Cal Poly has shown glimpses of being a competitive football team at times in the Big Sky Conference.

From leading Stanford and Idaho at halftime to holding the high-powered No. 8 Montana offense to two scores in the first half, the Mustangs have had promising moments against strong football programs.

But there is a point in the game where things start to spiral out of control.

That moment in the team’s 42-7 loss on Saturday came with one minute left in the third quarter when Grizzlies punter Junior Bergen traveled 84 yards for a touchdown to put Montana up 21-0.

The Mustangs held the Griz, who came into the game second in touchdowns (40) and third in total yards (3,775) in the Big Sky, to just 14 points and 32 rushing yards on 16 attempts in the first half.

After Bergen’s touchdown, the Griz scored touchdowns on three of their next four drives.

On the other hand, the offense was never handled for Cal Poly.

Quarterback Jaden Jones returned as starter after missing the UC Davis and Idaho games with a concussion.

Jones completed just 13 of his 28 passes for 147 yards to go, with two interceptions. He had a near-touchdown pass to receiver Michael Briscoe in the first half, but the ball grazed Briscoe’s fingertips before falling to the turf.

In the second half, the Mustangs turned to running quarterback Richie Watts.

Watts finished with three completions on four attempts and the team’s only touchdown on a 14-yard pass to tight end Jake Woods. He led the team in rushing with 23 yards on nine attempts.

On defense, safety Mason Rivera made 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss, followed by an interception and a forced fumble.

“We play pretty good football at times,” Head Coach Paul Wulff said after practice on Tuesday. “We just have to put together a complete football game. There are times when we show dominance, which we haven’t had here for a while. We have been working on it for less than four quarters.”

The Mustangs haven’t had more than one conference win since 2019.

But the tough part of the schedule, in which the Mustangs faced three top-15 FCS teams, is now behind them.

Their final three games are against currently unranked Big Sky teams.

Northern Arizona stunned Montana early in conference play and is 3-2. Sacramento State has had a disappointing season thus far and has a 1-3 record. Weber State has lost its last three Big Sky games, including a 21-17 loss to Northern Colorado, which the Mustangs defeated in the first week of conference play.

Five teams in the Big Sky have one win so far. If the Mustangs can win two of their last three games, they could move out of the bottom two teams in the conference.

“Boys learn how to win,” Wulff said. “We’ve gone from hoping to compete to showing signs of dominance, and we have to keep climbing that ladder and expecting to win. We are growing in that direction, but we are not there yet.”

Next week, the Mustangs continue their homestand against Northern Arizona for the Cal Poly Hall of Fame game.