Zach Hernandez (left) and Je'kob Jones (right) tackle San Diego quarterback Re-Al Mitchell in Sept. 10 game. Cal Poly visits Idaho State for a Big Sky contest Saturday.
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Travels to Idaho State on Saturday for Big Sky Game
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (1-4, 0-2 Big Sky), the Big Sky leader and fourth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense, continues conference play Saturday afternoon against Idaho State (0-6, 0-3 Big Sky) inside Holt Arena (cap.: 12,000) in Pocatello, Idaho.
Kickoff is set for 12:02 p.m. PDT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) in San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County and KRKC (1490 AM and 104.9 FM) in southern Monterey County with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer (play-by-play) and Stephan Hodges (analyst) calling the action. Pregame show starts at 11:30 a.m. The game also will be video streamed on ESPN+. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats can be found at the top of the page or on the football schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly fell 35-7 in its opener at Fresno State despite four offensive drives of 70 or more yards, cashing in only once. Jaden Jones completed 20 of 38 passes for 211 yards and one score. In his second collegiate start, Jones jumped into the Cal Poly record book in several categories, completing 27 of 45 passes for 385 yards and four scores in the 28-27 win over San Diego. The Mustangs intercepted three passes, two by freshman Jay'Vion Cole, in the final six minutes of the game.
Cal Poly followed with a 38-21 loss at South Dakota despite producing six drives of 55 or more yards and Shakobe Harper surpassing the 100-yard mark carrying the football, the first Mustang to do so in three years. Cal Poly scored on just three of those drives. Sacramento State jumped to a 28-0 lead en route to a 49-21 triumph in the Big Sky opener for both teams Oct. 1. Last week, the Mustangs held 6-0, 20-14 and 29-28 leads before falling at Northern Arizona 31-29.
Cal Poly trailed 21-0 at Fresno State, 17-0 versus San Diego, 21-7 at South Dakota and 28-20 at Northern Arizona before bouncing back in each game. The Mustangs have been outscored 70-13 in the first quarter and 101-41 in the first half of their five games this season.
"We've been shooting ourselves in the foot early and we've got to clean those things up," third-year Mustang head coach Beau Baldwin said. "I know we're capable of turning the corner, avoiding the turnovers and penalties that extend drives. I call them unforced errors. We need to learn to play ahead and not have to come from behind."
Bryson Allen catches a pass
for a touchdown at Fresno State.
Jones, who played in three games in a reserve role as a true freshman a year ago, preserving his redshirt year, vaulted into the top of the Big Sky Conference in passing yards (596) and total offense and No. 2 in passing touchdowns and completions per game (23.5) in the first two games before suffering an injury to his right leg midway through the first quarter at South Dakota. Spencer Brasch has stepped in for Jones and has completed 79 of 138 passes (57 percent) for 1,003 yards and seven scores the last three weeks, passing for 362 yards at South Dakota and 374 at Northern Arizona, both in the top 20 for all-time passing yards in a single game at Cal Poly.
Cal Poly, which ran the run-oriented Triple Option offense for a dozen years and led the nation in rushing four times in that span, is now No. 4 in the country and first in the Big Sky in passing offense, averaging 334.4 yards a game.
Idaho State is winless in six starts this season, falling 52-21 at UNLV, 38-7 at San Diego State, 31-16 versus Central Arkansas and, in Big Sky games, 35-14 at Northern Colorado, 28-20 at home against Montana and 37-6 at Montana State. The Bengals' best national ranking is No. 12 in fumbles recovered (6) and are averaging 99 yards per game rushing and 241.3 passing yards for 340.3 yards in total offense, No. 72 in the FCS and ninth in the Big Sky.
The Bengals, 1-10 and tied for 11th in the Big Sky a year ago, jumped to a 6-0 lead at Montana State on a 36-yard pass from Sagan Gronauer to Chedon James less than two minutes into the game. The opening drive went 76 yards on four plays. The Bengals, however, turned the ball over six times and produced just 254 yards of total offense — 81 yards rushing and 173 yards passing. Gronauer was 16-for-23 with one touchdown, three interceptions and 173 yards.
