Cal Poly football opens season with its first loss to University of San Diego since 2016

Cal Poly’s goal of becoming a more competitive football team in 2024 got off to a poor start on Saturday.

For the first time since 2016, the Mustangs fell to the University of San Diego, coming up short in a 27-21 road loss to open the season.

The Mustangs (0-1) mustered only 8 total yards rushing while the Toreros (1-0) ran for 184 yards and forced three interceptions, who of which were returned for touchdowns.

Coming into the game, the Mustangs had won eight of the nine meetings between the programs, with the Toreros’ lone win coming in the first round of the 2016 FCS playoffs.

While the Toreros have been a challenging opponent at times in past years, the Mustangs have often held control of the game. But on Saturday, Cal Poly was unable to find a rhythm against the Pioneer League program.

In addition to the two pick-6’s, San Diego scored another on offense and added a pair of field goals.

San Diego jumped out to early lead

After falling behing 10-0, the Mustangs got on the board late in the first half when redshirt sophomore quarterback Bo Kelly connected on a 43-yard pass to redshirt sophomore receiver Tyrese Fairly-Diyem, who shed multiple defends to get to the 1-yard line.

Kelly followed up the big pass two plays later by hitting redshirt senior receiver Giancarlo Woods in the back left corner of the end zone to bring the score to 10-7.

Cal Poly took the lead early in the third quarter when redshirt freshman Budha Boyd Jr. returned a fumble for a touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 14-10 advantage.

But after the the Toreros’ Logan Gingg punched in a 1-yard score in the third quarter, Kelly threw his third interception to Matt Balentine, who returned the turnover for a touchdown.

The Toreros added another field goal with three minutes remaining to give them a 27-14 lead.

With Kelly struggling, the Mustangs opted to play a new quarterback for the final drive of the game, turning to Jackson Akins, a sophomore transfer from Mount St. Union.

Akins led the team on a 10-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown from freshman Alek Marshall.

The Mustangs then attempted an onside kick, but the referees ruled the recovery out of bounds.

Running game hurts Mustangs

Kelly finished the game 21 of 35 on passes for 226 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, while Akins completed five of his eight passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.

But the lack of any kind of running game — along with the turnovers — proved too much to overcome for the Mustangs, who finished second to last in the conference in total rushing yards in the Big Sky last year.

The Mustangs’ leading rusher was redshirt freshman Aiden Ramos, who ran eight times for a total of 4 yards. If the Mustangs want more success this season, establishing a ground game to open up passes will be crucial.

On the receiving side, Woods, last year’s No. 1 pass-catcher, led the way with six catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman receiver Kian Salehi was second in catches with five for 62 yards.

Defensively, graduate linebacker Judea Moon totaled 11 tackles. Redshirt junior linebacker Je’kob Jones made eight tackles. And redshirt senior defensive lineman Elijah Ponder had five tackles and a sack.

Stanford up next for Cal Poly

Going into Week 2, the Mustangs will face a significantly tougher opponent when they travel to Stanford for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday.

The Mustangs could opt for a quarterback change. While Kelly has the most experience on the team, Head Coach Paul Wulff has the opportunity to play numerous quarterbacks, including Akins, Richie Watts and Jaden Jones.

The Toreros are one of the easier teams on the Mustangs’ schedule compared to the rigor of Big Sky play.

Their early season matchups against USD, Western Oregon, Northern Colorado and Idaho State are all crucial in establishing momentum before the team plays three teams in a row who all will hope to compete for an FCS title, in UC Davis, Idaho and the University of Montana.