Cal Poly football battles early against Stanford before falling 41-7

Cal Poly’s defense held Stanford to 14 points in the first half, but the Cardinal wore down the Mustangs in the second half and ended the team’s hopes of securing its first win over an FBS team in 10 years.

In the first meeting in both school’s Division I history, the Mustang (0-2) defense was a strong point in the 41-7 loss to the Cardinal, who won their first home game since Oct. 22, 2022.

The Mustangs fell to the University of San Diego last week for the first time since 2016 and were hoping to put together a competitive performance against the sole FBS team on the schedule. At times the Mustangs held their own, but the Cardinal dominated both sides of the ball in the second half.

Against the Toreros, the Mustangs managed only eight rushing yards. The ground game couldn’t find much room versus the Cardinal either as the offense only put up 25 yards on the ground. The passing attack was more successful.

On the first drive of the game, Cal Poly redshirt senior defensive lineman Ethan Rodriguez broke through the Stanford offensive line and knocked the ball out of running back Micah Fords’ hands.

Redshirt junior Ethan Calvert scooped up the ball to set up the Mustangs’ first offensive drive.

Following the fumble, redshirt sophomore quarterback Bo Kelly led the Mustangs to the Cardinal 24-yard line. However, the Mustangs’ field goal attempt was blocked and recovered by Stanford.

The Cardinal then marched down the field before quarterback Ashton Daniels found receiver Mudia Reuben in the end zone to give Stanford a 7-0 lead.

On the first drive of the second quarter, Kelly connected with redshirt senior receiver Michael Briscoe for a 20-yard gain, one of several dynamic plays in the Mustangs’ best drive of the game.

The Mustangs’ sole score came when the Mustangs ran a trick play.

Kelly passed the ball back to Briscoe at the left sideline, and Briscoe then connected with tight end Jake Woods for a diving touchdown.

After a three-interception performance in the prior game, Kelly finished the game with 17 completions on 25 attempts for 149 yards and one interception.

The the next Cardinal drive, FCS Preseason All-American Elijah Ponder came up with a sack to force a third and long situation and leading to a Cardinal punt.

But the Mustangs will be without their star defensive end for part of their next game.

Late in the fourth quarter, Ponder was penalized for targeting Daniels. The ruling on the field was upheld and Ponder was disqualified for the remainer of the game.

Per NCAA rules, Ponder is also ineligible to play the first half of the next week’s home opening game against Western Oregon.

The Cardinal then found the end zone with 21 seconds left in the first hal to go up 21-7.

When the second half started, Stanford started to get in a rhythm and scored on every drive the rest of the game.

Redshirt senior receiver Giancarlo Woods led Cal Poly in receiving yards with 45. Redshirt freshman running back Aiden Ramos had four catches for 30 yards. On the ground, he rushed for 22 yards on eight attempts.

While the Mustangs had more great flashes on both sides of the ball, untimely drops and penalties cost them and allowed the Cardinal to extend drives. Special teams was also a problem as the Mustangs’ field goal was blocked and Stanford returned a punt for a touchdown.

On defense, safety Jake East made eight tackles. Defensive back Brian Dukes Jr. had seven tackles.

Next week, the Mustangs will play in their home opener against Division II Western Oregon.