Almost nothing goes right for Cal Poly in 59-3 blowout loss to San Jose State
From very first play of the game, the Cal Poly Mustangs put themselves in a difficult position to compete against FBS opponent San Jose State on the road.
The Mustangs (1-1) turned the ball over three times in the first quarter in their 59-3 loss to the Spartans, beginning with a fumble by return man Xavier Oliphant on the opening kickoff.
After the first miscue, the Spartans recovered the ball on the 17-yard line and converted the turnover into a field goal when Cal Poly came up with a defensive stop.
But the game didn’t get any better after that.
On the following offensive drive, quarterback Sam Huard was sacked by the Spartans’ defensive line and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the defense.
Later in the first quarter, Huard launched a deep ball, and the pass was intercepted.
The Mustangs never could generate the offensive rhythm they found against the University of San Diego in a Week 1 win.
By the time the first period was over, the Mustangs were down 17-0.
At the start of the second quarter, the game was halted for approximately 45 minutes due to a lightning delay.
However, after the long pause, the Spartans resumed their dominating play.
After a 10-yard rushing touchdown, San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro scored on a 15-yard touchdown run of his own to put the Spartans up 31-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, San Jose State opted for an onside kick, which the Mustangs were unable to recover.
Cordeiro then completed a 24-yard strike to receive Charles Ross to make the score 38-0 in favor of San Jose State.
The Mustangs finally got their first and only score on the board in the last seconds of the second quarter.
Huard led a drive that included two back-to-back completions to receiver Evan Burkhart, before kicker Noah Serna connected on a 24-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, the Spartans put up three touchdowns — two on the ground and one via a 75-yard punt return — to put give San Jose State 59-3 lead.
With the game well out of reach, quarterback Jaden Jones then substituted in for Huard to end the third quarter.
The Cal Poly offense was held to a mere 169 yards, one week after rolling up 460 yards against San Diego.
Huard finished 11-17 for 66 yards and one interception. Mark Biggins was the leading rusher with 48 yards on 9 carries.
San Jose State finished with 472 yards of total offense, including 205 through the air from Cordeiro and 267 on the ground.
Kairee Robinson gained 124 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns, while Quali Conley added another 60 and two scores as well.
Ethan Calvert led the Mustangs on defense with 12 tackles.
The Mustangs will take on Division II Lincoln University Saturday at 5 p.m. at Mustang Memorial Field.
