2012 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

The 2012 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Mustangs were led by fourth-year head coach Tim Walsh and played their home games at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. This is their first year as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 9–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to claim a share of the conference championship with Eastern Washington and Montana State. They received an at-large bid into the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the second round to Sam Houston State.

2012 Cal Poly Mustangs football
Big Sky co-champion
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 16–18 vs. Sam Houston State
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 12
FCS Coaches	No. 12
Record	9–3 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Tim Walsh (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bryan Cook/SagaTuitele
Defensive coordinator	Greg Lupfer
Home stadium	Alex G. Spanos Stadium

2012 Big Sky Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Eastern Washington +^		7	–	1					11	–	3
No. 5 Montana State +^		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 12 Cal Poly +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 20 Northern Arizona		6	–	2					8	–	3
Sacramento State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		4	–	4					5	–	6
Southern Utah		4	–	4					5	–	6
North Dakota		3	–	5					5	–	6
Montana		3	–	5					5	–	6
UC Davis		3	–	5					4	–	7
Portland State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Weber State		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		0	–	8					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	4:05 pm	San Diego*		Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	Big Sky TV	W 41–14	6,022
September 15	3:00 pm	at Wyoming*		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		W 24–22	21,728
September 22	6:05 pm	UC Davis		Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA (Battle for the Golden Horseshoe)	KSBY/Big Sky TV	W 28–20	11,075
September 29	4:00 pm	at North Dakota	No. 23	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco Sports Net/Big Sky TV	W 35–17	9,531
October 5	5:00 pm	at Weber State	No. 20	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	Big Sky TV	W 45–23	5,939
October 13	6:05 pm	Northern Colorado	No. 15	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	KSBY/Big Sky TV	W 56–28	9,382
October 20	6:05 pm	Portland State	No. 14	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	KSBY/Big Sky TV	W 37–25	10,025
October 27	6:05 pm	at Sacramento State	No. 11	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	Big Sky TV	L 29–35	8,113
November 3	1:35 pm	at No. 7 Eastern Washington*	No. 16	Roos Field Cheney, WA	Big Sky TV	L 17–34	8,644
November 10	6:05 pm	Idaho State	No. 19	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	KSBY/Big Sky TV	W 70–14	6,326
November 17	3:05 pm	at No. 15 Northern Arizona	No. 17	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	Big Sky TV	W 42–34	6,119
December 1	1:00 pm	at No. 5 Sam Houston State*	No. 12	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	L 16–18	7,073
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Despite also being a member of the Big Sky, the game against Eastern Washington on November 3 was considered a non conference game and had no effect on the Big Sky standings.

Game summaries

San Diego

	1	2	3	4	Total
Toreros	0	7	7	0	14
Mustangs	10	3	7	21	41

See also: 2012 San Diego Toreros football team

@ Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	14	0	7	3	24
Cowboys	0	15	0	7	22

See also: 2012 Wyoming Cowboys football team

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	10	0	0	10	20
Mustangs	7	7	14	0	28

See also: 2012 UC Davis Aggies football team and Battle for the Golden Horseshoe

@ North Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 Mustangs	14	0	0	21	35
North Dakota	0	7	3	7	17

See also: 2012 University of North Dakota football team

@ Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Mustangs	0	14	17	14	45
Wildcats	6	7	7	3	23

See also: 2012 Weber State Wildcats football team

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	14	0	0	14	28
#15 Mustangs	14	14	14	14	56

See also: 2012 Northern Colorado Bears football team

Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	14	3	8	0	25
#14 Mustangs	14	3	6	14	37

See also: 2012 Portland State Vikings football team

@ Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Mustangs	0	17	6	6	29
Hornets	7	21	0	7	35

See also: 2012 Sacramento State Hornets football team

@ Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Mustangs	3	7	0	7	17
#7 Eagles	14	10	7	3	34

See also: 2012 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	7	7	0	14
#19 Mustangs	28	14	14	14	70

See also: 2012 Idaho State Bengals football team

@ Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
#17 Mustangs	14	7	14	7	42
#15 Lumberjacks	7	6	7	14	34

See also: 2012 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

@ Sam Houston State–FCS Playoffs Second Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Mustangs	0	0	6	10	16
#5 Bearkats	0	8	7	3	18

See also: 2012 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team