In front of a sold out Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, Cal Poly football was only able to muster up nine points against No. 25 University of Utah, falling 63-9 for their first loss of the season.
The Mustangs (1-1) extended their losing streak against FBS opponents to 10 games, while the Utes (1-1) made it 15-0 against FCS opponents in the Kyle Whittingham era.
After struggling with turnovers for much of the first half, the Mustangs rallied with a pair of field goal drives from quarterbacks Ty Dieffenbach and Anthony Grigsby Jr. to make it 21-6 heading into the two minute warning.
Utah proceeded to end the half with a batted interception that hit Grigsby before bouncing into the hands of a Utes defender who returned it to the one yard line.
Utah punched it in before scoring again to close the half leading 35-6.
In the second half the dam broke open, with Utah stifling any offense that Cal Poly could try to muster and still moving the ball effectively on offense.
Noah Serna hit a 51 yard field goal in the second half, but that was the only offense for Cal Poly as they lost 63-9.
Dieffenbach went 6-9 for 82 yards and an interception, Grigsby went 7-16 for 72 yards and a pick while Jackson Akins, the third quarterback of the night, went 2-4 in his short stint.
During the week head coach Paul Wulff said that the staff was looking for some pop in the backfield. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, no running back distinguished themselves for a second straight week.
The Mustangs leading rusher was quarterback Grigsby with 25 yards on 10 attempts, while the leading running back was Trey Wilson with 13 yards on 3 carries.
The Utes dominated the ground game, quadrupling the ground output of Cal Poly 273-65.
Cal Poly will need to figure out how to gain yards on the ground quickly, as backfield struggles could quickly cascade into problems for the passing game as opposing defenses adjust.
Cal Poly has a chance to get back in the win column as they face Division-II Western Oregon in the Mustangs home opener, Saturday Sept. 13 at 3 p.m.
