Cal Poly Football came up just short in a back-and-forth battle with Big Sky Conference opponent Idaho State by a score of 41-38 on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Mustang Memorial Field.
The Mustangs (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky) couldn’t find their first 2-0 conference start since 2013 against the Bengals (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky).
Redshirt junior quarterback Jaden Jones led a strong Cal Poly attack that totaled 211 total yards in the first half.
Jones threw an opening drive touchdown while adding 58 yards on the ground before he was knocked out of the game just before halftime on a fumble.
Redshirt sophomore quarterbacks Richie Watts and Bo Kelly would pick up the slack. Watts went through the ground with 118 rushing yards, and Kelly went through the air, going a perfect 6-for-6 for 65 yards.
The Mustangs blitzed out of the gate with an opening drive 84-yard drive that culminated in a 19-yard pass to redshirt sophomore receiver Michael Briscoe.
Briscoe had both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the first half.
“We took a major step in this game in the fight that we had this game,” Briscoe said. “Football is a game of mistakes… they capitalized and we capitalized it’s just a matter of limiting those.”
After an Idaho State field goal, Jones was strip-sacked near midfield, turning the ball over to the Bengals.
Idaho State capitalized on the shortened field with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Christian Fredricksen, making it 10-7.
After a Mustangs false start on fourth-and-inches forced a punt, Jeff Weimer took the top off the Cal Poly secondary with an 84-yard pass from Koby Tracy to push the score to 17-7.
On the ensuing Idaho State drive, Tracy’s pass was undercut by redshirt sophomore safety Jake East for a 26-yard pick-six, making it 21-17 Cal Poly.
On the drive after that, redshirt senior defensive lineman Elijah Ponder sacked Tracy for the first sack against Idaho State in three games.
After getting the ball back with under two minutes to play, Jones was flushed out to his right before absorbing a massive hit and fumbling the football.
Originally called targeting, it was overturned after review, giving the Bengals the ball on a short field, which they converted to a touchdown to end the half.
After the halftime break, Watts picked up 25 yards on the ground, including the 10-yard plunge into the endzone to recapture the lead 28-24.
“We are very proud of our depth,” head coach Paul Wulff said. ”All the guys are working hard, and when they get an opportunity to play, they play the best they can play.”
Cal Poly’s defense could not hold the advantage, even with a touchdown to Fredrickson called back for offensive pass interference. Fredrickson would haul in a 21-yard touchdown two plays later for a 31-28 lead.
After six drives ending with a lead change, Cal Poly had to settle for a 26-yard field goal to tie the game at 38-38.
A forced fumble near midfield by redshirt freshman corner Budha Boyd Jr. and recovered by East at midfield set up the Mustangs, but on fourth-and-one in field goal range, Watts slipped before recovering and lunging towards the first down marker, ending up just short.
“I felt like we needed to go for the win,” Wulff said. “Would it have guaranteed a win? No, but it would have put a ton of pressure on them to have to score a touchdown.
The decision set up a game-clinching drive for Idaho State.
A 30-yard pass over the middle to Fredrickson put the Bengals in field goal range. Gabe Panikowski knocked home the 25-yard field goal as time expired to knock off the Mustangs 38-35.
Cal Poly football gets their next crack at finding the win column on Saturday, Oct. 12, in Davis against the UC Davis Aggies at 4 p.m.
