Homecoming football games hold a special place in Cal Poly history. These are games where alumni, parents and students come together at one place to honor Cal Poly. Within the last 10 years there have been exciting, wins and heart-wrenching losses for the Cal Poly football team.
Since 2000, the Mustangs are 5-4 overall during homecoming games. In the past, they have faced teams such as UC Davis, Texas State, South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Southern Utah.
While there have been many tough games within the last 10 years, there were three games that stood out in particular.
Cal Poly vs. Texas St. — Oct. 16, 2004
The Mustangs were 6-0 going into their homecoming game against Texas State. During the game, the Mustangs ran through the Bobcats while the rain poured down on both teams.
“It rained really, really hard and we were soaked with mud,” said Jonah Russell, a junior wide receiver back in 2004.
As the water soaked the grass at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, the Mustangs plowed through the Texas State defense.
“The offense had a turning point during that game,” Russell said. “We normally struggled, but Anthony Garnett started and the offense really came out strong.”
The Mustangs scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and held a two-score lead for the rest of the game.
Russell said he remembers the last drive of a game specifically because he caught the pass from Garnett and kept the clock running until the final seconds of the game.
“During the last drive, we normally panicked, but we kept the offense on the field so (the Bobcats) didn’t have a chance to score,” Russell said.
Garnett threw four touchdown passes and also took the ball to the end zone on his own once. Overall, Cal Poly rushed for 252 yards and passed for 326 yards in one of the most impressive offensive games on the year. Texas State passed for 290 yards with only 91 yards rushing.
With 9,352 fans packed into a stadium that normally averaged about 8,500 people, this particular homecoming game was special for Russell.
“There is a sense of pride during homecoming,” Russell said. “You want to make friends, family and alumni proud.”
For Russell this was the most memorable homecoming game he had ever played in.
“It was an exciting season that year,” Russell said. “It was the best team I played on and we got gipped by not getting a playoff bid because we definitely deserved it that year,” Russell said.
The Mustangs won the game 38-21 and finished 9-2 on the season.
Cal Poly vs. North Dakota State — Nov. 10, 2007
In 2007, Cal Poly faced No.1 North Dakota State with 10,899 fans in attendance, making the game one of the highest attended homecoming games of the decade.
“The atmosphere of that game was the best at homecoming thus far,” said Will Mitchell, who was a redshirt freshman in 2007. “The entire student body was there and the intensity was crazy.”
The previous season, the Bison defeated Cal Poly 51-14. Entering the 2007 season, the Mustangs were constantly reminded of the score by a sign in the weight room.
“When we got the chance to play them again, remembering that sign was a big incentive for us to play as hard as we could,” said Scottie Cordier, who was also a redshirt freshman in 2007.
The Mustangs arrived in full force, both offensively and defensively.
“We came out and played our game,” Cordier said. “The stands were packed and the crowd noise was amazing.”
Cal Poly started off with a touchdown in each of the first three quarters while the Bison only managed to score a field goal each quarter.
Going into the final quarter, the Bison were down 28-9. At this point, the Mustangs thought they had the game in the bag, Mitchell said.
“We got comfortable and they came back in that last quarter,” Mitchell said.
North Dakota State strung three touchdown drives together in eight plays. The Bison took the lead 31-28 as the Mustangs attempted to get down the field — only managing to reach the 43-yard line before time expired and North Dakota State earned the win.
“I was just in shock,” Mitchell said. “We were really disappointed in ourselves.”
For some players, it was like falling from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Cordier said he felt empty after the loss.
“We played every down like it was our last,” he said. “There was nothing else we could have wanted more than to win that game.”
If anything positive came from the loss, Mitchell said the game set the tone for the 2008 season. That year, the Mustangs went 8-3 overall — making it to the NCAA FCS playoffs.
Cal Poly vs. Southern Utah — Oct. 17, 2009
Under new head coach Tim Walsh, the Mustangs’ football squad finished 4-7 in regular season play in 2009. Despite that, they had a few impressive performances — one of those being against Southern Utah in the homecoming game.
After a tough loss on the road to Montana, the Mustangs were itching for a crucial win at home.
“We were 2-3 and we wanted to get to an even record and back on the winning side,” Cordier said.
However, Southern Utah always seems to give the Mustangs a run for their money, Mitchell said.
“They are our toughest conference game,” Mitchell said.
Quarterback Tony Smith agreed and said the Thunderbirds are a team that does not get the respect it deserves nationally.
At the end of the first quarter, both teams were tied 7-7. With almost five minutes until halftime, Jon Hall scored a touchdown to take the lead. After halftime, the Thunderbirds evened the score again with another score.
Then, with a little more than nine minutes left in the game, the Thunderbirds kicked a field goal, bringing them to a four-point deficit.
With 1:51 left to play, Smith took the ball to the end zone to bring the score to 24-17.
“I specifically remember that being like an ad-lib play,” Smith said. “Hall had a great block for me and I was happy to get the lead up to seven.”
That’s when things got interesting. With nine seconds left on the clock, Thunderbird quarterback Cade Cooper connected with Tysson Poots for the touchdown.
“It was a bender route right in front of me,” Cordier said. “The quarterback threw it right in there and my hand was on the ball …but I couldn’t rip it out.
When Southern Utah decided not to go for the two-point conversion, the Mustangs were expecting overtime.
“That was obviously a momentum taker, but we were ready for overtime,” Smith said.
That was until Thunderbirds kicker Ryan Griffith missed the extra point — giving the Mustangs the victory, 24-23.
“I was just happy it was somebody else,” Cordier said. “It’s hard, people miss kicks every week. I was just glad that time it wasn’t us.”