Having a quarterback not named Ty Dieffenbach under center isn’t new for Cal Poly Football this season.
The difference Saturday was that Dieffenbach left in the middle of a first quarter drive with an injury, leaving head coach Paul Wulff to pull from their large quarterback group in relief.
Things could have flown off the rails immediately but Jackson Akins steadied the ship, completing the drive with a field goal.
That stability didn’t last long, as The Mustangs (2-2) dropped their non-conference finale to Stephen F. Austin State University 35-17 on Sept. 20.
The Lumberjacks (2-2) used a 21-point third quarter to pull away from the Mustangs in the first ever matchup between the two teams.
Dieffenbach never returned to the game after taking the hit on a designed QB run.
Despite losing their starting quarterback, Cal Poly took an early lead as Jackson Akins came in and drove into field goal range to start 3-0.
After completing a field goal on the opening possession, the ensuing Cal Poly drive resulted in an interception deep in Mustang territory, one that Stephen F. Austin would convert into a touchdown.
It was the second straight drive that Cal Poly started at their own one-yard line, along with their field goal.
Cal Poly would respond early with a 64-yard catch and run to Michael Briscoe, taking a 10-7 lead that would be wiped away on a Lumberjack punt return touchdown before halftime.
It’s the continuation of a star-making season for Briscoe, who has averaged over 100 yards per game through the non-conference schedule. His seven receiving touchdowns and 428 yards are near the top of the FCS leaderboards.
Things quickly took a turn for the worst for Cal Poly as within a minute of the second half starting the Lumberjacks took an interception back the house to make it 21-10, before another pickoff in the red zone was part of consecutive scoring drives for Stephen F. Austin.
Stephen F. Austin constantly pinned the Mustangs in their own territory with punts, and only two Lumberjack punts landed outside of the Mustangs’ 25-yard line.
Quarterback Bo Kelly entered the game in relief of Akins in the fourth quarter and led the Mustangs’ lone scoring drive of the second half, connecting with Kian Salehi on a 47-yard post route to close the scoring.
Akins finished the game 13-29 with 182 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Kelly went 5-8 with 62 yards and a touchdown in his limited play. Briscoe led the way with 140 yards on four catches, while Salehi had 57 yards on five catches.
Cal Poly finished non-conference play 2-2, and will head to the state capital to face Sacramento State in the Big Sky opener Saturday Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.
