Cal Poly football shaken by Ty Dieffenbach injury in 35-17 loss on the road

Cal Poly (2-2) closed out its non-conference slate on the road Saturday night with a 35-17 loss to Stephen F. Austin at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches, Texas.

This matchup was the Mustangs’ first true gauge of where they stand this season, coming against a fellow FCS scholarship program after opening with San Diego from the non-scholarship Pioneer League, then facing FBS Utah and Division II Western Oregon.

But the same concerns have followed them all September — an unbalanced offense built around a pass-heavy attack with little support from the run game. That imbalance was only magnified under the Texas lights.

Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach entered the night as Cal Poly’s leading rusher, a stat that vividly shows the team’s struggles to generate yards on the ground.

But the Mustangs’ plans were shaken in the first quarter when Dieffenbach exited with an apparent leg injury on a quarterback keeper. He did not return.

That left the door open for redshirt sophomore Jackson Akins, who had shown flashes during last week’s blowout win over D2 Western Oregon when Head Coach Paul Wulff rotated through all four quarterbacks.

Akins’ first series ended in disaster: an interception deep in Mustang territory that set up a Lumberjack touchdown.

From that point on, the Lumberjacks controlled the momentum. Cal Poly leaned further into the pass, but with no real rushing threat, the offense grew predictable and struggled to sustain drives.

Akins connected with target Michael Briscoe for a 64-yard touchdown pass to briefly give the Mustangs the lead, but mistakes piled up on all facets of the field.

With about two minutes left in the first half, the Lumberjacks returned a 65-yard punt for a touchdown, which gave them some room to breathe heading into halftime, up 14-10.

The mistakes continued after the break. Akins threw another interception that was returned 28 yards for a pick-six, and later tossed a third pick before being replaced by Bo Kelly. By then, the Lumberjacks had seized full control, and Cal Poly’s unsettled offense never recovered.

Kelly managed to put together one scoring drive in the final minutes, connecting with Kian Salehi for a touchdown, but the result was already out of reach.

“Our goal has been to get every guy reps because we know it’s a long season,” Wulff said earlier in the week after rotating quarterbacks against Western Oregon. “All of a sudden, you’re a backup, now you’re a starter.”

That scenario played out sooner than expected, leaving Cal Poly with two pressing questions as Big Sky play begins next weekend: Can the Mustangs establish a reliable rushing attack, and can their second and third-string quarterbacks step up if Dieffenbach’s injury lingers?

The Mustangs finished with just 69 rushing yards compared to 288 through the air, continuing a trend of relying almost exclusively on the passing game. Stephen F. Austin, meanwhile, showed the balance Cal Poly has lacked, piling up 190 yards passing and 164 on the ground.

Coming into the game, Wulff acknowledged the challenge, saying that from a pure passing standpoint, SFA would be the best team Cal Poly would face. The Lumberjacks lived up to that reputation, pairing efficiency through the air with a steady ground game.

“There are still a lot of areas to improve,” Wulff said earlier in the week. “We got to continue to grow in the passing game, but the run game is something we want to continue to work on, and we’ve got to get better.”

The Mustangs will begin Big Sky play on Saturday, Sept. 27, on the road against Sacramento State at 6 p.m., live streaming on ESPN+.