Cal Poly football keep themselves in the title hunt

Nearly 30 minutes after the final whistle, players who are usually long gone were still milling around the entrance to the Cal Poly locker room, waiting patiently for their turn to take a photo with the Horseshoe.

It wasn’t just any horseshoe. The Golden Horseshoe is an icon of a rivalry that spans divisions, and generations of Cal Poly and UC Davis football players and fans. Wikipedia tells us that it’s a rivalry that dates back to 1939 and with Cal Poly’s win on Saturday night, the series record is now tied at 20-20-2.

How’d it happen?

Cal Poly’s defense was amazing en route to a 21-16 victory. UC Davis managed a measley nine points and 304 total yards against the Cal Poly defense. Despite only scoring 21 points, the Mustangs eeked out a 21-16 rivalry game victory.

The Aggies drew first blood. On Cal Poly’s first posession, Davis defensive lineman Anthony Baumgart picked up an errant pitch and used an athletic burst of speed to take it the other way 61 yards for a touchdown.

Cal Poly was down 9-7 at halftime, but used a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the second half to ice the game. When Cal Poly recovered Davis’ onside kick attempt late in the fourth quarter, the stadium and Mustang sideline breathed a sigh of relief.

What we learned

Local product Jack Ferguson has been a nice surprise on the Cal Poly defensive front this season. By Owen Main

Cal Poly’s defense can be really good. Even with all the injuries the linebacking corps has suffered and despite the track record of the UC Davis offense this year — it has not been bad — Cal Poly held the Aggies to just 9 offensive points and allowed them to convert on just three (THREE!) of thirteen third-downs all day.

Jack Ferguson and Josh Letuligasanoa have been great getting to the ball so far this season. I’ll say this again too — Payam Saadat’s influence seems to be paying off big-time.

Tim Walsh will take that from his defensive unit, which has been solid all year while also being willing to bring pressure with timely blitzes and schemes.

As for the lack of huge triple option numbers on the Cal Poly side, UC Davis plays the Mustangs every year, so these games are always close. Joe Protheroe looked like he limped off the field at least once before coming back on, and at this point in the season, all the major skill players on the Mustangs have taken some knocks.

That said, Kyle Lewis showed why he’s as explosive as anybody in the conference and, aside from the botched pitch, Dano Graves has been really, really good.

Kyle Lewis has been Cal Poly’s home run threat from the backfield this year. By Owen Main

Distribution

Part of what has made Dano really good this year is his ability to distribute within the scheme to seemingly feature different backs week-to-week. This week is was Protheroe once again. The preseason All-American fullback figures to be crucial to Cal Poly’s chances all year long, but his health against Eastern Washington could be the most important

Don’t look too far ahead

This Saturday, Cal Poly visits Sacramento State for the chance to go undefeated against California FCS teams. They’ve already topped USD and UC Davis. The backs of some team shirts read “Own the State, win the Sky.” Doing the first gives the team a chance to do the second, and that should be plenty.

That said, the following week the Mustangs welcome Eastern Washington into town. The Eagles are a top-five team the Mustangs lost to by one point in Cheney last season in overtime. If heavily favored Cal Poly can beat Sac State on Saturday, they’ll have conquered their regional goal and have an opportunity to take the next one — the Big Sky.