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
Polls
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
The Mustangs had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]
Roster
Schedule
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
At San Jose State
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 |
|
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Rushing yards |
|
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Passing yards |
|
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Turnovers |
|
|
Time of possession |
|
|
Team |
Category |
Player |
Statistics
|
Cal Poly |
Passing |
|
|
Rushing |
|
|
Receiving |
|
|
SJSU |
Passing |
|
|
Rushing |
|
|
Receiving |
|
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References
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |