Cal Poly Hosts Northern Colorado Saturday on ESPN+

Saturday, October 21

San Luis Obispo, CA

5:02 p.m.

Northern Colorado

Tickets

Photo by: Owen Main

Cal Poly Hosts Northern Colorado Saturday on ESPN+

10/18/2023 11:16:00 AM | Football

CAL POLY VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
SATURDAY, OCT. 7 (5:02 P.M.) / ESPN+
MUSTANG MEMORIAL FIELD PRESENTED BY DIGNITY HEALTH (SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA)
WEEKLY RELEASES: CAL POLY | NORTHERN COLORADO | BIG SKY CONFERENCE
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS | AUDIO (ESPN 1280)

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Taking a respite from ranked Big Sky Conference opponents, the Cal Poly football program hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff from Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital is 5:02 p.m. on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (2-5, 0-4), which looks to stem a four-game slide leading into a bye week. Among its final seven opponents to close the regular season, Northern Colorado (0-6, 0-3) is Cal Poly's only unranked foe. The Big Sky's remaining winless program and coming off of successive single-digits setbacks against nationally-ranked Weber State (Sept. 30) and Sacramento State (Oct. 14), Northern Colorado ranks last among Big Sky programs in points scored (15.7) while conceding 36.8 points per game.

CAL POLY VERSUS NORTHERN COLORADO: Facing Northern Colorado for the first time since a Nov. 23, 2019 road victory, Cal Poly has lost just once to the Bears in five Big Sky Conference meetings. The Mustangs lead the all-time series, 10-3, since the first meeting – a 29-20 Cal Poly home victory – on Oct. 15, 1977.

HUARD ON TARGET: A January transfer from Washington, sophomore quarterback Sam Huard became just the third player in program history with six touchdown completions in one game during Cal Poly's 41-20 home victory against Lincoln (Sept. 16). Having also passed for 325 yards against Lincoln and 324 in a season-opening win against San Diego (Sept. 2), Huard – despite missing Cal Poly's Sept. 30 game versus UC Davis and Oct. 7 matchup with No. 3 Idaho – leads all Big Sky quarterbacks with 11 passing touchdowns while ranking fifth for passing yards per game (217.4) and eighth in total yards (1,087) and completions (86). His 87-yard completion to sophomore tight end Carlton Brown against San Diego remains the longest pass completion by a Big Sky quarterback this season and fourth longest by an FCS player. Huard was selected as one of Cal Poly's four captains alongside junior linebacker David Meyer, defensive lineman Elijah Ponder and offensive lineman Garrett Weichman.

FAIRLY-DIYEM FAIRLY GOOD: Cal Poly's leading receiver and now ranked 10th among Big Sky players at 49.7 yards per game, freshman Tyrece Fair-Diyem – alongside junior Giancarlo Woods – remains the program's favorite touchdown target, adding his fourth of the fall at No. 2 Montana State (Oct. 14). He also hauled in touchdowns to fuel Cal Poly's victories against San Diego (Sept. 2) and Lincoln (Sept. 16) and against No. 3 Idaho (Oct. 7). Averaging 15.8 yards per catch and Cal Poly's leader with 348 total yards, Fairly-Diyem's top receiving game came during the program's 27-10, season-opening victory against San Diego with a 127-yard performance and seven receptions.

DEFENSE MAKES ITS MARK: Sophomore Ethan Calvert led Cal Poly with 11 tackles against San Diego (Sept. 2) and 12 at San Jose State (Sept. 9), David Meyer took top honors with nine against both Lincoln (Sept. 16) and UC Davis (Sept. 30) while freshman Kenny Olson paced the Mustangs with a collegiate best 13 at Portland State (Sept. 23) and seven – alongside junior lineman Elijah Ponder – versus No. 3 Idaho (Oct. 7). Sophomore safety Brian Dukes, Jr. then became Cal Poly's fifth different leading tackler with a nine at No. 2 Montana State (Oct. 14). Calvert enters Saturday's matchup with Northern Colorado as the Big Sky's 14th leading tackler at 6.2 per game while Meyer is 19th at 5.7. Ponder, the Sept. 3 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honoree, ranks second in the Big Sky and 16th among FCS performers with five sacks. Having twice kept the opposition under 300 yards of total offense, Cal Poly's 27-10, season-opening victory against San Diego marked the program's first performance without conceding an offensive touchdown in 81 games.

THE WULFF OF CALIFORNIA BOULEVARD: Cal Poly's 27-10, season-opening win against San Diego (Sept. 2) provided Paul Wulff his first victory as Cal Poly head coach and first triumph as a collegiate head coach in 12 years. Having led Eastern Washington to three FCS Playoff appearances (2004-05, 2007) before serving as head coach at Washington State (2008-11), Cal Poly's victory was Wulff's first as a head coach since guiding the Cougars to a 37-27 victory against Arizona State on Nov. 12, 2011. Named the Cal Poly program's 18th head coach on Dec. 6, 2022, Wulff – a near three-decade collegiate coaching veteran – is a three-time Big Sky Coach of the Year recipient at Eastern Washington (2001, 2004-05) while having directed the Eagles to a share of two Big Sky titles. Wulff's other Big Sky coaching stops include Sacramento State (2016-18) and UC Davis (2019). The 2023 season marks Wulff's 13th as a collegiate head coach.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Saturday's game is the 987th in university history and the 327th game Cal Poly will have played since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision level in 1994. The Mustangs are currently 157-169 as an FCS program. The 100th game at the FCS level was a 34-13 win at Texas-El Paso (Sept. 6, 2003) while the 200th was a 41-10 triumph at South Alabama to end the 2011 season. Game No. 300 was a 48-14 loss to South Dakota (Sept. 18, 2021). The 100th FCS win was at Old Dominion, 50-37 (Oct. 9, 2010), and the 100th loss was to Eastern Washington, 35-22 (Nov. 16, 2013). Cal Poly earned its 500th all-time win at Portland State in October 2017 and is playing its 105th overall season and 30th in the FCS this fall. Cal Poly was a member of the now-defunct American West Conference (Southern Utah, Sacramento State, CSUN) before becoming an independent in 1996. After eight years as an FCS Independent, the Mustangs became a charter member of the Great West Football Conference in 2004. Following eight seasons in the Great West (and four titles), Cal Poly moved to the Big Sky Conference in 2012, capturing the title in its first season.

BIG SKY'S THE LIMIT: Competing in the Football Championship Subdivision's deepest conference, four of Cal Poly's 11 games this fall – 36 percent – come against ranked Big Sky opponents (ranking current at time of matchup):

Date             Opponent (Coaches Poll/Stats Perform)      Result
Sept. 30        UC Davis (20/21)                                              L, 31-13
Oct. 7           Idaho (3/3)                                                         L, 42-14
Oct. 14         at Montana State (2/2)                                       L, 59-19
Nov. 4          at Eastern Washington (NR/RV)                       --
Nov. 11        at Sacramento State (4/3)                                   --
Nov. 18        Weber State (NR/RV)                                        --

CAL POLY AGAINST THE BIG SKY: Since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 1994, Cal Poly is 63-91 against Big Sky opposition. Since joining the conference as an associate member for the 2012 season, Cal Poly is 34-52 in Big Sky play.

LOOKING AHEAD (SATURDAY, OCT. 28 / SATURDAY, NOV. 4): Cal Poly enjoys a bye week for the Saturday, Oct. 28 competition date before resuming action at Eastern Washington on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff from Roos Field is 1 p.m. for Cal Poly, which looks to snap an eight-game slide against Eastern Washington, dating to 2011. Cal Poly, edged at home by the Eagles in 2022, 17-10, last defeated Eastern Washington at home on Nov. 5, 2005 (40-35). Cal Poly has never won at Eastern Washington, dropping all three visiting matchups, and trails in the all-time series, 8-2.

ETC.: The Cal Poly program is in its 105th all-time season and playing its 29th fall of Football Championship Subdivision competition … Cal Poly improved to 8-1 all-time against San Diego with a 27-10, season-opening win (Sept. 2) while improving to 9-1 all-time against Pioneer Football League opposition … Cal Poly's leading tackler last fall, junior linebacker David Meyer was named to the Big Sky Media Preseason All-Conference Team as part of the league's July Football Kickoff Weekend … quarterback Sam Huard's 87-yard completion to sophomore tight end Carlton Brown during Cal Poly's Sept. 2 opener against San Diego marked Cal Poly's lengthiest pass play since an 89-yard effort by Chris Brown at South Dakota State (Sept. 6, 2014) … Cal Poly dropped its ninth straight matchup against FBS competition Sept. 9 at San Jose State, a streak dating to a 24-22 victory at Wyoming (Sept. 15, 2012) … Sam Huard became just the third quarterback in program history with six passing touchdowns in a game against Lincoln (Sept. 16) and the first since Tony Smith against South Dakota (Nov. 14, 2009) … in just 28 minutes against Lincoln (Sept. 16), junior wide receiver Giancarlo Woods became the first Mustang in four years and 13th in program history with three touchdown receptions in a single game … UC Davis retained the Golden Horseshoe against Cal Poly with a 31-13 rivalry victory (Sept. 30) … Cal Poly's Oct. 7 home matchup with No. 3 Idaho marked just the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs.