Winning — and winning big — has a way of masking a football team’s deficiencies and mistakes. To the fans at least.

The coaching staff is a different story. After looking at tape of games, coaches can spot problems and mistakes right away.

Everything wasn’t hunky dory after College of San Mateo’s 48-13 win over San Jose City College Saturday night. Despite the lopsided score, CSM (3-1) got off to a slow start, actually trailing San Jose (0-4) 6-0 in the first quarter.

“We made some mistakes … and gave them some momentum,” said CSM head coach Larry Owens. “It was mistakes that gave them opportunities. I was confident in our guys. I knew if we played (the way we’re capable) we’d be fine.”

Owens pointed out tackling basics as a problem against the Jaguars, as well as special teams play. Offensive coordinator Bret Pollack said the offensive mistakes were more mental than physical.

Owens reiterated a common refrain among coaches: a team plays how it practices. The Bulldogs’ slow start didn’t necessarily begin Saturday night.

“It didn’t start in the game, it started in practice,” Owens said. “Wednesday we were flat (in practice) and Thursday wasn’t much better. My feelings were we were patting ourselves on the back a little too much. If we don’t raise our game up, the second half (of the season, NorCal Conference play) is going to be long.”

All that being said, however, the Bulldogs remain one of the top teams in the state. They are ranked No. 11 in Northern California by the J.C. Athletic Bureau and No. 19 in the state overall.

Offense is flying

For the second time in four games, the Bulldogs set a single-game rushing record. They rushed 463 yards against Chabot in the first game of the season and bettered that mark Saturday by rushing for 478 yards against San Jose.

Those numbers don’t mean much, as far as Pollack is concerned.

“I don’t pay too much attention to that,” Pollack said. “That would never happen in a close game. You get out (to a big lead) on a team by running and in the second half, you keep running.”

Pollack’s comments, however, doesn’t mean he isn’t proud of the numbers the offense is putting up.

“It’s an accomplishment,” Pollack said. “I told the offensive line you can’t do that if you don’t move people off the ball.

“It is a comfort thing, too. It is a good weapon to have.”

For the second week in a row, the ground assault was led by starting quarterback Julian Edelman, who ran for 133 yards and a score on nine carries. Fullback Sean Connor finished with 94 yards on eight carries and a touchdown. In all, the Bulldogs had 11 different players carry the ball and averaged 10.6 yards a carry as a team.

The Bulldogs are currently one of only five teams in the state that rushed for more than 1,000 yards on the season. CSM leads the state in rushing, having amassed 1,481 yards. To put it in perspective, the Bulldogs rushed for just over 1,600 yards all of last season.

“We can run the ball,” Pollack said.

Saturday’s game a ‘classic’

Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against Gavilan is being billed as “SBC Smart Yellow Pages Classic.”

In exchange for placing Bulldog Stadium on the cover of the 2005 SBC Smart Yellow Pages, the school agreed to name one of their games for the company.

“We appreciate their support,” Owens said. “It’s a good opportunity for SBC and a good opportunity for us.”

Up next: at home versus Gavilan of Gilroy, 1 p.m. Saturday

Gavilan (1-3) is a member of the Coast Conference and is coming off a 45-0 pounding at the hands of Diablo Valley. While the Rams’ offense is one of the worst in the state — they average 213.8 yards per game — the defense is one of the best, allowing opponents only 258.8 yards per contest.

“They’re solid (defensively),” Pollack said. “They shut us out in the second half last year.”

A game CSM won 35-25.