Michael Briscoe’s football career at Cal Poly began just as the spread of COVID-19 led to the 2020 season being canceled. Cal Poly was one of the eight teams in the Big Sky Conference to agree to play five games in the spring of 2021. The Mustangs made it through just three before backing out.
Losses to UC Davis and Eastern Washington by 49 and 52 points, respectively, prompted Cal Poly to avoid adding further insult to the risk of injuries with the 2021 season five months away. Briscoe played in two of the three games and had a 26-yard catch in Cal Poly’s 73-24 loss at UC Davis.
Injuries led to the 2020 Vacaville High graduate missing the entire 2022 season and playing in just six of 11 games in 2023. Briscoe offered a glimpse of his potential as a wide receiver last Nov. 11 when he caught three passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-30 loss at Sacramento State.
Briscoe led the Big Sky in average yards per catch (24.0) in 2023 and would have ranked third among FCS receivers if he had met the minimum of two receptions per game played. He fell short with eight in six games. He is averaging 23.93 yards per catch this year to rank second in the FCS and fourth in Division I. JaVonnie Gibson of Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the FCS leader with an average of 24.45 yards per catch. Alabama’s Ryan Williams is the Division I leader at 25.03.
On Saturday, Briscoe’s average jumped from 19.6 to nearly 24 when he had four receptions for 103 yards in a 56-10 loss at UC Davis. His first catch was for 6 yards on the second play of the second quarter. Cal Poly trailed 28-3 at that time on its way to a 56-10 loss, its eighth in a row to UC Davis.
The 100-yard receiving game was Briscoe’s second of the season. The redshirt junior caught three passes for 103 yards, including a 95-yard catch and run for a touchdown, in Cal Poly’s 28-7 win at Northern Colorado on Sept. 28. Without the 95-yarder, his average yards per catch would be 18.8.
Briscoe had receptions of 31 and 52 yards in the second quarter Saturday to propel the Mustangs to their only touchdown in the lopsided loss. Richie Watts completed the two passes to Briscoe and then scored on a 2-yard run to whittle the deficit to 35-10 with 7:21 remaining in the first half.
Cal Poly went with Watts, a Rocklin High graduate, after Bo Kelly threw an interception that safety Rex Connors returned 35 yards for a touchdown. Connors now has as many career touchdowns as his twin brother Porter, who scored his first Aug. 31 on a fumble return in the season opener at Cal.
Rex shares No. 4 with wide receiver Chaz Davis, who raised his average yards per catch from 12.9 to 16.4 with a 73-yarder in the first quarter Saturday. Cal Poly punted on its first possession and pinned UC Davis at the 6-yard line. One play later, the Aggies were at the Mustangs’ 17 after Davis had the longest reception of his career.
Quarterback Miles Hastings has had four passes go for 70 or more yards since 2022. The pass to Davis was the only one not to go for a touchdown. Davis did not go away empty-handed, however. Hastings came back to Davis one play later for 14 yards and the first of his four touchdown passes.
Hastings was not named the Offensive Player of the Week in the Big Sky despite going 27-for-30 for a career-high 458 yards. The award went to Portland State’s Dante Chachere after he passed for 216 yards, rushed for 202 and accounted for six touchdowns in a 42-38 victory at Idaho State.
Chachere is also the Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week. He had three touchdown runs Saturday and has 27 since 2022. Hastings scored the first of his career at Portland State on Oct. 5. Then again, Hastings has 8,861 passing yards compared with 4,684 for Chachere.
UC Davis will need Hastings to be better Saturday at Eastern Washington than he was against the Eagles in 2023. His two touchdown passes were offset by two interceptions in a 27-24 loss. He has throw one interception in the past four games this season after tossing five in the first three.
