Cal Poly football was upset by the University of San Diego – which lost their first two games of the season by a combined 74 points – in a 38-35 shootout. There were only two seconds left when USD’s Emiliano Salazar made his first field goal of the season: a 38-yard game-winner.
Cal Poly (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) was favored by 18.5 points before kickoff, according to DraftKings. In part, because USD football (1-2) plays in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League, meaning that none of their players are on scholarships, limiting the pool of players they are able to recruit from.
USD executed a successful fake punt on their first offensive drive. From that point on, the Mustang defense struggled to get a stop. USD’s one-two punch of quick, short passes and its dominant run game led to their 499 yards of offense. Adam Criter, in particular, caused problems for the Mustangs, as he ran for 179 yards and a touchdown.
Cal Poly’s offense put up a fight for most of the game. Running back Jaden Green ran for 126 yards and a touchdown. Wide Receiver Tayvion McCoy tallied 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while his receiving counterpart Fidel Pitts had 90 yards and a touchdown of his own.
The killing blows on offense
The Cal Poly offense only failed to score a touchdown twice in the first three quarters. However, the Mustangs failed to score on two of their three offensive drives in the fourth quarter, which was enough to lose.
Cal Poly was losing 35-28 when the Mustangs were a yard away from tying the game in the early stages of the fourth quarter. With a third-and-goal on USD’s 1-yard line, quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. handed the ball off to Green, who was stopped by USD’s 280-pound defensive tackle, Jae’Von Reels. The Mustangs were not deterred. On the next play, Grigsby Jr. kept the ball himself for an unsuccessful quarterback sneak.
“We trusted our guys up front. Obviously their guys were ready for it. So they jammed it up, and we just didn’t convert. So that’s something that we will convert in the future,” Grigsby Jr. said.
Regardless, Grigsby Jr. tied the game up with a touchdown pass to Pitts on their next drive. So, when Cal Poly’s defense forced a punt with 3:05 left, it seemed like they were in prime position to win the game.
On the second play of the drive, Grigsby Jr. attempted to hand the ball off to Green, but on what Head Coach Tim Skipper described as a “classic exchange issue,” he lost the ball. The Mustangs were lucky not to turn the ball over, as USD recovered the ball out of bounds.
On the next play, Cal Poly drew two USD defensive linemen into the neutral zone. In this situation, the center should snap the ball, and the offensive guards should move, as Skipper explained. Instead, Cal Poly’s far side offensive tackle jumped, drawing a false start instead of a neutral zone infraction.
As if that wasn’t enough, Grigsby Jr. was sacked on the next play. That was the last time Cal Poly’s offense saw the field.
The Killing Blows on Defense
In the first half, Cal Poly’s defense struggled to handle USD’s cut-blocking scheme, which led to Criter’s 134 rushing yards in the first half, Skipper explained. But the Mustangs adjusted. After giving up a touchdown to start the second half, they held USD scoreless for the next 25 minutes and seven seconds of game time. It was almost enough to win the game.
After Cal Poly turned the ball over on USD’s 1-yard line, the Mustang defense rallied and forced a three-and-out, giving the offense great field position for what would eventually lead to the game-tying touchdown.
“I’m proud of the guys [for] how we did in the fourth quarter, but we got to stop making those little mistakes and make the plays that ultimately let us win the game,” linebacker and captain Mikey D’Amato said.
On their last drive, USD continued to execute their game plan of runs and short passes. Then, they completed a 28-yard pass, their longest of the game, to set up the game-winning field goal.
“That last drive, we were stopping the run good, but one play jarred it open. They had a little seam route. We were really banking on the run. They came with a pass and made a play. That was a game changer,” D’Amato said.
The bigger picture
Skipper’s silver lining is that the team will improve from the loss.
“It doesn’t feel good, but there’s a reason it happened, and it’s all about us getting better from it,” Skipper said.
Grigsby Jr. was impressed by the 10,259 fans, calling them “some of the best fans in FCS, some of the best fans in college football in general.”
He was impressed by the difference between last year and this year.
“This year is 10 times better than last year when it comes to the appreciation that everybody here has for the sport that we play. And we’re so grateful for it top to bottom,” Grigsby Jr. said.
The Mustangs will try to snap their two-game losing streak against Eastern Washington in Cheney, Washington next Saturday.