Big game from Sam Huard not enough for Cal Poly football to upset Sac State

Slow starts have plagued the Mustangs throughout the 2023 season.

On Saturday, however, the Mustangs’ offense found success early against Sacramento State, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and hanging with the No. 11 Hornet throughout the game.

Sacramento State ultimately came out on top 41-30, but the Mustangs’ offense had arguably its best game of the season against a top-25 FCS opponent who took down Stanford earlier this season.

To open the game, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Huard found redshirt sophomore receiver Michael Briscoe 43 yards down field on the first play, and the Mustangs made their way into the red zone before redshirt freshman Noah Serna got Cal Poly on the board first with a 26-yard field goal.

After the Mustangs’ first drive, Sacramento State responded with two touchdowns to take a 14-3 they wouldn’t reliniquish, but the first offense drive for the Mustangs helped set the tone for a competitive game.

Huard finished with 37 completions on 58 attempts and threw for 483 yards along with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Huard now holds the all-time Cal Poly record for completions in a game. His mark of 37 surpassed Seth Buford’s completion record in 2000 of 34.

Earlier this season, Huard tied the second-highest number of completions in Cal Poly history with 31 in the team’s lone conference win against Northern Colorado. The University of Washington transfer now holds the first and second place completion record in program history.

Giancarlo Woods hauled in 10 receptions for 107 yards. Briscoe had three catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Bryson Allen caught seven passes for 116 yards, and Dominique Thompson also snagged seven passes for 94 yards.

Late in the second quarter, Huard connected with Briscoe on a 52-yard touchdown. Then, the defense had one of its best series on the day forcing a three-and-out, which allowed the Mustangs offense to get into field goal range within a minute. Serna converted the kick for his second field goal of the day to narrow the score to 28-23.

However, the Hornets got themselves into kicking range in 18 seconds and converted their own field goal as time expired to go back up by 8.

After Paul Holyfield scored on a 3-yard run late in the third quarter to get the score to 38-30, Sac State added a field goal to push the lead back to 11.

Huard had a chance to get Cal Poly back in the game with 9 minutes left, but he was intercepted at the Sac State 10-yard line by Gavin Davis-Smith, who recorded both of the Hornets’ picks on the day.

While the offense had a standout day, the defense couldn’t slow down the Sac State running game.

The Hornets totaled 225 yards on 37 rushes for 6.1 yards per carry and two touchdowns. With the run game working, Sac State quarterback Carson Conklin completed 17 of his 26 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns.

Redshirt junior defensive end Elijiah Ponder recorded a sack and led the team in tackles with six, including one for for loss. Donovan Saunders had an interception for the Mustangs that stopped a Sac State drive and led to Holyfield’s touchdown.

The Mustangs will play their final game of the season at home against Weber State on Saturday, Nov. 18.

This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 8:44 PM.