| Year: | 2023 |
| Team: | Cal Poly Mustangs |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big Sky Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Sky |
| Record: | 3–8 |
| Conf Record: | 1–7 |
| Head Coach: | Paul Wulff |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Off Coach: | Sheldon Cross |
| Oc Year: | 1st |
| Codef Coach1: | Will Plemons |
| Codc1 Year: | 2nd |
| Codef Coach2: | Cody Von Appen |
| Codc2 Year: | 2nd |
| Stadium: | Alex G. Spanos Stadium |
The 2023 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Mustangs were led by first-year head coach Paul Wulff and now played their home games at Mustang Memorial Field in San Luis Obispo, California.
On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Mustangs were predicted to finish eleventh in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.[1]
| 1 | Montana State | 120 (10) | |
| 2 | UC Davis | 96 (1) | |
| 3 | Sacramento State | 94 (1) | |
| 4 | Weber State | 91 | |
| 5 | Idaho | 89 | |
| 6 | Montana | 84 | |
| 7 | Eastern Washington | 52 | |
| 8 | Portland State | 45 | |
| 9 | Northern Arizona | 44 | |
| 10 | Northern Colorado | 37 | |
| 11 | Cal Poly | 25 | |
| 12 | Idaho State | 15 |
| 1 | Montana State | 447 (26) | |
| 2 | Idaho | 410 (8) | |
| 3 | Montana | 359 (2) | |
| 4 | Sacramento State | 334 (3) | |
| 5 | UC Davis | 330 | |
| 6 | Weber State | 320 | |
| 7 | Eastern Washington | 216 | |
| 8 | Northern Arizona | 178 | |
| 9 | Portland State | 167 | |
| 10 | Northern Colorado | 109 | |
| 11 | Cal Poly | 103 | |
| 12 | Idaho State | 69 |
The Mustangs had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]
Defense
David Meyer – LB
Conference opponents not scheduled this season: Idaho State, Montana, Northern Arizona
See also: 2023 San Jose State Spartans football team.
| style= | Pregame line! | style= | Over/under! | style= | Win prob. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SJSU -23.5 | 60 | SJSU 88.4% |
| Statistics | CP | SJSU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | ||
| Total yards | ||
| Rushing yards | ||
| Passing yards | ||
| Turnovers | ||
| Time of possession | ||
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving | |||
| SJSU | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving |
See also: 2023 Idaho Vandals football team.
See also: 2023 Sacramento State Hornets football team.
| Statistics | CP | SAC |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 24 | 23 |
| Total yards | 539 | 538 |
| Rushing yards | 45 | 225 |
| Passing yards | 494 | 313 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 38–59–2 | 17–26–1 |
| Time of possession | 29:37 | 30:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | Passing | 37/58, 483 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT | |
| Rushing | Paul Holyfield Jr. | 7 carries, 27 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Michael Briscoe | 3 receptions, 124 yards, 2 TD | |
| Sacramento State | Passing | Carson Conklin | 17/26, 313 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Marcus Fulcher | 20 carries, 121 yards | |
| Receiving | Jared Gipson | 5 receptions, 154 yards | |