2021 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

2021 Cal Poly Mustangs football
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)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	J. C. Sherritt (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Alex G. Spanos Stadium

2021 Big Sky Conference football standings

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
	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, San Luis Obispo as member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Beau Baldwin, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, tying for 11th place in the Big Sky. Cal poly played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
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

^[1]^[2]^[3]

Preseason

Polls

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.^[4]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
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

The Mustangs did not have any players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.^[5]

Game summaries

At San Diego

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	7	7	0	14	28
Toreros	7	0	3	7	17

At Fresno State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	10	0	0	10
Bulldogs	7	28	21	7	63

South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coyotes	21	20	0	7	48
Mustangs	7	0	0	7	14

At No. 4 Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	0	0	7	7
No. 4 Grizzlies	15	3	21	0	39

No. 19 Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Wildcats	7	21	10	0	38
Mustangs	7	0	0	0	7

At No. 10 Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	0	7	0	7
No. 10 Bobcats	7	28	7	3	45

No. 10 UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Aggies	0	10	14	0	24
Mustangs	0	7	6	0	13

At Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	6	0	8	7	21
Vikings	14	0	7	21	42

At No. 16 Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	9	0	0	9
No. 16 Hornets	14	10	10	7	41

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	7	7	0	15	29
Mustangs	7	7	12	6	32

Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	7	31	7	0	45
Mustangs	7	7	0	7	21

References

^ "Cal Poly Mustangs Schedule 2021". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
^ "2021 Football Schedule". Cal Poly Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
^ "History (1915–2023)" (PDF). Cal Poly Athletics. p. 27. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
^ "Weber State Picked to Win Big Sky by Coaches and Media". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
^ "2021 Preseason All-Big Sky Conference Teams Announced". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

[1] "Cal Poly Mustangs Schedule 2021". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

[2] "2021 Football Schedule". Cal Poly Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2024.

[3] "History (1915–2023)" (PDF). Cal Poly Athletics. p. 27. Retrieved May 26, 2025.

[4] "Weber State Picked to Win Big Sky by Coaches and Media". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

[5] "2021 Preseason All-Big Sky Conference Teams Announced". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

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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 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 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 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold