With the stands full and the stakes high, Cal Poly Football took the field Saturday night determined to reclaim the Golden Horseshoe trophy, a longstanding tradition with Big West rival UC Davis. But as the game unfolded, the challenge that has long defined their rivalry with the Aggies proved as relentless as ever.
Despite a hard fought effort, the Mustangs continued their win-loss pattern with a 34-27 loss in a close finish against UC Davis during their homecoming game Saturday night at Spanos Stadium. Cal Poly has historically struggled against Davis, this being the ninth consecutive loss in nine years for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky) have faced a rocky season thus far, with both starting quarterback Ty Dieffenbach and backup Anthony Grigsby Jr. out on Saturday, forcing other players into key roles.
“We’ve set a standard at camp and that standard is set no matter who is on the field,” linebacker Kenny Olsen said. “Look at Bo Kelly, Ty gets hurt, he comes in and he’s balling out.”
The Mustangs set the tone early in the game with a touchdown by Logan Booher just five minutes into the first quarter. The action remained back-and-forth as both teams battled across the field for the rest of the quarter.
Cal Poly struggled to extend their lead, settling for a field goal by Gianluca Dimauro midway through the second quarter. The inability to finish drives has been a recurring challenge for an offense averaging just over 26 points per game, and on Saturday it opened the door for UC Davis, who answered with a touchdown before halftime to take a 13-10 lead into the break.
Coming out of the half, the Mustangs are initially met with a stalemate, eventually tying the game with a well placed kick by Noah Serna. The game remained back and forth with both teams tied again going into the fourth quarter.
With one quarter left and a tied game, the Aggies controlled the tempo down the stretch, leaning on their ground game to wear down a Cal Poly defense that has allowed an average of 170 rushing yards per game. A late rushing touchdown put the Aggies in the lead again with 11 minutes left in the game.
Despite Cal Poly’s best efforts to make up for lost downs, including a touchdown caught by Kelly, they were unable to pull ahead from Davis. This trend of lost momentum and the offense being unable to overcome a deficit has defined most of Cal Poly’s close losses this season.
“I think the biggest thing was their quarterback, being able to extend plays, get you up first downs, that was really the difference in the game,” head coach Paul Wulff said.
The Mustangs are gearing up to head out of state next, facing the University of Montana on their turf next weekend.
“We are playing at a high level ourselves and what a great opportunity to go on the road and play against a really good football team,” Wulff said.
The game will be on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m., available to watch on ESPN+.