Going into the matchup, history was on Idaho’s side. In all five games played against Cal Poly, Idaho had won all of them, the most recent was 2024. Although Idaho was riding a five-game winning streak, newly appointed Mustangs head coach Tim Skipper was not about to continue the trend and lose his debut game at home. Cal Poly seemed to fire on all cylinders offensively and proved the doubters wrong by pulling off a dramatic late-game upset, robbing Idaho in the final seconds to win 38-34 in a close Big Sky Conference opener.
Right off the bat, Cal Poly made their presence felt when Junior Jaden Green returned the opening kickoff inside Vandal territory. That kickoff gave a huge boost to the Mustang’s offense, who would not let that golden opportunity go to waste. After a few key chunk plays, Redshirt Senior Anthony Grigsby Jr. found Junior tight end Alek Marshall for a 17-yard touchdown to strike first in a soon-to-be offensively dominant matchup. On Idaho’s second possession, they finally got on the board as the Vandals settled for a chip-shot 23-yard field goal, which Junior Owen Forsman nailed to cut the lead 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Cal Poly would find pay-dirt again on their next drive as Grigsby found his target, Junior running back Misa Paiau to extend the Mustangs lead 14-3. Similar to their opening drive, it was the short but crucial gains that ultimately pounded the Vandal defense into the ground. The Vandals knew they had a big hole to climb themselves out of and Senior quarterback Joshua Wood seemed to be the man for the task. The Vandals next drive was very “pass heavy” as Wood found Junior wide receiver Tony Harste on a bubble route for a 24-yard gain. After a few more catches and a valuable penalty, the air attack drive was capped off with an eight-yard rushing touchdown by Junior running back Ferrari Miller. Cal Poly’s next drive looked effortless as the Mustangs carved the Vandal defense play after play. Brigsby ended the drive by tossing his third touchdown of the half to senior Fidel Pitts for a 16-yard score to extend their lead to 21-10 at halftime.
After the break, Idaho got lucky field position to start their drive on their 35-yard line as the second half kickoff was booted out of bounds. Although the Vandals had an excellent start to the drive, they only settled for a field goal after a failed deep shot to the endzone which again was drilled from 40 yards out by Forsman. The Vandals struck again after Cal Poly turned the ball over on downs, as Forsman sliced his third field goal of the game through the uprights from 44 yards out to shrink the lead 21-16 at the end of the third quarter.
Cal Poly’s offense wasn’t going to continue watching their lead slip from their fingertips as they tacked on a field goal themselves thanks to a 28-yard kick from freshman Noah Thayer. But Idaho didn’t surrender as on the very next drive, Joshua Wood found junior wide receiver Ryan Jezioro wide open deep down field for a 65-yard gain to put the Vandals inside the Mustangs ten-yard line. A couple of plays later, Tony Harste made an incredible play in heavy traffic for a six-yard touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the Vandals tied the game up 24-24. Following a Cal Poly missed field goal, Idaho got the ball back deep in their own territory, but it didn’t take long for the Vandals to cook up something special. From their own 25-yard line, Joshua Wood found a wide-open Tony Harste for a 75-yard touchdown to take the lead for the first time all night, 31-24. The crowd was stunned as it seemed like the matchup was in Cal Poly’s hands the entire night, only for the tables to completely turn. But Cal Poly showed life once more as the Mustang’s offense chiseled away at the Vandals defense to the point where quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. easily rushed into the endzone to tie the game back 31 a piece with just over two minutes to play. The Vandals answered back quickly thanks to a 44-yard reception by senior wide receiver Zack Card to put the Vandals in field goal position. With 1:07 left on the clock, Owen Forsman drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the game from 40 yards out to retake the lead 34-31. As an Idaho Vandal win seemed inevitable, Cal Poly had all the time they needed to get back into the ballgame. On the first play of the drive, Brigsby found junior wideout Tayvion McCoy open for a 41-yard completion to bring the Mustangs right outside field goal range. On 4 & 8 with 18 seconds left, and too far for a field goal attempt, it was touchdown or bust for Cal Poly. Anthony Brigsby rolled to his right out of the pocket and fired a prayer towards the endzone which was caught by Tayvion McCoy for a 34-yard touchdown to stun the Vandals 38-34.
While the offense thrived thanks to an incredible performance from quarterback Joshua Wood who went 18/25 363 yards and two touchdowns, and another phenomenal performance from Tony Harste who had nine receptions, 180 yards and caught both of Wood’s touchdowns, the defense was the Achilles heel this week. The defense in total gave up 319 yards through the air, and 197 yards on the ground. Giving up over 500 total yards made it difficult for Idaho to pull away, and the defense had to rely on the offense to keep pace throughout the game. In the end, it was all about who had the most time of possession. With the clock on their side and excellent management, the Mustangs were able to make the plays they needed and ran away with the win.
The Vandals are once again on the road next week to take on Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday, September 3 at 6:00.