The first full season of Mustang football under Cal Poly head coach Beau Baldwin, which began 21 months after he was named Cal Poly's 17th head football coach on Dec. 11, 2019, ended with a 2-9 mark. The Mustangs defeated San Diego 28-17 in the opener as Brasch, in his first game as a Mustang after transferring from Cal, completed 23 of 38 passes for 316 yards, the most by a Mustang quarterback in 12 years, and two touchdowns with no interceptions and Elijah Ponder returned an interception 75 yards for another score. Cal Poly also beat Idaho State 42-39 in the penultimate contest as Jaden Ohlsen kicked a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left and Brasch completed 25 of 50 passes for 233 yards and three scores.
The offseason was highlighted with some firsts for Baldwin in his tenure at Cal Poly, namely seven uninterrupted months of conditioning from January through July, a Spring Camp that ended with a successful Spring Game, the hiring of five new assistant coaches to replace those who moved on to the NFL or FBS schools, and an explosive six-touchdown performance in the first of two Fall Camp scrimmages on the new FieldTurf inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
Charlie Ragle, in his first season at Idaho State, greeted 32 lettermen, including 15 starters (eight on offense, seven on defense) to Fall Camp. Top Bengals to watch for include Gronauer (57 of 103 for 633 yards and three touchdowns in seven games in 2021), wide receiver Xavier Guillory (20 catches, 259 yards, one TD), running back Raiden Hunter (66 carries, 239 yards), offensive lineman Tyler Clemons (23 starts) and defensive back Josh Alford (45 tackles, 10 breakups and one interception in last two seasons).
Six games into the 2022 campaign, Hunter has rushed for 356 yards (no TDs) while Gronauer has connected on 47 of 81 passes (58 percent) for 524 yards and two scores. Hunter Hays completed 75 of 112 passes (67 percent) for 749 yards and three TDs in the first four games of the season, replacing original starter Tyler Vander Waal, before he suffered an injury in the Northern Colorado game and was replaced by Gronauer. Top Bengal receivers are Guillory (35-543-3) and Cyrus Wallace (25-203-0). Linebacker Charles Ike leads all defenders with 49 tackles (27 solo) and the lone Bengal interception of the year. Jack Genova, also a linebacker, has notched 40 tackles and defensive lineman Spencer Tatafu has five tackles for lost yardage, including two sacks.
The Bengals captured the FCS national title in 1981 and have claimed three Big Sky championships (1963, 1981 and 2002). This fall, Idaho State is seeking its first FCS playoff berth since 1983.
Linebacker David Meyer leads Cal Poly in sacks with three.
Cal Poly enjoys a 15-8 advantage in its series against Idaho State dating back to 1937. The two teams are meeting for just the seventh time in the last 14 years. The last meeting was in San Luis Obispo and was won by Cal Poly 32-29 on a 41-yard field goal by Jaden Ohlsen with four seconds remaining. A four-yard pass from Gronauer to Jared Scott with 1:02 to play and a two-point conversion pass from Gronauer to Shane Dailey Jr. tied the game at 29-29. In the matchup of 1-8 teams, Cal Poly snapped a streak of eight straight losses at home as Brasch completed 25 of 50 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns and linebacker Matt Shotwell established a new career high with 19 tackles (13 solo) and scored his first Cal Poly touchdown on a 22-yard interception return with 5:10 to go in the third quarter, snapping a 14-14- tie.
Baldwin is 9-0 against Idaho State, all but one of the wins while at Eastern Washington from 2008-16, while Ragle is facing Cal Poly for the first time as a head coach. The Mustangs are 10-3 at home against the Bengals and 5-5 in Pocatello.
Ragle, who was not at the Montana State game last week due to a medical emergency, was named head coach at Idaho State on Dec. 10, 2021. A 10-year veteran of Pac-12 coaching staffs, Ragle spent the last five years at Cal as the special teams coordinator and tight end coach. He was special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at Arizona from 2012-17 and was the head coach at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., compiling a 63-7 record and state championships from 2009-11 and a runner-up finish in 2008.
Ragle started his coaching career with a five-year stint (2000-04) as the defensive coordinator at Moon Valley High School in Phoenix highlighted by an unbeaten 14-0 team that won the state 4-A title in his final campaign in 2004. He was a three-year starting running back and kick returner at Eastern New Mexico before graduating from the school in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and a minor in history. Ragle was a two-time All-State selection at Animas High School as both a running back and safety as well as New Mexico's 100 and 200-meter state champion in track and field.
