Cal Football: Previewing the Bears' 2020 Opponents -- Game 3: Cal Poly Mustangs

Former Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin returns to Berkeley as Cal Poly's head coach

Our ongoing series previewing Cal football's 2020 opponents continues with a familiar face coming to Berkeley. Of course, this assumes there will be a football season in 2020, which is by no means a certainty.

We have already provided previews for Cal's first two opponents of 2020 -- the UNLV Rebels and the TCU Horned Frogs.

Today (Friday) we look at Cal Poly, an FCS team Cal has never faced but one that has a recognizable face. Beau Baldwin, Cal's offensive coordinator the past three seasons, is now the head coach at Cal Poly, which comes to Cal's Memorial Staium in the third game of the 2020 season.

Here is the lowdown on the Mustangs:

GAME 3: CAL POLY AT CAL

Date: Saturday, Sept. 12

Cal Poly 2019 record: 3-8 overall, 2-6/tied for last in Big Sky Conference, an FCS conference

Series record: First meeting

Mustangs’ coach: Beau Baldwin (1st year)

Top players: Junior FB Duy Tran-Sampson (1,037 rushing yards in 2019); junior QB Jalen Hamler (12 TD passes, 5 interceptions, 522 rushing yards in 2019); LB Matt Shotwell (team-leading 89 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss).

Strengths: Cal Poly finished second in the Big Sky in rushing offense last season and returns a fullback (Duy Tran-Samson) who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 11 games last season. . . The Mustangs return three starting linebackers, led by LB Matt Shotwell, who had 89 tackles, including 7.5 for losses, and two interceptions last season when he was named to the third-team all-Big Sky team . . . Cal Poly returns all three starting defensive linemen from last season, so it should be stout up front . . . Jalen Hamler returns after being the starting quarterback last season, although he is more suited to the option attack Cal Poly ran last year.

Weaknesses: The Mustangs will be transitioning from a run-oriented option offense to the balanced attack preferred by new head coach and former Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin, who has said he wants to stretch the field. A successful transition will be difficult, especially with no spring workouts . . . . Cal Poly ranked last in the Big Sky in passing offense last season . . . Cal Poly lost its best player from last season, wide receiver J.J. Koski, who had 42 catches for 868 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019, accounting for more than half of Cal Poly’s total in all three categories. . . . Cal Poly’s top returning receiver, Quentin Harrison, had only 17 receptions last season. . . . The Mustangs don’t return any defensive backs who were starters last season, so pass defense will be an issue.

What you should know about Cal Poly: Baldwin was Cal’s offensive coordinator the past three years, so he will be going against his former team. So will Nick Edwards, who was Cal’s running backs coach last season but now is Cal Poly’s offensive coordinator. . . . Baldwin was head coach at another Big Sky school, Eastern Washington, before joining the Cal staff, and the Eagles won an FCS national championship under Baldwin in 2010. . . . Cal Poly has qualified for the FCS/Division I-AA playoffs four times – 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016. In 2016, the Mustangs lost in the first round to San Diego . . . Cal Poly won the 1980 Division II national championship.

Baldwin talks about the Cal quarterback situation in the video below. This was before Cal knew whether Chase Garbers would play against Stanford. Garbers played, and Cal won:

Cal Poly spring practice status: The Mustangs were scheduled to begin spring workouts on April 2, but sports programs were shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic before spring practice could start. The Mustangs will have no spring practices.

Cal Poly 2020 season projection: Transitioning to a new offense is difficult, and it was made more difficult by the loss of spring practices. With three Big Sky schools – Montana, Montana State and Weber State – expected to contend for the FBC national championship, the Mustangs are not likely to challenge for a conference title. They are more likely to finish in the bottom half of the standings in the 13-team conference.

Cal-Cal Poly game prediction: Cal 39, Cal Poly 14