Cal Poly beats Idaho State on last-second field goal, snapping 8-game losing streak
With Cal Poly and Idaho State tied 29-29 with four seconds on the clock, freshman Jaden Ohlsen kicked a 41-yard field goal to vault the Mustangs to a 32-29 victory.
The triumph marked Cal Poly’s first Big Sky Conference win this season, its first victory since the 2021 season opener at the University of San Diego and its first win at home since the 2019 season opener against San Diego.
Both teams arrived at Alex G. Spanos Stadium with a 1-8 record. Now, the Mustangs and the Bengals are tied for 11th place out of 13 Big Sky Conference teams, each with 1-6 records.
Cal Poly’s second-year head coach Beau Baldwin earned his second win and said he is proud of the Mustangs.
“It was pretty special to watch them attack a week nine weeks into the year when you’re struggling and you’ve lost eight straight,” Baldwin said. “To see what their attitude and body language was throughout the week was impressive.”
Idaho State outgained Cal Poly for the game, totaling 500 yards to the Mustangs’ 351. Cal Poly finished with 118 yards rushing and 233 yards passing.
Quarterback Spencer Brasch earned season highs for passes and touchdowns, completing 25 of 50 for 233 and three touchdowns.
“No matter what it is, win or loss, I’m glad to be out here playing football,” Brasch said. “It’s with my team, it’s with my brothers and everything about it is what I want to be doing.”
Backup quarterback Jaden Jones recorded 63 yards rushing, including a 60-yard breakaway that set up Cal Poly’s first touchdown.
Brasch then hit Michael Roth with a six-yard pass to give Cal Poly an early lead, but Idaho State responded with a touchdown of its own.
Brasch’s second touchown was a five-yarder to Xavier Moore. But then Bengals scored again, bringing the contest to a 14-14 draw as the teams entered the locker room.
A senior Mustang linebacker’s first pick 6 reestablished Cal Poly’s lead in the third quarter.
Linebacker Matt Shotwell intercepted a Bengal pass and returned it 22 yards, scoring his first career touchdown.
Shotwell recorded a career high of 19 tackles, bringing him to No. 4 in Cal Poly’s record books. With one more game remaining, he is 59 tackles behind his oldest brother, Kyle Shotwell, who recorded 392 from 2003-06.
Brasch’s third touchdown was a two-yard completion to Ryan Rivera that gave Cal Poly a 26-14 lead.
The Bengals cut into that lead in the fourth quarter, scoring a touchdown to bring the contest to a five-point margin.
With four minutes left, Ohlsen kicked a 36-yard field goal to make the score 29-21.
But, Idaho State wasn’t done scoring. A 12-play, 79-yard drive ended with a Bengal touchdown. Idaho completed a two-point conversion, tying the game 29-29 with about a minute left.
The Bengals defense then forced Cal Poly to punt, but, the ball hit an Idaho player’s helmet and Cal Poly’s David Meyer recovered the ball at Idaho’s 34-yard line.
Brasch made a six-yard run and hit Michael Roth on a four-yard pass to set up the Mustangs freshman kicker for the game-winner.
Ohlsen ran onto the field “fully confident” that he would make the kick.
And he did, sending the ball between the uprights to hand Cal Poly the win.
“The team fought so hard throughout the whole entire game so I knew that it was my job to give them the win,” Ohlsen said. “It was a good minute of me just getting my head whacked and everyone jumping on top of me, it was just the best feeling ever.”
Cal Poly wraps up the 2021 season at home next week against Northern Arizona (4-6, 3-4 Big Sky).
This story was originally published November 14, 2021 at 12:06 AM with the headline "Cal Poly beats Idaho State on last-second field goal, snapping 8-game losing streak."