Baldwin was head coach at Eastern Washington for nine seasons (2008-16) and was an assistant coach for the Eagles from 2003-06. An offensive coordinator at Cal for three years (2017-19) before coming to Cal Poly, Baldwin guided Eastern Washington to an 85-32 mark, five Big Sky titles and six FCS playoff berths, including the 2010 national championship.
Cal Poly fans have seen major changes, particularly on offense, with Baldwin at the helm. The Triple Option is gone and the new offensive package features three or four wide receivers on most plays with a tight end and one running back instead of two slots, a fullback and a pair of receivers in the old Triple Option formation.
Baldwin and his staff welcomed 62 returning lettermen to Fall Camp in August, including 30 on offense, 27 on defense and five specialists on special teams. The returnees include 27 players who started at least five games during the 2021 season -- 13 on offense, nine on defense and five on special teams.
Also on the 108-man fall roster are 22 players who were true freshmen and played in at least one game but no more than four, preserving their redshirt year, five transfers from four-year schools, two community college transfers, 13 redshirts or squad members who did not play at all in 2021 and 28 newcomers from the high school ranks.
The group of veterans includes Brasch (145 of 267 passes for 1,725 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021), wide receiver Chris Coleman (43-590-4), linebacker Laipeli Palu (51 tackles) and defensive linemen Dustin Grein (36 tackles, one sack), Elijah Ponder (35 tackles, eight sacks) and Josh Ngaluafe (28 tackles, two sacks), who combined for 22 tackles for lost yardage in 2021.
Jones completed 50 of 88 passes (57 percent) for 655 yards and five scores prior to his injury in the South Dakota game. Brasch has connected on 79 of 138 passes for 1,003 yards and seven scores. Coleman is Cal Poly's favorite target with 29 receptions for 499 yards and three touchdowns. A total of 14 Mustangs have caught at least one pass just five games into the campaign. Shakobe Harper is the Mustangs' top rusher with 251 yards on 61 carries after producing his first career 100-yard game as a Mustang with 106 yards at South Dakota and 64 more yards versus Sacramento State, scoring the Mustangs' first rushing touchdown of the season on a four-yard third-quarter run. Linebacker David Meyer leads the defense with 30 tackles and three sacks while rush end Dustin Grein has produced 6.5 tackles for lost yardage (two sacks) among his 29 total tackles Brian Dukes has 25 stops (11 last week) and Judaea Moon 20.
Cal Poly played the fifth-toughest schedule in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision last fall and faces 10 of the 11 teams again this season, replacing Weber State with Eastern Washington. The 11 opponents on the Mustangs' 2021 schedule compiled an 80-52 win-loss record for a .606 winning percentage and five of them -- South Dakota, Montana, Montana State, UC Davis and Sacramento State -- qualified for the FCS playoffs. In addition, Fresno State played in the New Mexico Bowl.
Weber State, which won or shared four straight Big Sky titles heading into the 2021 season, didn't make the postseason but was one of seven Cal Poly opponents ranked at one time or another in 2021. San Diego finished 7-4 with a share of the Pioneer League crown, its 10th in the last 11 years.
Cal Poly tackled that schedule with as many as 10 freshmen and seven sophomores in the starting lineup last fall. The 22 starters in this year's season opener at Fresno State included three freshmen, seven sophomores and six juniors along with three seniors and three graduate students.
Cal Poly, which captured the 2012 Big Sky title in its first year in the conference, claimed four Great West Conference titles in the eight-year history of the league (2004, 2005, 2008, 2011) and has earned NCAA Division I FCS playoff berths in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Cal Poly returns home Oct. 22 to host Eastern Washington on Mustang Family Weekend. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
New Head Football Coach Tim Skipper's First Day On CampusNew Head Football Coach Tim Skipper's First Day On Campus
Thursday, December 11
Cal Poly Introduces New Head Football Coach Tim SkipperCal Poly Introduces New Head Football Coach Tim Skipper
Monday, December 08
Cal Poly Postgame Presser Logan Booker, Kenny Olson, Anthony Grigsby - Eastern Washington (11/22/25)Cal Poly Postgame Presser Logan Booker, Kenny Olson, Anthony Grigsby - Eastern Washington (11/22/25)
Sunday, November 23
Cal Poly Football Head Coach Paul Wulff Postgame Press Conference - Eastern Washington (11/22/25)Cal Poly Football Head Coach Paul Wulff Postgame Press Conference - Eastern Washington (11/22/25)
