet Stadium. The first home opener is always good for the fans and the community, sophomore linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo said.

“We’re going to play with a lot of heart and go out there and represent Sacramento and the Hornets,” Mulitalo said.

The Hornets are staying confident going into the game coming off of a revamp off-season.

“This is a new team, a new year with a whole new attitude,” said senior linebacker Tyson Butler. “It doesn’t come down to what Poly does in the game, it’s what we do and how we play.”

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Matt Beltran can be reached at [email protected]