2018 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

2018 Cal Poly Mustangs football
2018 Cal Poly Mustangs football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	5–6 (4–4 Big Sky)
Head coach	Tim Walsh (10th season);
Offensive coordinator	Jim Craft (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread triple-option
Defensive coordinator	Josh Brown (7th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Alex G. Spanos Stadium
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Tim Walsh, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Big Sky. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

2018 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Weber State +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^	7	–	1	12	–	3
No. 7 UC Davis +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 17 Montana State ^	5	–	3	8	–	5
Idaho State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Montana	4	–	4	6	–	5
Cal Poly	4	–	4	5	–	6
Northern Arizona	3	–	4	4	–	6
Portland State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Idaho	3	–	5	4	–	7
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	2	–	9
Southern Utah	1	–	7	1	–	10
Sacramento State	0	–	7	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games. Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

Polls

On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Mustangs were predicted to finish in tenth place in the coaches poll and eleventh place in the media poll.^[1]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Eastern Washington	134 (6)
2	Weber State	124 (3)
3	Northern Arizona	121 (3)
4	Idaho	101 (1)
5	Sacramento State	94
6	Southern Utah	91
7	Montana	82
8	Montana State	76
9	UC Davis	64
10	Cal Poly	40
11	Northern Colorado	30
12	Idaho State	29
13	Portland State	21

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Eastern Washington	651 (27)
2	Weber State	636 (19)
3	Northern Arizona	535 (1)
4	Montana	496 (2)
5	Idaho	483 (3)
6	Southern Utah	449 (1)
7	Sacramento State	415
8	Montana State	391 (1)
9	UC Davis	331 (1)
10	Idaho State	170
11	Cal Poly	169
12	Northern Colorado	166
13	Portland State	103

Preseason All-Conference Team

The Mustangs had one player selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.^[2]

Joe Protheroe – Sr. FB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	12:30 p.m.	at No. 1 North Dakota State*	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ESPN+	L 3–49	18,483
September 8	6:05 p.m.	No. 10 Weber State*	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	Pluto TV 244	L 17–24	6,020
September 14	7:05 p.m.	Brown*	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	Pluto TV 244	W 44–15	7,725
September 22	1:05 p.m.	at No. 6 Eastern Washington	Roos Field Cheney, WA	Pluto TV 234	L 17–70	9,156
September 29	4:05 p.m.	No. 17 Montana	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	ELVN	L 28–48	7,157
October 6	6:00 p.m.	at Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	Pluto TV 233	W 41–27	8,930
October 20	4:05 p.m.	No. 10 UC Davis	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA (Battle for the Golden Horseshoe)	Pluto TV 244	L 10–52	8,503
October 27	4:00 p.m.	at Northern Arizona	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	Pluto TV 239	W 38–28	6,102
November 3	1:00 p.m.	at Montana State	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	SWX	L 42–49	16,747
November 10	4:05 p.m.	No. 24 Idaho State	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	Pluto TV 244	W 37–14	5,250
November 17	4:05 p.m.	Southern Utah	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	Pluto TV 244	W 38–24	4,520
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

The game with Weber State, fellow Big Sky Conference member, on September 8 was considered a non-conference game and had no effect on the Big Sky standings.^[3]^[4]

Game summaries

At North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	3	0	0	0	3
No. 1 Bison	7	21	14	7	49

Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Wildcats	7	3	7	7	24
Mustangs	0	3	7	7	17

Brown

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	15	0	0	15
Mustangs	3	21	13	7	44

At Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	3	7	7	0	17
No. 6 Eagles	14	21	14	21	70

Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Grizzlies	17	14	10	7	48
Mustangs	0	7	14	7	28

At Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	14	7	6	14	41
Hornets	14	0	3	10	27

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Aggies	0	31	7	14	52
Mustangs	10	0	0	0	10

At Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	28	10	0	38
Lumberjacks	7	0	7	14	28

At Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	7	7	7	21	42
Bobcats	14	14	14	7	49

At Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Bengals	0	7	7	0	14
Mustangs	3	10	7	17	37

Southern Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thunderbirds	14	7	0	3	24
Mustangs	0	21	7	10	38

References

^ "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".
^ "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".
^ "Cal Poly Mustangs Schedule 2018". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
^ "2018 Football Schedule". Cal Poly Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

[1] "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".

[2] "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".

[3] "Cal Poly Mustangs Schedule 2018". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

[4] "2018 Football Schedule". Cal Poly Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

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