Cal Poly·Big Sky

2016 — The 2016 Season

Cal Poly's 2016 season (7-5) is a middle chapter: table-stakes progress, no crown in the ledger, the program still writing the book.

Record 7-5
Final result No postseason
AP final — post-bowls
SP+ -6.2 last-week
Era —
The shape of the season · week by week, cumulative W-L below
L @ Nevada 27-30 W vs San Die 38-16 W @ Sout Sta 38-31 W vs Montana 42-41 L @ Nort Dak 24-31 W @ Port Sta 55-35 W vs UC Davis 21-16 W @ Sacr Sta 59-47 L vs East Was 21-42 L @ Webe Sta 15-22 W vs Nort Col 55-48 L vs San Die 21-35
Defining moments
The statement

The 2016 season's largest margin: Cal Poly 38, San Diego 16. A 22-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The setback

The season's deepest loss: Cal Poly 21, Eastern Washington 42. A 21-point margin the season is remembered by.

"Ride High, You Mustangs"
— Cal Poly fanbase voice · 2016· synthesized
What it meant

2016 is a middle chapter for Cal Poly — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.