2021 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

American college football season

2021 Cal Poly Mustangs football

Conference| Big Sky Conference
Record| 2–9 (1–7 Big Sky)
Head coach|

* Beau Baldwin (2nd season)

Offensive coordinator| Nick Edwards (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator| J.C. Sherritt (2nd season)
Home stadium| Alex G. Spanos Stadium

Seasons

<- 2020

2022 ->

2021 Big Sky Conference football standings

* v
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* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 10 Sacramento State $^  |  | 8  | - | 0  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  |
No. 2 Montana State ^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 11  | - | 3  |
No. 7 Eastern Washington ^  |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 3  |
No. 6 Montana ^  |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 3  |
No. 17 UC Davis ^  |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 4  |
Weber State |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
Northern Arizona |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Portland State |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Idaho |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  |
Northern Colorado |  | 2  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  |
Cal Poly |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  |
Idaho State |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 1  | - | 10  |
Southern Utah |  | 0  | - | 8  |  |  |  |  | 1  | - | 10  |

* $ - Conference champion
* ^ - FCS playoff participant

Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2021 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Mustangs were led by 2nd-year head coach Beau Baldwin and played their home games at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, as members of the Big Sky Conference.

## Preseason[edit]

### Polls[edit]

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Mustangs were predicted to finish twelfth in the Big Sky by the coaches and last in the media.[1]

Coaches poll  Predicted finish  | Team  | Votes (1st place)

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1  | Weber State  | (7)
2  | Montana  | (3)
3  | Eastern Washington  | (2)
4  | Montana State  | (1)
5  | Sacramento State  | (1)
6  | UC Davis  |
7  | Northern Arizona  |
8  | Idaho  |
9  | Idaho State  |
10  | Portland State  |
11  | Southern Utah  |
12  | Cal Poly |
13  | Northern Colorado  |
Media poll  Predicted finish  | Team  | Votes (1st place)

|
|

1  | Weber State  | (14)
2  | Montana  | (4)
3  | Eastern Washington  | (3)
4  | Montana State  | (3)
5  | Sacramento State  |
6  | UC Davis  |
7  | Northern Arizona  |
8  | Idaho  |
9  | Idaho State  |
10  | Portland State  |
11  | Southern Utah  |
12  | Northern Colorado  |
13  | Cal Poly |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team[edit]

The Mustangs did not have any players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]

## Schedule[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

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September 4| 2:05 p.m.| at San Diego*|

* Torero Stadium
* San Diego, CA

| | W 28–17| 2,966
September 11| 7:05 p.m.| at Fresno State*|

* Bulldog Stadium
* Fresno, CA

| CW59| L 10–63| 30,119
September 18| 5:05 p.m.| South Dakota*|

* Alex G. Spanos Stadium
* San Luis Obispo, CA

| ESPN+| L 14–48| 11,075
September 25| 12:00 p.m.| at No. 4 Montana|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium
* Missoula, MT

| ESPN+| L 7–39| 25,600
October 2| 5:05 p.m.| No. 19 Weber State|

* Alex G. Spanos Stadium
* San Luis Obispo, CA

| ESPN+| L 7–38| 7,089
October 9| 1:00 p.m.| at No. 10 Montana State|

* Bobcat Stadium
* Bozeman, MT

| RTNW| L 7–45| 19,847
October 23| 5:05 p.m.| No. 10 UC Davis|

* Alex G. Spanos Stadium
* San Luis Obispo, CA (Battle for the Golden Horseshoe)

| ESPN+| L 13–24| 9,573
October 30| 2:05 p.m.| at Portland State|

* Hillsboro Stadium
* Hillsboro, OR

| ESPN+| L 21–42| 3,245
November 6| 6:00 p.m.| at No. 16 Sacramento State|

* Hornet Stadium
* Sacaramento, CA

| ESPN+| L 9–41| 7,287
November 13| 5:05 p.m.| Idaho State|

* Alex G. Spanos Stadium
* San Luis Obispo, CA

| ESPN+| W 32–29| 5,651
November 20| 5:05 p.m.| Northern Arizona|

* Alex G. Spanos Stadium
* San Luis Obispo, CA

| ESPN+| L 21–45| 6,371

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Pacific time

[3]

## Game summaries[edit]

### At San Diego[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Mustangs | 7  | 7  | 0  | 14 | 28
Toreros  | 7  | 0  | 3  | 7 | 17

See also: 2021 San Diego Toreros football team

### At Fresno State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Mustangs  | 0  | 10  | 0  | 0 | 10
Bulldogs | 7  | 28  | 21  | 7 | 63

See also: 2021 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

### South Dakota[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Coyotes | 21  | 20  | 0  | 7 | 48
Mustangs  | 7  | 0  | 0  | 7 | 14

See also: 2021 South Dakota Coyotes football team

### At No. 4 Montana[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Mustangs  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 7 | 7
No. 4 Grizzlies | 15  | 3  | 21  | 0 | 39

See also: 2021 Montana Grizzlies football team

### No. 19 Weber State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 19 Wildcats | 7  | 21  | 10  | 0 | 38
Mustangs  | 7  | 0  | 0  | 0 | 7

See also: 2021 Weber State Wildcats football team

### At No. 10 Montana State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Mustangs  | 0  | 0  | 7  | 0 | 7
No. 10 Bobcats | 7  | 28  | 7  | 3 | 45

See also: 2021 Montana State Bobcats football team

### No. 10 UC Davis[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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No. 10 Aggies | 0  | 10  | 14  | 0 | 24
Mustangs  | 0  | 7  | 6  | 0 | 13

See also: 2021 UC Davis Aggies football team and Battle for the Golden Horseshoe

### At Portland State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Mustangs  | 6  | 0  | 8  | 7 | 21
Vikings | 14  | 0  | 7  | 21 | 42

See also: 2021 Portland State Vikings football team

### At No. 16 Sacramento State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Mustangs  | 0  | 9  | 0  | 0 | 9
No. 16 Hornets | 14  | 10  | 10  | 7 | 41

See also: 2021 Sacramento State Hornets football team

### Idaho State[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Bengals  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 15 | 29
Mustangs | 7  | 7  | 12  | 6 | 32

See also: 2021 Idaho State Bengals football team

### Northern Arizona[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Lumberjacks | 7  | 31  | 7  | 0 | 45
Mustangs  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 7 | 21

See also: 2021 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Weber State Picked to Win Big Sky by Coaches and Media". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
2. ^ "2021 Preseason All-Big Sky Conference Teams Announced". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
3. ^ "2021 Cal Poly Football Schedule". gopoly.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Cal Poly Mustangs football

Venues|

* Alex G. Spanos Stadium (1935–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* UC Davis: Battle for the Golden Horseshoe

Culture & lore|

* Musty the Mustang
* "Ride High You Mustangs"
* Mustang Band
* Cal Poly football team C-46 crash

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
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* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
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* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943–1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
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* 1959
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* 1979
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* 1982
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* 1998
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* 2012
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* 2022
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National championship seasons in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses