Saturday, September 19, 2026
After a good but long Friday night of high school football at Rio Mesa H.S., Michael and Jacob joined me for the 140 mile drive north to the Central California gem of a coastal city, San Luis Obispo.
We were headed to Cal Poly for,
what else, a Mustangs football game
We were in desperate need of a good pre-game meal before the 5:00 p.m. kickoff, so we stopped in Pismo Beach.
Mo's BBQ is one of our family's
favorite dining spots
California hole-in-the-wall dining at its finest.
Knows BBQ, INDEED!
Happily waiting for our grub
to arrive smothered in BBQ sauce
After our late lunch, we strolled to the nearby beach to work off a few calories.
Jacob, on the right, by the famous
Pismo Beach sign
The Pacific Ocean looked good
to all of us this afternoon
Michael's artsy photo of the BBQ sauce
Laurie wanted us to bring home
One of needed some frozen yogurt
in order to stave off starvation
Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the Cal Poly, SLO campus for our FCS college football game.
Pioneer Football League
0 Wins - 2 Losses
at
Big Sky Conference
2 Wins - 1 Loss
We approached the Tailgate area
as the band was warming-up
They sounded good to me
The Alex G. Spanos Stadium
in the background
A school just has to have
a mascot, IT'S THE LAW!
Michael and Jacob playing
catch just outside of the stadium
Jacob with a 1940s Jump Pass
Cal Poly's ancient Crandall Gym
It was about 30 meters from where the boys were playing catch, I just had to take a quick peek.
Oh, my, it is ancient!
Crandall Gym still houses the
Cal Poly Women's Flag Football Offices
The San Diego Cheerleaders
getting ready
Here come the Mustangs!
Wait, what?
Being led out of their locker room by not one but two Mustangs was AWESOME!
The Mustangs looked great!
Even better up close
Here come the Toreros!
They should have countered the real Mustangs with a Pamplona-style bull leading the way.
Just one man's opinion.
The Opening Kickoff featured
the first USD cheap shot of the
contest on the right of this video
Cal Poly struck on the ground
USD opted to explore the air ways
USD led 14-7 at the end of the First Quarter and 28-21 at Halftime.
After the Third Quarter,
the Toreros were still up, 35-28
We were enjoying a GOOD game!
Wouldn't you know it, it was a
BEAUTIFUL night for American football!
If you like Offense, then this was the game for you.
USD racked up 499 Total Yards (6.4 yards/play) while Cal Poly countered with 384 Total Yards (7.4 yards/play) of their own.
The difference was the Toreros having 78 plays for 29 First Downs compared to the Mustangs 52 plays for 18 First Downs.
An overall efficient game for both squads that saw zero turnovers and but five penalties called for a scant 42 yards.
The winning margin was produced by the USD Kicker, Emiliano Salazar, who hit a 38 yard Field Goal with only 0:02 left in the game.
FINAL SCORE
San Diego (1-2) - 38
Cal Poly, SLO (2-2) - 35
Toreros celebrating their first
victory of the 2026 season
It was a fantastic, well played game that we all enjoyed.
Cal Poly's Beach Volleyball Courts
that we passed on the way to our car
While we were reveling at Cal Poly, the Washington Huskies (2-0) were playing at home against FCS Eastern Washington (1-2).
According to Michael D'Antuono,
the Halftime Corgi Race was the
highlight of the Husky Stadium day
Washington improved to 3-0
versus a soft schedule to date
Our three opponents to start the season have a modest combined record of 2-8.
Washington State, 1-2, has a lone win over powerhouse Duquesne, 48-7.
Utah State is now 0-3.
Eastern Washington's, 1-3, sole victory was over always dangerous Northern Iowa, 34-24.
ON TO BIG-10 GLORY!
Back in Ventura County,
Cal Lutheran beat Puget Sound!
Next Saturday at 7:05 p.m., the Kingsmen (1-1) will host the University of Redlands Bulldogs (0-2) in the Smudge Pot Trophy Game.
The Sabolićs will be joining us for an evening of football revelry as Paul is an esteemed faculty member at Redlands and desperately wants to root his Bulldogs on to victory.
We leave you with this deep thought
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