Cal Poly football falls to UC Davis 31-13 in Battle of the Golden Horseshoe

The last time Cal Poly football defeated UC Davis in the Battle of the Golden Horseshoe was in 2016.

On Saturday, that streak continued as the Mustangs (2-3, 0-2 Big Sky) were unable to snap the now seven-year drought, falling to the Aggies 31-13.

The Mustangs were in for a challenge from the get-go without starting quarterback Sam Huard, who was unable to suit up for the game after exiting last week’s matchup against Portland State due to a concussion.

According to Head Coach Paul Wulff, Huard is “hopeful” he’ll be able to return for the team’s upcoming game against Idaho.

Redshirt freshman Bo Kelly made the start in Huard’s place, and Cal Poly got off to a promising start.

Redshirt freshman Troy Fletcher recovered a UC Davis fumble on the initial kickoff to set up the Mustangs in the red zone. But they were unable to convert a fourth-and-short play and turned the ball over on downs.

The Aggies, who are ranked 20th in this week’s FCS Coaches Poll, then marched down the field to the 5-yard line, scoring on a run by Trent Tompkins.

The Aggies then added a field goal and two more touchdowns before Kelly connected with redshirt junior receiver Evan Burkhart for 15-yard touchdown over the middle that got Cal Poly on the board and narrowed the score to 24-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Aggies drove 82 yards for another score when quarterback Miles Hastings connected with Josh Gale on an 11-yard touchdown that put the Aggies up 31-7.

With six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs put together a 13-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown when Fletcher took a direct snap and wiggled his way into the end zone.

The team was unable to complete the 2-point conversion, leaving the final score at 31-13.

“When you’re a growing team and program, there’s going to be some tough times and we are experiencing that,” Wulff said. “Sometimes people see the score of the games, but there’s great signs this team is improving.”

Wulff said the Mustangs are working on their “internal maturity” week by week as the team brings along a young program.

The team’s third leading tackler, redshirt junior Xavier Oliphant, said the team needs to do a better job of “responding to adversity.”

“Before, we’ll get hit in the mouth early, and we just got to learn how to respond,” Oliphant said.

The Mustangs accumulated 211 yards of offense compared to 430 for the Aggies. Kelly went 19 of 37 for 191 yards and one touchdown. Giancarlo Woods led the team in receving with seven catches for 64 yards.

The Mustangs only managed to gain 14 yards on the ground. At one point the team had negative 40 rushing yards.

The Mustangs will face off against the University of Idaho next Saturday at Mustang Memorial Field.