Mustangs Upset No. 16 Idaho State in Final Minute, 25-24

Saturday, October 10

Pocatello, ID / ICCU Dome

3 P.M. PDT

4-3 , 3-1

No. 16 Idaho State

4-2 , 1-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Cal Poly	7	3	8	7	25
Idaho St.	3	10	5	6	24

Photo by: Romeo Galvan

Mustangs Upset No. 16 Idaho State in Final Minute, 25-24

10/10/2026 6:58:00 PM | Football

Box Score

POCATELLO, Idaho – Quarterback Anthony Grigsby, Jr., threw for 198 yards, rushed for two touchdowns and found junior running back Misa Paiau on a five-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds remaining (right) Saturday as the Cal Poly football program departed the ICCU Dome with a 25-24 triumph against No. 16 Idaho State.

The Mustangs (4-3, 3-1) – who moved into a four-way tie atop the Big Sky Conference standings with Saturday’s win – trailed Idaho State (4-2, 1-2), 24-18, following two early fourth quarter Bengals field goals before one Cal Poly drive was stopped at midfield and another ended with a punt.

Cal Poly, however, regained possession with 101 seconds to play and Grigsby completed three of his first four pass attempts – including a 37-yard effort to junior wide receiver Tayvion McCoy – to take the Mustangs to Idaho State’s 10-yard line with 56 seconds remaining.

Three plays later, Grigsby hit Paiau in the right corner of the end zone with Josue Lopez’s extra point placing Cal Poly in front.

Freshman defensive back Demetrius Simon then cemented the result on Idaho State’s ensuing drive with a one-handed interception (below, right) of Bengals quarterback Jordan Cooke at the 50-yard line.

Grigsby finished 17-for-31 while McCoy led the Mustangs with 78 receiving yards.

Defensively, senior RL Miller paced Cal Poly with 10 tackles and enjoyed a second-quarter interception of his own.

Cal Poly held a 7-3 lead after the first quarter as Grigsby capped a 75-yard scoring drive with an 18-yard touchdown rush.

The Bengals eventually answered four minutes before halftime with Cooke finding wide receiver Julian Mason for a touchdown from 11 yards out. The two sides then traded field goals in the final minute, Lopez connecting from 24 yards before Idaho State kicker Mason Lindberg placed the hosts up at the break, 13-10.

Idaho then opened the second half with a safety before Lindberg booted a 50-yard field goal to hand the Bengals an 18-10 lead.

Grigsby’s second rushing touchdown – and he also ran in the two-point conversion – tied Saturday’s matchup with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third.

Cal Poly Noteworthy (at Idaho State)

Up Next: Cal Poly completes a two-game road stretch when visiting Northern Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 17. Kickoff in Greeley is 5 p.m. PT (6 p.m. MT).
Big Sky Update: Saturday’s victory – in conjunction with Montana’s loss against Northern Arizona – split the Big Sky lead four ways. Cal Poly, Montana, Northern Arizona and Weber State co-lead the conference with 3-1 marks.
Saturday’s victory marked the second successive season Cal Poly has defeated a ranked foe. The Mustangs opened their 2025 Big Sky Schedule with a 32-24 win against then-No. 21 Sacramento State.
Cal Poly’s seven games this season have been decided by 5.3 points per contest. Cal Poly’s four wins? Just 4.0.
Cal Poly snapped a three-game series slide against Idaho State. The win was also Cal Poly’s first in Pocatello since Oct. 27, 2007.
Prior to 2026, Cal Poly last won multiple Big Sky road games in 2019. Cal Poly prevailed at Eastern Washington on Sept. 19 – also in the final minute, also with an interception cementing the win.