POCATELLO, Idaho – Cal Poly hit their receiver for a 5-yard touchdown with 40 seconds left, and the Mustangs held on for a 25-24 win over Idaho State on Saturday afternoon before a homecoming crowd of 9,483 at the ICCU Dome.
Idaho State falls to 4-2 (1-2) on the season with the loss.
Mason Lindberg's 27-yard field goal gave Idaho State the first points of the game. Bronson Childs sacked Grigsby twice on Cal Poly's opening possession, and Owen Tomich returned the ensuing punt 30 yards to the Mustang 34 to set up the kick. Cal Poly answered with a 14-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Grigsby's 18-yard touchdown run, to lead 7-3 after one quarter.
Cooke was intercepted by RL Miller early in the second quarter, but the Bengals' defense forced a three-and-out. Idaho State then put together a 14-play, 83-yard drive that ended with Jordan Cooke's 11-yard touchdown pass to Julian Mason for a 10-7 lead. Josue Lopez tied it with a 24-yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the half, and Cooke hit Tommy Poe for back-to-back 18-yard gains to set up Lindberg's 45-yarder as time expired for a 13-10 halftime lead.
On the first drive of the third quarter, Poe caught a 44-yard pass, and Jordan Rucker's punt later pinned Cal Poly at its own 2. On the next snap, Trehsyn Fesili and TreShawn Shorty dropped Jaden Green in the end zone for Idaho State's first safety since Aug. 31, 2024, at Oregon State, stretching the lead to 15-10.
Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio returned the ensuing free kick 25 yards to the Bengal 31, and Idaho State moved into Cal Poly territory, helped by Cooke's 13-yard run on third-and-10. Lindberg finished the 10-play drive with a 50-yard field goal to make it 18-10 with 8:28 left in the third. Cal Poly would go on to score another touchdown and convert the two-point attempt to make it 18-18.
Lindberg's 43-yarder on the first play of the fourth quarter put Idaho State back in front, 21-18. The Bengals then stopped a Cal Poly fake punt short of the line to gain, with Kai Wheeler and Porter Lee making the tackle, and Cooke found Poe for 17 yards and Tomich for 18 to set up Lindberg's 30-yarder for a 24-18 lead with 9:43 to play.
The defense stepped up again and stopped Cal Poly on downs again at the Bengal 33 when Isaiah Cook broke up a fourth-down pass with Childs in the quarterback's face.
Idaho State couldn't run out the clock, though. Its next two possessions ended in punts, and Cal Poly took over at its own 34 with 1:41 left. Grigsby found Tayvion McCoy for 37 yards on third-and-7 to set up first-and-goal at the 10, and Paiau scored two plays later. Idaho State's final drive ended when Demetrius Simon intercepted Cooke at midfield.
Lindberg made all five of his field goal attempts and accounted for 16 of Idaho State's 24 points. The Bengals outgained Cal Poly 358-321 and held the ball for 31:26 but scored one touchdown on three red-zone trips. Cooke completed 22 of 36 passes for 238 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Poe caught five passes for 108 yards, Chedon James had seven catches for 47 yards and Tytan Mason ran for 72 yards on 14 carries. Childs finished with seven tackles, a forced fumble and three quarterback hurries, and had a hand in two sacks. Nathan Reynolds had a team-high eight tackles.
Head coach Cody Hawkins
On the loss
"It's my fault, obviously. I gotta get it fixed. But I feel for our guys, and I'm bummed because playing good football is not always good enough. We gotta get better in all phases, and I'm gonna work like heck to get that fixed this week."
On the red zone
"I'm proud of Mason for coming back and whacking them, but I gotta take a good hard look at what we're doing schematically. Also who's in there, making sure we get our best 11 in there so we can go out and execute at that point in time. It's hard to win a game on threes, and we had too many of them today."
On singing the school song after a loss
"Gratitude is not optional. And win, lose or draw, we're all lucky to be here. It takes a lot of people to make a football program happen."
On the week ahead
"We gotta see full speed reps in the secondary and at receiver. We gotta see full speed reps in the trenches on both sides."
Bengal Bites
Game Stats
- Mason Lindberg: 5-of-5 FG (27, 45, 50, 43, 30), 1-of-1 PAT, 16 points; 5 touchbacks on 6 kickoffs
- Tommy Poe: 5 catches, 108 yards, long of 44
- Bronson Childs: 7 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF, 3 QBH
- Nathan Reynolds: team-high 8 tackles
- Jordan Rucker: 3 punts, all inside the 20
- Tytan Mason: 14 carries, 72 yards
Notables
- The third-quarter safety was Idaho State's first since Aug. 31, 2024, at Oregon State.
- Idaho State outgained Cal Poly 358-321 and won time of possession 31:26 to 28:34.
- The defense forced two fourth-quarter turnovers on downs.
- Idaho State went 0-for-4 on third downs in the fourth quarter.
Next Up
The Bengals head to Ogden for the Battle for the Train Bell rivalry game with Weber State. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM in Ogden on Oct. 17
