Cal Poly football falls to Northern Arizona for fifth Big Sky loss

Barbecue smoke and laughter filled the air before Cal Poly’s Saturday matchup against Northern Arizona. A tailgate of players and coaches from the Rich Ellerson era celebrated two of their teammates, Jordan Beck and Kyle Shotwell, getting inducted into the Cal Poly Athletic Hall of Fame.

But the good spirits from the pregame festivities didn’t last long as Cal Poly (2-7, 1-5 Big Sky) fell to Northern Arizona 31-14 in a game the Mustangs trailed all the way.

After a march downfield deep into Lumberjack territory on the first drive, the Mustangs failed to convert on a fourth and short. It was a sign of what was to come.

“(Northern Arizona) just outplayed us to be honest,” head coach Paul Wulff said after the game.

On the next offensive drive, the Lumberjacks’ Zach Lewis intercepted a short route, and Seth Cromwell scored shortly after. After a Cal Poly three-and-out, Cromwell scored on another run.

A three-score lead quickly built up.

The Mustangs were without both of their starting quarterbacks Bo Kelly and Jaden Jones due to injury. Jackson Akins stepped into the starting role. He completed 32 passes for 281 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions.

Northern Arizona was coming off wins against Weber State and Idaho State. They also upset Sacramento State when they were ranked No. 10 in Week 5. Wulff called them a borderline playoff team.

However, the Mustangs came out flat and trailed by more than two scores most of the game.

At halftime, the Mustangs found themselves down 24-7, but they got a glimpse at the game in the third quarter when they held the Lumberjacks scoreless while Zion Hall rushed in a touchdown to cut the lead to 10 points.

But Cromwell then promptly punched in another touchdown with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

Receiver Giancarlo Woods hauled in eight catches for 112 yards and one touchdown in which he made a contested grab. Jordan Garrison added six reception for 28 yards.

The Mustangs were unable to get the run game going as Northern Arizona stacked the defensive line to force Cal Poly to make plays on the outside.

The team rushed 18 times for 60 yards. Thirty-one of those yards came on Jesse Ehrlich faking a punt and running for a first down.

“We missed a lot of tackles,” Wulff said. “We didn’t run the ball well. We’ve got to do a better job executing.”

The Mustangs play their final home game of the season next week against Sacramento State.