No. 3 Montana State
10/29/2026 7:00:00 PM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Cal Poly football program looks to snap a two-game losing streak when the Mustangs head to defending national champion and No. 3-ranked Montana State on Saturday. Kickoff from Bobcat Stadium is set for noon Pacific time.
Saturday’s game for the Mustangs (4-5, 3-3 Big Sky) marks the start of three straight matchups against ranked opponents to end the regular season, with the team set to host No. 7 Northern Arizona for Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 7, and Cal Poly heading to No. 20 UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 21, for the 52nd edition of the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe.
Montana State (7-1, 4-1) currently sits atop the Big Sky standings alongside NAU (6-2, 4-1). The Bobcats, the Big Sky’s top defense and the highest scoring team in the league (averaging 39.5 points per game), have won two straight after losing a thriller to Idaho 35-34 in Moscow on Oct. 2, taking down Eastern Washington 56-20 in Cheney and most recently outlasting Weber State 38-33 this past week in Bozeman. Last year, Montana State went a perfect 8-0 in conference play to capture its third Big Sky title in four years and went on to defeat Illinois State 35-34 to secure its first FCS National Championship in 41 years.
Cal Poly, picked to finish 11th in the 13-team Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll, currently sits in seventh place in the conference standings with a 3-3 Big Sky record. The Mustangs’ six Big Sky contests this fall have been decided by 7.3 points per game.
DON’T MESS WITH KENNY: The Big Sky’s second leading tackler last fall, fifth-year linebacker Kenny Olson enters Saturday’s game at Montana State occupying the top spot in the conference and ranked eighth among FCS players with 81 total tackles on the year. Producing a career best 16-tackle performance at Eastern Washington (Sept. 26), Olson also is tied for 23rd nationally with 9.0 tackles per game. Providing Cal Poly two of the Big Sky’s top five tacklers (RL Miller being the other), Olson ranks 13th in program history with 276 career tackles.
MILLER TIME: Backed by a career high 12-tackle performance at San Jose State (Sept. 12), 11 versus San Diego (Sept. 19) at 10 at No. 16 Idaho State, senior defensive back RL Miller ranks sixth nationally with 48 solo tackles, and ranks third in the Big Sky and tied for 25th nationally in total tackles with 71. An offseason transfer from Fresno State, Miller has also intercepted a team best three passes this year.
BIG PLAY TAY: With not one (Aug. 28 versus Idaho) but two (Sept. 26 at Eastern Washington) game-winning touchdown receptions in the final minute this season, junior wide receiver Tayvion McCoy ranked seventh nationally with 749 total receiving yards, tied for fifth with 53 receptions and 15th with 83.2 yards per game. He also ranks fourth in the Big Sky in receiving yards and receptions, and fifth in receiving yards per game. An offseason transfer from Ventura College, McCoy co-leads Cal Poly alongside Fidel Pitts with four receiving touchdowns this season and has three 100-yard receiving games this year – including a collegiate high 170-yard performance in his Aug. 28 debut. McCoy also has a rushing touchdown this season.
THE MAN UNDER CENTER: Named Mustang starting quarterback the day of Cal Poly’s 38-34, season-opening victory against Idaho (Aug. 28), Anthony Grigsby, Jr., accounted for all five of Cal Poly’s touchdowns and 319 passing yards versus the Vandals to earn Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week praise. He is averaging 238 passing yards per game this season – 25th best in the FCS – and has 585 over the past two games, 300 at Northern Colorado (Oct. 17) and 285 last week against Utah Tech. Grigsby ranks 10th nationally with 2,142 passing yards (exceeding his 2025 total after just 13 quarters this fall), 10th in completions with 179, tied for 13th with 17 passing touchdowns and 24th with a 63.7 (179-for-281) percent completion percentage. Grigsby is responsible for 126 of Cal Poly’s 251 points this season, tied for the 17th most in the nation.
THE GREEN ZONE: Despite missing last week’s game against Utah Tech, junior running back Jaden Green is still the FCS leader in all-purpose yards per game with 163.5. He also ranks fifth in the nation in total rushing yards (894). An offseason transfer from Lehigh and Cal Poly’s primary kick returner when in the lineup, Green had a 269-yard effort at Eastern Washington (Sept. 26) – the second most rushing yards in a game in program history – and is responsible for seven touchdowns (six rushing, one receiving) this season.
CAL POLY VERSUS MONTANA STATE: The Bobcats lead the all-time series 11-10 and have won the last seven meetings with the Mustangs. Cal Poly’s last victory over Montana State occurred on Nov. 1, 2014, when the Mustangs won 35-27 in San Luis Obispo. That’s also the Mustangs’ lone Big Sky win over the Bobcats. Cal Poly’s last victory in Bozeman was in 2004, dropping four straight at Bobcat Stadium.
LOOKING AHEAD (SATURDAY, NOV. 7): Following the trip to Bozeman, Cal Poly hosts its home finale on Saturday, Nov. 7, welcoming No. 7 Northern Arizona to Spanos Stadium for Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and you can purchase tickets HERE. The Mustangs receive a bye the following week before traveling to No. 20 UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 21, to wrap up their season.
- Kickoff from Bobcat Stadium is set for noon PT, with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
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- Making the trip to Bozeman and need tickets? Snag yours HERE.
