American college football season
The 2023 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Mustangs were led by first-year head coach Paul Wulff and now played their home games at Mustang Memorial Field in San Luis Obispo, California.
Preseason[edit]
On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Mustangs were predicted to finish eleventh in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.[1]
Coaches poll Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
1 | Montana State | 120 (10) |
2 | UC Davis | 96 (1) |
3 | Sacramento State | 94 (1) |
4 | Weber State | 91 |
5 | Idaho | 89 |
6 | Montana | 84 |
7 | Eastern Washington | 52 |
8 | Portland State | 45 |
9 | Northern Arizona | 44 |
10 | Northern Colorado | 37 |
11 | Cal Poly | 25 |
12 | Idaho State | 15 |
Media poll Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
1 | Montana State | 447 (26) |
2 | Idaho | 410 (8) |
3 | Montana | 359 (2) |
4 | Sacramento State | 334 (3) |
5 | UC Davis | 330 |
6 | Weber State | 320 |
7 | Eastern Washington | 216 |
8 | Northern Arizona | 178 |
9 | Portland State | 167 |
10 | Northern Colorado | 109 |
11 | Cal Poly | 103 |
12 | Idaho State | 69 |
Preseason All–Big Sky team[edit]
The Mustangs had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]
Schedule[edit]
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
September 2 | 3:00 p.m. | San Diego* | | ESPN+ | W 27–10 | 6,248 |
September 9 | 1:00 p.m. | at San Jose State* | | NBCSBA | L 3–59 | 14,224 |
September 16 | 5:05 p.m. | Lincoln (CA)* | - Mustang Memorial Field
- San Luis Obispo, CA
| ESPN+ | W 41–20 | 9,238 |
September 23 | 1:00 p.m. | at Portland State | | ESPN+ | L 21–59 | 1,672 |
September 30 | 5:05 p.m. | No. 21 UC Davis | | ESPN+ | L 13–31 | 8,744 |
October 7 | 5:05 p.m. | at No. 3 Idaho | - Mustang Memorial Field
- San Luis Obispo, CA
| ESPN+ | L 14–42 | 6,028 |
October 14 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 2 Montana State | | ESPN+ | L 19–59 | 21,997 |
October 21 | 5:05 p.m. | Northern Colorado | - Mustang Memorial Field
- San Luis Obispo, CA
| ESPN+ | W 24–17 | 9,263 |
November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | at Eastern Washington | | ESPN+ | L 13–48 | 4,345 |
November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Sacramento State | | ESPN+ | L 30–41 | 12,022 |
November 18 | 5:05 p.m. | Weber State | - Mustang Memorial Field
- San Luis Obispo, CA
| ESPN+ | L 21–48 | 4,829 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Pacific time
|
[3]
Conference opponents not scheduled this season: Idaho State, Montana, Northern Arizona
Game summaries[edit]
At San Jose State[edit]
Pregame line | Over/under | Win prob. |
SJSU -23.5 | 60 | SJSU 88.4% |
Cal Poly Mustangs (1–0) at San Jose State Spartans (0–2)
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Mustangs | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Spartans | 17 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 59 |
at CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, CA
- Date: September 9, 2023
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
- Game attendance: 14,224
- TV: NBCSBA
Game information |
- First Quarter
- Second Quarter
- Third Quarter
- Fourth Quarter
|
Statistics | CP | SJSU |
First downs | | |
Total yards | | |
Rushing yards | | |
Passing yards | | |
Turnovers | | |
Time of possession | | |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
Cal Poly | Passing | | |
Rushing | | |
Receiving | | |
SJSU | Passing | | |
Rushing | | |
Receiving | | |
No. 3 Idaho[edit]
No. 3 Idaho Vandals (4–1) at Cal Poly Mustangs (2–3) – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
No. 3 Vandals | 7 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Mustangs | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Mustang Memorial Field • San Luis Obispo, CA
- Date: October 7, 2023
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PDT
- Game attendance: 6,028
- TV: ESPN+
At No. 9 Sacramento State[edit]
Cal Poly Mustangs (3–6) at No. 9 Sacramento State Hornets (6–3) – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Mustangs | 10 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 30 |
No. 9 Hornets | 14 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 41 |
at Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, CA
- Date: November 11, 2023
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. PST
- Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C) • NW 3 mph • Sunny
- Game attendance: 12,022
- Referee: Kelly Holman
- TV announcers (KMAX-TV/ESPN+): Play-by-Play: Jason Ross • Analysis: Darren Arbet
Game information |
- First Quarter
- (10:14) CP – Noah Serna 26-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 4:43; Cal Poly 3–0)
- (7:55) SAC – Elijah Tau-Tolliver 34-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 63 yards, 2:12; Sacramento State 7–3)
- (5:41) SAC – Devin Gandy 7-yard pass from Carson Conklin (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 66 yards, 1:10; Sacramento State 14–3)
- (2:37) CP – Michael Briscoe 29-yard pass from Sam Huard (Noah Serna kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:04; Sacramento State 14–10)
- Second Quarter
- (8:27) CP – Noah Serna 44-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 4:17; Sacramento State 14–13)
- (6:27) SAC – Marshel Martin 39-yard pass from Carson Conklin (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 54 yards, 1:38; Sacramento State 21–13)
- (2:27) SAC – Carlos Hill 15-yard pass from Carson Conklin (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:10; Sacramento State 28–13)
- (1:39) CP – Michael Briscoe 52-yard pass from Sam Huard (Noah Serna kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 0:42; Sacramento State 28–20)
- (0:18) CP – Noah Serna 23-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards, 0:52; Sacramento State 28–23)
- (0:00) SAC – Zach Schreiner 32-yard field goal (Drive: 2 plays, 47 yards, 0:12; Sacramento State 31–23)
- Third Quarter
- (11:13) SAC – Elijah Tau-Tolliver 4-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 1 play, 4 yards, 0:04; Sacramento State 38–23)
- (3:27) CP – Paul Holyfield Jr. 3-yard run (Noah Serna kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:04; Sacramento State 38–30)
- Fourth Quarter
- (12:28) SAC – Zach Schreiner 22-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 5:54; Sacramento State 41–30)
| - Line
- Over/Under
| |
Statistics | CP | SAC |
First downs | 24 | 23 |
Total yards | 539 | 538 |
Rushing yards | 45 | 225 |
Passing yards | 494 | 313 |
Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 38–59–2 | 17–26–1 |
Time of possession | 29:37 | 30:23 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
Cal Poly | Passing | Sam Huard | 37/58, 483 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
Rushing | Paul Holyfield Jr. | 7 carries, 27 yards, TD |
Receiving | Michael Briscoe | 3 receptions, 124 yards, 2 TD |
Sacramento State | Passing | Carson Conklin | 17/26, 313 yards, 3 TD, INT |
Rushing | Marcus Fulcher | 20 carries, 121 yards |
Receiving | Jared Gipson | 5 receptions, 154 yards |
References[edit]
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |