The Cal Poly football team finished their season 1-10 after falling 42-0 to Northern Colorado Saturday afternoon. This was the first time Cal Poly has been shutout in almost 20 years.
Cal Poly had a streak of 216 games without being shutout, dating back to 1998 before Saturday’s loss.
The 10 losses are the most in a single season for Cal Poly in more than 50 years. The only other time in Cal Poly’s history the football team posted double-digit losses in a season was in 1964 when the team finished 0-10. The 1964 team was the only team in school history to not win a single game.
Northern Colorado snapped their six-game losing streak to finish the season 3-7. It was only the third time in a total of 13 meetings that Northern Colorado has managed to defeat the Mustangs.
The only standout player for Cal Poly was senior fullback Jared Mohamed. Despite the team’s offensive struggles, Mohamed was able to rush for 107 yards on 23 rushing attempts.
The first quarter of the game ended in a scoreless tie, but from then on Northern Colorado took control of the matchup. The Bears put up 21 points in the second quarter, scoring two touchdowns and adding two field goals.
In the third quarter, Northern Colorado put the game away with three more touchdowns, pushing their lead to 42 points. Senior quarterback Conor Reagan, from nearby Santa Maria, California, led the charge for the Bears.
Reagan threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns and completed 18 of his 27 pass attempts. Senior wide receiver Frank Stephens scored two touchdowns on the afternoon, including a 28-yard touchdown catch to cap a 73-yard drive by the Bears to start the third quarter.
Also in the third quarter, the Mustangs allowed their first touchdown coming off of a blocked punt in four years.
The falloff this season has been dramatic, to put it lightly. The Mustangs began their season with the expectations of returning to the playoffs after a first-round exit last season but were berated by injuries to key positions and were ultimately lucky to come away with their one win this season.
The Mustangs may be in for a bounce-back season next year, but that will largely hinge on both junior quarterback Khaleel Jenkins and redshirt senior fullback Joe Protheroe coming back at full strength.