After going down 2 scores, Cal Poly football rallies to 41-20 win against Division 2 program
In non-conference action, the Cal Poly football team was looking to find some consistency after a promising win followed by a lopsided loss in its first two games to open the season.
On Saturday, Cal Poly (2-1) found the winning groove again in a 41-20 win over Lincoln, a Division 2 school from Oakland with only three years of existence.
After a first week 27-10 win against University of San Diego and then a 59-3 loss to San Jose State, the Mustangs looked to rebound and do what the Spartans did to them the week before: Blow out their opponent.
Instead, the Mustangs found themselves down 13-0 in the first quarter.
Despite the initial setback, the offense eventually found its groove as new redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Huard threw for 325 yards, completing 28 of his 39 passes for six touchdowns, tying a school record for single-game touchdowns with Jonathan Dally.
“I just think coming off a game like last week, you really want to get out to a great start and really prove you know what we’re doing,” Huard said of the team’s slow start on Saturday. “I think we just came out a little too high.”
After the team settled down, however, the points started piling up.
Huard connected with redshirt junior receiver Giancarlo Woods for three of his six scores. Woods’ three touchdown catches were the most by a Cal Poly player since 2019.
Huard also threw touchdown passes to sophomore receiver Logan Booher, redshirt junior receiver Evan Burkhart and redshirt freshmen Tyrece Fairly-Diyem, while the defense, led by redshirt junior linebacker David Meyer with eight tackles, held the Oaklanders scoreless in the second half.
Woods finished with seven catches for 77 yards, while Booher hauled in seven balls of his own for 97 yards.
Cal Poly totaled 438 yards in total offense to Lincoln’s 256.
Bouncing back
In the first week of the season, the Mustangs showed a dominant performance against the University of San Diego. The defense held the Toreros to 10 points, and Huard threw for 368 yards.
The following week the Mustangs stumbled out of the gate against FBS opponent San Jose State. The Mustangs fumbled the first kickoff and went down multiple scores early before ultimately getting blown out by 55 points.
It was a poor effort, but many of the errors were self-inflicted.
With varying performances across the board in the first three games, the team is looking to find even play as it head into a daunting Big Sky Conference schedule, including five teams currently ranked in the Top 25 in the FCS.
That gauntlet starts with 2-1 Portland State next week.
“This week of practice and preparation is gonna be really big for us,” Cal Poly Head Coach Paul Wulff said. “It’s going to be a great challenge for us to go on the road and compete against a really good football team. I feel like we’re ready to take that step. It’s time and that’d be a great challenge.”
This season is the first time that the Mustangs have had a winning record after three games since their last overall winning season in 2016.
The Mustangs have also matched their win total in each of the last two 2-9 seasons, and the team is better equipped to compete in the Big Sky.
Still, on the health front, the Mustangs are more “nicked up than we’d want,” according to Wulff.
Redshirt sophomore Michael Briscoe, redshirt freshmen Troy Fletcher and multiple players on the offensive line have gone down with injuries.
The team has shown a strong passing game with multiple receiving targets, who’ve performed early in the season.
The defense has shown flashes of smothering opposing offenses against University of San Diego and Lincoln.
The Mustangs will open Big Sky pay Saturday on the road at Portland State at 1 p.m.
This story was originally published September 16, 2023 at 10:33 PM.