2008 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

2008 Cal Poly Mustangs football
GWC champion
FCS 1st Round, L 35–49 vs. Weber State
Conference	Great West Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 10
FCS Coaches	No. 8
Record	8–3 (3–0 GWC)
Head coach	Rich Ellerson (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ian Shields (3rd season)
Home stadium	Alex G. Spanos Stadium
Seasons ←  2007 2009  →

2008 Great West Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Cal Poly $^		3	–	0					8	–	3
UC Davis		2	–	1					5	–	7
North Dakota		1	–	2					6	–	4
South Dakota		1	–	2					6	–	5
Southern Utah		1	–	3					4	–	7
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2008 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University ^{[note 1]} during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

Cal Poly competed in the Great West Conference (GWC). The conference had previously been called the Great West Football Conference, but the new name reflected the addition of sports other than football to the conference. The 2008 Mustangs were led by eighth-year head coach Rich Ellerson and played home games at Alex G. Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California. The team finished the season as champion of the GWC, with a regular-season record of eight wins and two losses (8–2, 3–0 GWC).

At the end of the season, the Mustangs qualified for the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. In the first playoff game they were defeated by Weber State. That brought their final record to eight wins and three losses (8–3, 3–0 GWC). The Mustangs averaged 44 points a game, outscoring their opponents 488–292 for the season. This was the final season for Rich Ellerson as head coach. In his eight seasons the Mustangs compiled a record of 56–34, a winning percentage of .622 .

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
August 30	at San Diego State *	No. 14	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego	W 29–27	26,851
September 6	No. 5 Montana *	No. 11	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, California	L 28–30	10,035
September 13	at No. 8 McNeese State *	No. 14	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, Louisiana	Cancelled
September 20	at Northwestern State *	No. 13	Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, Louisiana	W 52–18	8,284
October 4	South Dakota	No. 8	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, California	W 49–22	11,075
October 18	at No. 21 South Dakota State *	No. 5	Coughlin–Alumni Stadium Brookings, South Dakota	W 42–28	8,311
October 25	Southern Utah	No. 6	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, California	W 69–41	10,075
November 1	Idaho State *	No. 4	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, California	W 49–10	7,014
November 8	North Carolina Central *	No. 3	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, California	W 49–3	10,825
November 15	UC Davis	No. 3	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, California (Rivalry)	W 51–28	11,075
November 22	at Wisconsin *	No. 3	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, Wisconsin	L 35–36 OT	80,709
November 29	No. 12 Weber State *	No. 3	Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, California (FCS Playoffs First Round)	L 35–49	6,919
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

^{[1] [2]}

Team players selected in the NFL Draft

The following Cal Poly Mustang players were selected in the NFL Draft. ^{[3] [4]}

Draft	Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
2009	Ramses Barden	Wide receiver	3	85	New York Giants
2012	Asa Jackson	Cornerback	5	169	Baltimore Ravens

Notes

1. The official name of Cal Poly is California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. However, it has been more commonly known as either Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or just Cal Poly since 1947. See: Cal Poly

References

1. "Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo Yearly Results" . Retrieved January 12, 2017.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. "Cal Poly Football; 2016 Media Guide" . Retrieved January 12, 2017.
3. "Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo Players/Alumni" . Retrieved January 12, 2017.
4. "Draft History: Cal Poly – S.L.O." Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.