Cal Poly football wrapped their final road contest of the season this past weekend with an impressive performance against No. 9 Sacramento State. Although they lost 30-41, it was a far cry from the other road contests the Mustangs had faced this season.
Cal Poly rebounded valiantly after their road loss to Eastern Washington University in the previous week, and in the game against an even greater Sacramento State team, the team flipped the narrative of starting slow and being unable to respond to early game adversity. At one point in the third quarter, Cal Poly was only down one score.
“I felt our players focus from start to finish, even on the sidelines," Head Coach Paul Wulff said. "Everything throughout the game was what a mature football team would do and we haven't always been like that. I felt like we reacted like that offensively.”
Offensively, quarterback Sam Huard had a career day completing 37 of 58 passes going for 483 yards surpassing a 23-year old school record for completions in a single game set by Seth Burford in 2000.
“Really the whole mindset all week was just start fast," Huard explained. "We came out taking some shots early on and guys are making plays around me. The O-line did a phenomenal job up front the entire game, so it really made it easy on my ends.”
And while Huard had himself a day, it was the offensive lineman that gave him time only allowing one sack and five quarterback hurries.
“We had a lot of great passing plays. The O-line held up great with the protection," senior center Garrett Weichman said.
With the loss, the team falls to 3-7 but on the bright side, they have one more game to improve upon the foundation that Coach Wulff and the program have laid down this year when they host Weber State in the season finale.
“The opportunity to come in and play against a good solid football team at home is important for us and to go out with a win, it will boost the off-season.”
It’s also senior day for a handful of veteran players on a young team. Weichman is just one of a few who will play his final game as a Mustang having endured adversity in his five years at Cal Poly; an experience that has benefited him on the field and will benefit him in his future endeavors.
“I think that's just a huge thing to just overcome adversity within football and in life," Weichman stated. "That's just a great thing to be able to prepare for really going into the real world.”
“These guys have had to go through a lot of hard times to kind of pave that way for [us]," Wulff said. "We owe everything we can to to play our best football and to finish out with a win for them.”
The Mustangs wrap up their 2023 campaign back at home taking on 5-5 Weber State for senior day. Kickoff set for 5 p.m.
