# 2018 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

The 2018 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Tim Walsh, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Big Sky. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Mustangs were predicted to finish in tenth place in the coaches poll and eleventh place in the media poll.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 134 (6) |
| 2 | Weber State | 124 (3) |
| 3 | Northern Arizona | 121 (3) |
| 4 | Idaho | 101 (1) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | 94 |
| 6 | Southern Utah | 91 |
| 7 | Montana | 82 |
| 8 | Montana State | 76 |
| 9 | UC Davis | 64 |
| 10 | Cal Poly | 40 |
| 11 | Northern Colorado | 30 |
| 12 | Idaho State | 29 |
| 13 | Portland State | 21 |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 651 (27) |
| 2 | Weber State | 636 (19) |
| 3 | Northern Arizona | 535 (1) |
| 4 | Montana | 496 (2) |
| 5 | Idaho | 483 (3) |
| 6 | Southern Utah | 449 (1) |
| 7 | Sacramento State | 415 |
| 8 | Montana State | 391 (1) |
| 9 | UC Davis | 331 (1) |
| 10 | Idaho State | 170 |
| 11 | Cal Poly | 169 |
| 12 | Northern Colorado | 166 |
| 13 | Portland State | 103 |

### Preseason All-Conference Team

The Mustangs had one player selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Joe Protheroe – Sr. FB

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 1 North Dakota State* | FargodomeFargo, ND | ESPN+ | L 3–49 | 18,483 |
| September 8 | 6:05 p.m. | No. 10 Weber State* | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | Pluto TV 244 | L 17–24 | 6,020 |
| September 14 | 7:05 p.m. | Brown* | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | Pluto TV 244 | W 44–15 | 7,725 |
| September 22 | 1:05 p.m. | at No. 6 Eastern Washington | Roos FieldCheney, WA | Pluto TV 234 | L 17–70 | 9,156 |
| September 29 | 4:05 p.m. | No. 17 Montana | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | ELVN | L 28–48 | 7,157 |
| October 6 | 6:00 p.m. | at Sacramento State | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | Pluto TV 233 | W 41–27 | 8,930 |
| October 20 | 4:05 p.m. | No. 10 UC Davis | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA (Battle for the Golden Horseshoe) | Pluto TV 244 | L 10–52 | 8,503 |
| October 27 | 4:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | Pluto TV 239 | W 38–28 | 6,102 |
| November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | at Montana State | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX | L 42–49 | 16,747 |
| November 10 | 4:05 p.m. | No. 24 Idaho State | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | Pluto TV 244 | W 37–14 | 5,250 |
| November 17 | 4:05 p.m. | Southern Utah | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | Pluto TV 244 | W 38–24 | 4,520 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time |||||||
The game with Weber State, fellow Big Sky Conference member, on September 8 was considered a non-conference game and had no effect on the Big Sky standings.

## Game summaries
### At North Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 1 Bison | 7 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

### Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Wildcats | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |

### Brown

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Mustangs | 3 | 21 | 13 | 7 | 44 |

### At Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 6 Eagles | 14 | 21 | 14 | 21 | 70 |

### Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Grizzlies | 17 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 48 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |

### At Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 14 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 41 |
| Hornets | 14 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 27 |

### UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Aggies | 0 | 31 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
| Mustangs | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 0 | 28 | 10 | 0 | 38 |
| Lumberjacks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |

### At Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
| Bobcats | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

### At Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Bengals | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Mustangs | 3 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 37 |

### Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 38 |