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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Senior quarterback Jonathan Dally rushed for 173 yards and one touchdown and passed for two more scores as No. 3 Cal Poly won the Golden Horseshoe Classic for the third straight year and captured its third Great West Conference championship in the last five years Saturday, defeating rival UC Davis 51-28 before 11,075 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

The win was Cal Poly’s seventh straight, improved the Mustangs’ overall record to 8-1 and strengthened their bid for an NCAA Football Championship Division playoff berth with their seventh win against a Division I school. 

UC Davis fell to 5-6.

Cal Poly evened the series record against the Aggies at 16-16-2 and finished Great West play with a 3-0 mark. The Aggies are 2-1 in conference games.

Dally, one of 17 Mustang seniors honored in a pregame ceremony, carried the ball 22 times for his career-high rushing total, eclipsing the 153 yards he earned against South Dakota State a year ago. He also completed eight of 20 passes for 95 yards.

Dally scored on a 14-yard run midway through the first quarter and hit senior wide receiver Ramses Barden on a pair of touchdown passes spanning three and two yards.

For Barden, it was the 18th consecutive game that he has caught a touchdown pass, surpassing Jerry Rice in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record book. Rice caught passes in 17 straight games for Mississippi Valley State from 1981-84.

Last month Barden broke another Rice record for career games with a touchdown catch. Barden’s mark now stands at 30 games.

Cal Poly, which has scored 42 or more points in seven consecutive games, amassed 522 yards in total offense against UC Davis, including 427 yards on the ground. The Aggies entered the game fifth in the FCS in rushing defense, giving up just 74.9 yards a contest.

UC Davis garnered 366 yards in total offense, 332 of them through the air as sophomore quarterback Greg Denham completed 22 of 42 passes, four of them for touchdowns.

Denham hit Brad Bispo with an 18-yarder in the first quarter and Brandon Rice with the other three spanning 5, 16 and 28 yards.

Cal Poly and UC Davis traded the lead in the first half, each team scoring three touchdowns, and the two teams settled for a 21-21 halftime draw.

The Mustangs scored the first three touchdowns of the second half to pull away. Slotback Ryan Mole ran 45 yards for a score, Barden caught a two-yard scoring pass and fullback Jordan Yocum ran six yards for a 41-21 Cal Poly lead with 5:48 to go in the third quarter.

Yocum finished with his second 100-yard game of the season, netting 110 yards on 10 carries. Mole added 78 yards on nine trips.

Barden, a Walter Payton Award candidate, caught six passes for 70 yards and now has a school-record 47 career touchdown catches. 

UC Davis was held to just 64 yards of total offense in the second half.

Joe Trombetta rushed for 53 yards on 10 carries to lead UC Davis. Rice caught six passes for 145 yards and Chris Carter added five receptions for 34 yards.

Cornerback Asa Jackson, free safety Greg Francis and linebacker Fred Hives II each led Cal Poly defensively with seven tackles. Hives also had three quarterback hurries while defensive end Sean Lawyer had five.

Cal Poly mustered a pair of sacks – one each by Carlton Gillespie and Ryan Shotwell.

And strong safety David Fullerton earned his fourth interception of the season and seventh in the last two years, returning the theft 38 yards for the game’s final score. It was the third interception return for a touchdown in Fullerton’s Mustang career.

Linebacker Tyler Pringle notched 11 tackles for UC Davis and linebacker Mike Morales added 10.

Andrew Gardner kicked a 21-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for Cal Poly. 

Dally, Barden, Hives and Mole were among 17 Mustang seniors playing their final regular-season home game in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

The others were wide receivers Tre'dale Tolver and Vince Freitas, running back James Noble, linebackers Mark Restelli and Dominic Rickard, cornerback Gene Grant, center Stephen Field, offensive linemen Brock Daniels, Mike Porter, Eric White and Pat Koligian, defensive end Sean Lawyer and defensive back Martin Mares.

Cal Poly wraps up the 2008 regular season next Saturday at Big Ten member Wisconsin (6-5), with kickoff slated for 2:30 p.m. CST in Camp Randall Stadium. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network (available on Dish Network and DirecTV in San Luis Obispo County).