Anthony Grigsby Jr. threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, including a 34-yard strike to Tayvion McCoy with just nine seconds remaining to lift the Cal Poly Mustangs to a 38-34 win over Idaho, Friday night in San Luis Obispo.
A national broadcast, a record home crowd (11,186), the opening of a $50 million football facility and the introduction of first-year head coach Tim Skipper gave the Mustangs early momentum. Cal Poly scored on their first drive and built a 14-3 lead before taking a 21-10 advantage into halftime.
Idaho battled back under a strong performance from quarterback Joshua Wood and receiver Tony Harste, but a few ill-timed penalties forced the Vandals to settle for field goals in the third quarter before Wood found Harste for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give Idaho a 31-24 lead with 6:10 to play. Those scores helped Idaho erase deficits of 14-3 and 21-10 as Cal Poly rode the momentum of the national television audience and the record setting crowd for most of the first three quarters.
Grigsby, who played sparingly in just six games a season ago, capped off a 65-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run with 2:10 remaining in the game to tie the game back up at 31.
A long pass from Wood to Zack Card set up a 40-yard field goal from Owen Forsman to put Idaho back on top with 1:03 to play, giving Grigsby and the Mustangs time to drive the field.
Grigsby, a former junior college standout who spent a year at Nevada under Jeff Choate and last year on the Cal Poly bench, found McCoy on the first play of the drive for 41 yards. On fourth down, Grigsby rolled to his right and launched a ball to the endzone where he found McCoy who leaped for the ball as he crossed into the endzone to put the Mustangs on top for good.
Cal Poly out-gained Idaho 516-482 with incredible stat lines for both teams. Wood ended the day 18-25 for 363 yards passing and two TDs while rushing for 42 yards on 11 carries. Grigsby was 26-of-35 for 319 yards and four TDs while rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown. Harste caught nine balls for 180 yards and two touchdowns while McCoy ended with 10 catches for 170 yards and a TD. Forsman was 4-for-4 on the day, including three field goals longer than 40 yards.
The win provides Cal Poly with positive momentum heading into 2026 under Skipper. A well-respected journeyman coach who has held jobs around college football, including as the interim head coach at UCLA last season, Skipper led the Mustangs to a win in their season opener for the second season in a row.
There is plenty left to learn about this Cal Poly squad, but if the field storm by the students on Friday night was any indication, San Luis Obispo has been hungry for a return to relevance and Skipper may just be the coach to lead them there.
The nightcap was the second game in a wild day for Big Sky football. Weber State blocked a PAT with two seconds left to beat Northern Colorado in Greeley 30-29. The Wildcats’ Noah Kjar, son of first-year head coach Eric Kjar, caught six passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats in the win.
The bulk of the Big Sky teams, including preseason favorites Montana State and Montana begin their season Saturday.
