1997 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

American college football season

1997 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Cal Poly		–		10	–	1
No. 5 Western Kentucky ^		–		10	–	2
No. 17 Hofstra ^		–		9	–	2
No. 25 Liberty		–		9	–	2
Samford		–		7	–	4
Morehead State		–		5	–	4
South Florida		–		5	–	6
Southern Utah		–		5	–	6
Saint Mary's		–		4	–	6
Davidson		–		3	–	8
Buffalo		–		2	–	9
La Salle		–		1	–	8
Charleston Southern		–		1	–	9
Austin Peay		–		0	–	10

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1997 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as an independent during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Larry Welsh, Cal Poly compiled a record of 10–1. The team outscored its opponents 382 to 213 for the season. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California..

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 6	at No. 7 (D-II) UC Davis		Toomey Field Davis, CA (rivalry)	W 20–19
September 13	Western Montana		Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	W 45–3
September 20	Western New Mexico		Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	W 24–14
September 27	at Saint Mary's		Saint Mary's Stadium Moraga, CA	W 24–14
October 4	at New Mexico State		Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	W 38–35
October 11	Simon Fraser		Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	W 52–12
October 25	No. 17 Northern Iowa		Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	W 38–24
November 1	at Liberty	No. 19	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	L 32–49
November 8	at Montana State	No. 23	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 20–19
November 15	No. 18 Dayton	No. 22	Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	W 44–24
November 22	Sacramento State	No. 18	Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	W 45–0	7,214
Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

The following Cal Poly Mustang players were selected in the 1998 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Kamil Loud	Wide receiver	7	238	Buffalo Bills

"Mustangs handed first setback of year". Santa Maria Times. November 2, 1997. Retrieved April 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Hornet Sports.com: Football (Cal Poly)" (PDF). Retrieved April 24, 2017.
"Cal Poly Football; 2016 Media Guide". Retrieved January 12, 2017.
"1998 NFL Draft". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
"Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo Players/Alumni". Retrieved January 12, 2017.
"Draft History: Cal Poly – S.L.O." Retrieved March 18, 2017.

v t e Cal Poly Mustangs football
Venues	Alex G. Spanos Stadium (1935–present)
Bowls & rivalries	UC Davis: Battle for the Golden Horseshoe
Culture & lore	Musty the Mustang "Ride High You Mustangs" Mustang Band Cal Poly football team C-46 crash
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold