College of San Mateo head football coach Tim Tulloch is all about earning things on the field and for the second time in three years, the Bulldogs earned the 3C2A state championship. But there is one thing Tulloch and the Bulldogs can’t control — the rankings, which is why Tulloch doesn’t pay attention to them until after the season. So less than a week after CSM dismantled previously undefeated Mt. San Antonio College, 43-11 to win the state title, the Bulldogs (12-1) were named community college national champions by JCgridiron.com, which has been ranking community college programs and naming national champions for 20 years.

Once the game clock ticked down and the College of San Mateo Bulldogs began a long and vibrant postgame celebration after Saturday’s state championship victory, sophomore Soa Takeifanga scooped up a game ball and made a bee line for the College Heights Stadium grandstands.

The California community college football title will be at stake when College of San Mateo hosts unbeaten Mt. San Antonio College (12-0) in the 3C2A championship game at noon Saturday at College Heights Stadium on the CSM campus.

When it comes to this time of the season, the only thing that matters is: win and advance. So it doesn’t matter that the College of San Mateo offense scored the least amount of points since a 27-14 win at Diablo Valley Oct. 18, and the defense gave up the most points since a 49-14 win over Foothill Oct. 26.

While many college football teams were busy fighting over flags this past week, the College of San Mateo squad was busy planting its own flag as the best team in Northern California — and at this point, it’s not really close.

The College of San Mateo’s throttling of Laney College 57-7 last Friday put the finishing touches on the Bulldogs’ third straight Bay 6 Conference title and set them up as the No. 1 seed in the Northern California playoffs, which begin Nov. 30.

Lolo Mataele wasted no time taking care of business to ensure College of San Mateo would finish an unbeaten Bay 6 Conference season Friday night at Laney College. The Bulldogs (5-0 Bay 6, 9-1 overall) enjoyed a resounding 52-7 victory, with the 6-0, 210-pound star running back scoring the team’s first three touchdowns.

College of San Mateo wrapped up a third straight Bay 6 Conference football title with a 61-7 victory over visiting San Joaquin Delta College Saturday, all but clinching home playoff game when the Bulldogs begin the defense of their Northern California title later this month.

College of San Mateo has hosted track and field for generations, but it’s safe to say no single hurdling feat has electrified like that of football standout Lolo Mataele. The sophomore running back produced the highlight of CSM’s season to date, turning a 69-yard touchdown run into a steeple chase in leading the Bulldogs (2-0 Bay 6, 6-1 overall) to a 49-14 win Saturday at College Heights Stadium over the Foothill Owls (1-1, 4-2).

CSM (1-0 Bay 6, 5-1 overall) opened its Bay 6 Conference football schedule with a rowdy and oftentimes volatile showing Friday night in San Ramon, but the legs of running back Malakai DeMoss and punter Tashi Dorje carried the Bulldogs to a 27-14 victory over Diablo Valley College.