Cal Poly football holds Montana scoreless in first half before unraveling in 28-9 loss
In a battle against undefeated Montana, Cal Poly (3-4, 1-2 Big Sky) held the Grizzlies scoreless through the first half, heading into the break with a 9-point lead and all the momentum on its side.
But then came the second half, and Montana began to look like the team it’s known to be. The Grizzlies finally sustained their run game, something that had struggled to find rhythm in the first half, and proved why their offense ranks among the best in the Big Sky. They came out on top, beating Cal Poly 28-9.
While there was breathing room heading into halftime, the Mustangs couldn’t afford to get ahead of themselves. Just last weekend, Montana trailed Idaho State 24-18 at halftime before storming back to win, and the Grizzlies did the same thing Saturday. This time by a bigger margin.
Something changed for the Grizzlies coming out of the locker room.
On Cal Poly’s first drive of the half, Ty Dieffenbach looked to keep the offense rolling, but his pass was jumped by a Montana defender and taken 20 yards the other way for a pick-6. It was the spark Montana had been searching for all game, and it completely flipped the script.
Cal Poly’s first-half dominance
All week leading up to Cal Poly’s game against undefeated Montana, Spanos Stadium was anything but quiet. Practices mirrored the Mustangs’ preparation for then–nationally ranked Utah earlier this season, with sirens blaring and artificial crowd noise flooding the field as they braced for Montana’s fan base.
The noise came in Missoula, but Cal Poly tuned it out, delivering one of its strongest defensive halves of the season.
After a narrow loss to UC Davis last weekend, it was clear the Mustangs’ defensive line was more than capable of stopping the run. The challenge came in defending the pass — something Head Coach Paul Wulff said the team needed to tighten up.
“We need to play tighter coverage,” Wulff said at practice earlier this week. “We need to make more plays on the ball. Those are some types of things we need to be more consistent with and be on the same page with coverage.”
Throughout the first half, the Grizzlies were clamped down by the Mustang defense.
Much of the credit, outside of the defensive line, went to true freshman C.J. Solis-Lumar, who broke up three big plays in the secondary, forcing Montana to reset time and again. Mason Rivera also came up with an interception in the end zone to stop a potential scoring drive.
It was the kind of defensive performance Wulff had been emphasizing after UC Davis exposed their coverage issues seven days prior.
Meanwhile, Cal Poly’s offense found just enough rhythm to capitalize.
Returning from injury after missing the past two games, Dieffenbach connected with Brooks Wheatley for a 26-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The Mustangs failed to convert on the 2-point try but later added a field goal before the half to take a 9-0 lead.
Defensively, Cal Poly kept Montana, the Big Sky’s top-ranked offense, contained, holding the Grizzlies to just 83 passing yards and 63 rushing yards in the first half.
Montana’s offense features the Big Sky’s top rusher, Eli Gillman, yet even Cal Poly — a team that has struggled to establish its ground game — out-rushed the Grizzlies behind Paul Holyfield Jr. in the first half.
But it was just a matter of time for Gillman to get going.
Second-half shift
Montana ended up going on a 28-0 scoring run in the second half to come out on top against Cal Poly, the team that seemed to have all the right answers on both sides of the ball in the first half.
Not long after the pick-6, Cal Poly had a chance to swing momentum back.
Bobby Piland Jr. recovered a fumble as Montana threatened to score, just moments after the Grizzlies had converted on third down. But once again, the offense failed to capitalize.
A 24-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wortham gave Montana its first lead of the game, 14-9 — a big-time play from one of the most electric players in the FCS. The pass was perfectly placed in the corner of the end zone, threading through tight coverage as Wortham hauled it in with ease.
Wulff had warned about Wortham’s impact earlier in the week.
“The Wortham kid is clearly one of the best players in all of college football,” he said ahead of the game.
It was only a matter of time before Gillman found his rhythm. After being bottled up in the first half, the Big Sky’s leading rusher finally broke through, fueling an offense that looked completely different after halftime.
Montana piled up 114 rushing yards and 174 passing yards in the second half alone, a stark turnaround from its quiet start.
Meanwhile, Cal Poly’s offense unraveled.
Dieffenbach threw four interceptions, including the pick-6 that opened the door for Montana’s comeback. The Mustangs managed just 5 passing yards and 55 rushing yards after the break, struggling to find the same spark that carried them through the first half.
Bo Kelly came in to relieve Dieffenbach in the final quarter, but nothing seemed to click offensively as Cal Poly failed to find the end zone again.
Gillman capped off Montana’s comeback with the final two touchdowns, sealing the FCS No. 4-ranked Grizzlies’ 28-9 victory and reminding everyone why they remain one of the top teams in the FCS.
Dieffenbach finished 15-33 for 225 yards, the one lone touchdown and the four interceptions. Alek Marshall had two cateches for 59 yardsm, and Holyfield Jr. rushed for 53 yards on 8 carries.
Cal Poly will use its upcoming bye week to regroup before returning home on Saturday, Oct. 25, to face Montana State at 5 p.m., another Big Sky test for a Mustang team still searching for a complete four-quarter performance.