Quarterback Kahliq Paulette breaks free on 57-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the game Saturday against Eastern Washington. Paulette finished with 122 yards on just seven trips.
Photo by: Kayla Stuart | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Visits UC Davis in Saturday Battle for the Golden Horseshoe
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (1-6, 0-4 Big Sky), the Big Sky leader and fifth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense, plays its next two conference games on the road, beginning with UC Davis (3-4, 2-2 Big Sky) on Saturday at UC Davis Health Stadium (cap.: 10,849).
Kickoff is set for 4:02 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 3:30 p.m. The game also will be video streamed on ESPN+. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats can be found 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. Three weeks ago, the Mustangs held 6-0, 20-14 and 29-28 leads before falling at Northern Arizona 31-29 and Cal Poly's rally from 30-7 and 37-14 deficits fell just short as Idaho State held on for a 40-31 triumph in Pocatello, Idaho, on Oct. 15.
Last week, Eastern Washington snapped a 10-10 tie on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 8:54 to go in the game and held on for a 17-10 victory. The Eagles took advantage of five Mustang turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles) and ran 26 more plays than Cal Poly, producing a 407-282 advantage in total offense and over eight minutes more in time of possession than the Mustangs.
Cal Poly trailed 21-0 at Fresno State, 17-0 versus San Diego, 21-7 at South Dakota, 28-20 at Northern Arizona and 30-7 at Idaho State before bouncing back in each game. The Mustangs have been outscored 94-27 in the first quarter and 135-58 in the first half of their six games this season.
There are signs of improvement for Cal Poly, however. The Mustangs played their third one-score game in the last three weeks, did not fall behind big in the first quarter and did not give up as many explosive plays. The one area of concern for third-year head coach Beau Baldwin is turnovers as both Idaho State and Eastern Washington forced five Cal Poly miscues.
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 110 of 187 passes (59 percent) for 1,400 yards and 11 scores the last five weeks, passing for 362 yards at South Dakota, 374 at Northern Arizona and 394 at Idaho State, all 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. 5 in the country and first in the Big Sky in passing offense, averaging 312.1 yards a game.
Elijah Ponder rushes Eastern Washington quarterback
Gunner Talkington early in Saturday's game won by the Eagles, 17-10.
UC Davis lost four of its first five games before rebounding the last two weeks with wins over Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. The Aggies fell to Cal 34-13 in the season opener and to three highly ranked FCS teams in current No. 1 South Dakota State, No. 3 Montana State and No. 5 Weber State. The Aggies' best national ranking is No. 1 in both fumbles lost (0) and turnovers lost (4) and also are No. 3 in turnover margin (plus-9) and fewest penalties (27), No. 8 in fewest penalty yards (251), No. 9 in completion percentage (.682), 11th in total offense (464.1) and 13th in sacks allowed (8).
UC Davis is averaging 180 yards per game rushing and 284 passing yards for 464 yards in total offense while giving up 184 rushing yards and 220 passing yards for 404 yards defensively.
The Aggies, 8-4 overall and tied for fifth place in the Big Sky a year ago, came out of their bye week with back-to-back 50-plus point games against Northern Arizona (56-27) and Northern Colorado (58-10). The 114 points are the most in back-to-back games in the UC Davis Division I era and the most since 2000. Sophomore quarterback Miles Hastings continued his efficient play, completing 18 of 21 passes for 251 yards and three scores. In the last two games, the signal-caller has completed 83 percent of his passes for 579 yards and five touchdowns. Lan Larison rushed for 84 yards and one touchdown against Northern Colorado, breaking off a 75-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Josh Gale added an 80-yard touchdown reception from Hastings, George Moreno returned an interception 40 yards for another Aggie score and Rex Connors paced the Aggie defense with 10 total tackles and picked off his fourth pass of the season, earning Big Sky defensive player of the week honors.
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 Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health.
Dan Hawkins, in his sixth season as head coach at UC Davis, greeted 47 lettermen, including 18 starters (10 on offense, eight on defense) to Fall Camp. Top Aggies to watch for include running back Ulonzo Gilliam (201 carries, 901 yards, six TDs in 2021), Hastings (130-215-8, 1,173 yards passing, seven TDs), wide receiver CJ Hutton (38-318-4), tight end Garren O'Keefe (seven receptions, 78 yards, two TDs), defensive back Chris Venable (73 tackles, two interceptions, six pass breakups) and linebacker Teddye Buchanan (74 tackles, 5.5 for lost yardage, two sacks, two interceptions).
Seven games into the 2022 campaign, Hastings has completed 172 of 252 passes for 1,840 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions. Gilliam, who surpassed the 4,000-yard mark in career rushing earlier this season, has rushed for 700 yards and five scores (6.5 yards per carry) and also is the top Aggie receiver with 35 receptions for 275 yards. Gilliam is one of seven Aggie receivers with 10 or more catches.
Cal Poly and UC Davis are meeting for the 48th time this week and the series was all tied up at 20-20-2 before the Aggies earned a 31-28 victory in 2017 at Davis, 52-10 in 2018 in San Luis Obispo, 48-24 in 2019 at Davis, 73-24 in the spring of 2021 and 24-13 a yar ago in San Luis Obispo.
Hastings completed 22 of his first 23 passes and threw for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead No. 10 UC Davis over Cal Poly in the 2022 game. Gilliam rushed for 109 yards and one score for the visiting Aggies. Spencer Brasch connected with Evan Burkhart on a 14-yard touchdown pass and Matt Hoffman kicked field goals spanning 26 and 28 yards to account for Cal Poly's scoring. Brasch completed 23 of 44 passes for 291 yards and one touchdown. Zedakiah Centers and Chris Coleman were his favorite targets with seven and six catches, respectively. Sam Stewart rushed for 50 yards on nine carries and senior linebacker Matt Shotwell made 14 tackles.
First game of the series was played in 1939 and the two teams have met every year since 1978.
Baldwin is 3-2 against UC Davis, the three wins while coaching at Eastern Washington, while Hawkins is 5-0 against Cal Poly. Against the Aggies, the Mustangs are 12-11 at home and 8-14-2 in Davis.
Although the two teams are meeting for the 48th time, the official "Battle for the Golden Horseshoe" was established in 2004 as the student-run spirit clubs from both schools came together to sponsor a perpetual trophy that resides with the team that wins each year. The horseshoe-shaped trophy signifies the agricultural influence at both universities. Since the trophy was created in 2004, UC Davis leads the series 11-7.
UC Davis has won 30 conference titles, all but one in Division II, claiming the Great West crown in 2009, and has made 21 NCAA postseason appearances, all but one in Division II. The Aggies are 535- 438-33 in 104 seasons of football.
Hawkins (sixth season at UC Davis (34-26), 21st year overall (145-94-1)), a UC Davis alum (1984) and 2018 Eddie Robinson Award winner, replaced Ron Gould as Aggie head coach on Nov. 28, 2016. He compiled a 56-11 mark in five seasons as head coach at Boise State (2001-05) and also coached at Colorado for five years (2006-10) before becoming an analyst on ESPN. He has coached 13 teams around the world, including the Montreal Alouettes, Vienna Vikings, Willamette, Sonoma State, College of the Siskiyous and Christian Brothers High School.
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 110 of 187 passes for 1,400 yards and 11 scores. Coleman is Cal Poly's favorite target with 40 receptions for 683 yards and three touchdowns while tight end Josh Cuevas has caught 32 passes for 358 yards and four scores and Centers 21 for 290 yards and two TDs. A total of 15 Mustangs have caught at least one pass just seven games into the campaign.
Shakobe Harper is the Mustangs' top rusher with 253 yards on 69 carries after producing his first career 100-yard game as a Mustang with 106 yards at South Dakota. Adam Garwood has added 166 yards on 43 carries and two scores and has caught 10 passes for 100 yards and another TD.
Linebacker David Meyer leads the defense with 48 tackles and 3.5 sacks while rush end Dustin Grein has produced 6.5 tackles for lost yardage (two sacks) among his 29 total tackles. Defensive back Brian Dukes has 42 stops and one interception while cornerback Dylan Wyatt has seven pass breakups.
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 goes back out on the road for the final time next week, visiting Montana on Nov. 5 (5 p.m. kickoff).
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