2016 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

The 2016 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Tim Walsh, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the Big Sky. The Mustangs received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to San Diego in the first round. The team played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

2016 Cal Poly Mustangs football
NCAA Division I First Round, L 21–35 vs. San Diego
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 24
FCS Coaches	No. T–21
Record	7–5 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Tim Walsh (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Juston Wood (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread triple-option
Defensive coordinator	Josh Brown (5th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Alex G. Spanos Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Eastern Washington +^		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 12 North Dakota +^		8	–	0					9	–	3
No. 25 Weber State ^		6	–	2					7	–	5
No. 24 Cal Poly ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
Southern Utah		5	–	3					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		4	–	4					6	–	5
Northern Arizona		4	–	4					5	–	6
Montana		3	–	5					6	–	5
Montana State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Portland State		2	–	6					3	–	8
UC Davis		2	–	6					3	–	8
Sacramento State		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:30 pm	at Nevada*		Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	Campus Insiders	L 27–30 OT	19,138
September 10	6:05 pm	San Diego*		Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	GoPoly	W 38–16	6,251
September 17	4:00 pm	at No. 9 South Dakota State*		Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 38–31	16,887
September 24	12:00 pm	No. 6 Montana		Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	RTNW	W 42–41	8,156
October 1	11:00 am	at North Dakota	No. 16	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	L 24–31	10,097
October 15	2:30 pm	at Portland State	No. 19	Providence Park Portland, OR	GoPoly	W 55–35	4,019
October 22	6:05 pm	UC Davis	No. T–17	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA (Battle for the Golden Horseshoe)	GoPoly	W 21–16	11,075
October 29	6:00 pm	at Sacramento State	No. 14	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	GoPoly	W 59–47	5,334
November 5	6:05 pm	No. 3 Eastern Washington	No. 14	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	GoPoly	L 21–42	9,722
November 12	11:00 am	at Weber State	No. 16	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	KJZZ	L 15–22	7,821
November 19	6:05 pm	Northern Colorado	No. 21	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	GoPoly	W 55–48	6,863
November 26	4:00 pm	No. 24 San Diego*	No. 21	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	L 21–35	3,356
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[1][2]

Ranking

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	—	RV	RV	RV	16	21	19	17–T	14	14	16	21	21	24
Coaches	—	RV	RV	RV	18	22	20	18–T	17	16	20	23	20	21–T

Game summaries

At Nevada

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Mustangs	7	3	0	14	3	27
Wolf Pack	21	3	0	0	6	30

See also: 2016 Nevada Wolf Pack football team

San Diego

	1	2	3	4	Total
Toreros	0	13	0	3	16
Mustangs	10	7	14	7	38

See also: 2016 San Diego Toreros football team

At South Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	7	10	0	21	38
#9 Jackrabbits	7	3	7	14	31

See also: 2016 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
#6 Grizzlies	7	17	7	10	41
Mustangs	7	21	7	7	42

See also: 2016 Montana Grizzlies football team

At North Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Mustangs	0	7	7	10	24
Fighting Hawks	10	0	14	7	31

See also: 2016 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

At Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Mustangs	13	14	14	14	55
Vikings	7	7	14	7	35

See also: 2016 Portland State Vikings football team

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	6	3	0	7	16
#17–T Mustangs	0	7	7	7	21

See also: 2016 UC Davis Aggies football team and Battle for the Golden Horseshoe

At Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#14 Mustangs	14	3	21	21	59
Hornets	7	14	0	26	47

See also: 2016 Sacramento State Hornets football team

Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
#3 Eagles	14	7	14	7	42
#14 Mustangs	7	7	7	0	21

See also: 2016 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

At Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Mustangs	0	7	8	0	15
Wildcats	12	3	0	7	22

See also: 2016 Weber State Wildcats football team

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	17	7	17	48
#21 Mustangs	21	13	7	14	55

See also: 2016 Northern Colorado Bears football team

San Diego–NCAA Division I First Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
#24 Toreros	14	0	7	14	35
#21 Mustangs	0	7	7	7	21

References

1. "Cal Poly Mustangs Schedule 2016". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
2. "2016 Football Schedule". Cal Poly Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2024.