Cal Poly falls to No. 7 UC Davis in closest Battle for Golden Horseshoe in years

Cal Poly put up its best fight in years in the annual Battle for the Golden Horseshoe on Saturday, taking a tie game into the fourth quarter before ultimately falling 34-27 to No. 7 UC Davis at Spanos Stadium.

The loss marked the Mustangs’ ninth consecutive loss in the series, but it was also its closest margin in recent memory.

The first three quarters of the game was a seesaw affair with multiple lead changes and ties.

Cal Poly struck first on its opening drive, with Kelly spreading the ball between his running backs and receivers, an early sign of the rhythm that carried the Mustangs in their conference opener. After weeks of concern surrounding the rushing attack, something seemed to click, at least on that drive.

Alternating between finding Michael Briscoe through the air and handing the ball to Trey Wilson, the Mustangs moved into prime position for Kelly to connect with Logan Booher on a 23-yard touchdown pass to cap off the opening drive.

In response, UC Davis answered with an impressive drive of its own, but the Mustang defensive line held firm. Linebacker Mikey D’Amato anchored the front seven, consistently pressuring the Aggies’ backfield and forcing quick decisions.

UC Davis eventually broke through early in the second quarter on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Caden Pinnick to Zach Jones, capitalizing on Cal Poly’s commitment to stopping the run.

A 33-yard Gianluca Dimaura field goal put Cal Poly back in front, before Pinnick connected on a 6-yard score to give the Aggies a 13-10 halftime lead.

The Mustangs limited Davis to just 14 rushing attempts in the first half, but the Aggies found success through the air with both of their second-quarter touchdowns coming on passing plays.

“We had been doing a good job stopping their run,” linebacker Kenny Olson said. “We knew that how they were gonna beat us was gonna be through the air.”

After another Cal Poly field goal tied the score at 13-13 in the third quarter, UC Davis capitalized on field position deep in Mustang territory with a 23-yard quarterback keeper, setting up another red-zone opportunity.

After multiple stops from Cal Poly’s defensive line, the Aggies went back to the air for a 6-yard touchdown, regaining the lead and shifting momentum.

Still, that UC Davis touchdown sparked new life into the Mustangs.

Cal Poly responded with a determined drive, leaning on its passing attack to move the chains.

Kelly stayed composed in the pocket, spreading the ball across the field before finding Booher once again — this time for a 24-yard touchdown that knotted the game at 20 apiece, heading into the final quarter.

Coming into the game, Wulff had emphasized the importance of limiting UC Davis’ unpredictability.

“They can get you when you’re not ready,” Wulff said. “They run enough trick plays and enough things that are nontraditional that can create problems.”

That warning proved timely, and UC Davis continued to mix in misdirection and creative play-calling, keeping Cal Poly’s defense off balance with a blend of play-action passes and quarterback runs.

In the final quarter, the Aggies’ offensive versatility took over. They struck early in the fourth on a 9-yard run before a keeper from quarterback Caden Pinnick put them up by two scores, extending the lead to 34-20.

With under two minutes left, Cal Poly answered in dramatic fashion with a play straight out of the Philly Special playbook.

Kelly handed the ball off to Antoine Sullivan, who quickly flipped it to Briscoe on a reverse. Instead of continuing the run, Briscoe pulled up and floated a pass back to Kelly, who had slipped into the end zone untouched for the touchdown, a gutsy trick play that trimmed the deficit to one score.

The Mustangs attempted an onside kick in hopes of one last possession, but the attempt fell short, sealing the 34–27 loss.

Kelly earns another start at quarterback

The game began with some confusion in the stadium over who would be calling plays for Cal Poly.

With all eyes on Cal Poly’s quarterback situation after fourth-stringer Kelly led the Mustangs to a conference-opening win over Sacramento State, fans were surprised when the starting lineup flashed across the jumbotron minutes before kickoff Saturday, listing Ty Dieffenbach as QB1 after he had missed the last two games due to injury.

But when Cal Poly took the field as the receiving team, confusion set in.

It was Kelly, not Dieffenbach, who once again lined up under center, following his breakout performance in last week’s victory.

“He broke some of those old habits, which is really good to see,” Head Coach Paul Wulff said earlier this week at practice.

Kelly finished with 251 yards on 20-of-34 passing with two touchdowns. Booher led all receivers with 101 on 6 catches and two touchdowns.

But Cal Poly once again struggled to find consistency in its run game, a theme that has persisted throughout the season.

Wilson was held to only 33 yards on 11 carries.

UC Davis quarterback carries Aggies to victory

Ultimately, Pinnick’s ability to extend plays proved to be the difference for UC Davis, as he repeatedly escaped pressure and turned broken plays into big gains.

“That was really the difference in this game, (Caden Pinnick’s) playmaking ability with his feet,” Wulff said. “That was their whole thing with their success on offense.”

​​Despite the loss, the this edition of the annual rivalry game marked the closest margin between Cal Poly and UC Davis in recent years. With clear progress across the roster, the Mustangs appear to be trending upward compared to previous seasons.

Cal Poly will look to build on that momentum next weekend when it travels to Montana to face the Bobcats on Saturday at 1 p.m., streamed live on ESPN+.

This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 10:38 PM.