Cal Poly’s Brown carried the load last week

Chris Brown’s health could be the number one factor affecting Cal Poly’s continued offensive output. By Owen Main

He didn’t know who would be his signal-caller yet, but in a podcast before the season started, Tim Walsh talked to me about the need to limit the number of times his quarterback was hit. About 48 hours later, he lost two key offensive weapons and perhaps has changed his tone some as quarterback Chris Brown has continued to separate himself as a big-play threat.

In their fourth game of the season on Saturday, a 38-35 loss at Northern Arizona, Brown ended up rushing the ball 26 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns. It was the most carries in a game Brown has had this season. Brown has led the team in carries in three of the first four games and already has over 20 more attempts than anyone else on the team.

He also threw for a career-high 214 yards on Saturday, but the Lumberjacks scored inside the final minute to nip the Mustangs.

On Tuesday, Walsh recognized that 26 carries is a big number, but also conceded that in a tight game, players and coaches do what that game calls for, even if it means leaning heavily on your quarterback.

As for the game itself, Cal Poly fans have to be happy with how well Brown held-up and with his decision-making in the ground game. The junior made only one bad decision all day — an interception he threw in the second quarter as the Mustangs were getting ready to go into the end zone. While he played a solid game, the one bad decision was one of a few key plays the Mustangs wish they could have back.

Wow, that was a lot of key plays with Cal Poly passing.

Really though, Mustang fans have to be somewhat encouraged. Brown is fun to watch, the offense has clearly made strides, and it will be fun to see whether the defense can make themselves a little more consistent and string together some good games. If we look at the four games Cal Poly has played, we can probably say that the offense has played well in two of them (the last two games vs. Portland State and at Northern Arizona) and that the defense has also played well in maybe 1 1/2 (some of the New Mexico State game and against Portland State).

Another thing to think about — for those of you fans who hate the triple option and would like to see Cal Poly pass more — is that the more you pass the ball, the more plays your defense is likely to be on the field for. If Cal Poly can dominate the ground game, they control time of possession and keep their defense off the field, which helps the defense be more effective.

Number of plays and time of possession are fun things to look at after a game. Anecdotally at least, they seem to have an impact on the outcome, but it’s not like a coach goes into a game saying “let’s control time of possession.”

For now, Cal Poly fans who have grumbled about the team rushing the ball so much can take some solace in the 200-plus yards of passing Cal Poly displayed last week. The more they truly have multiple options offensively, the more opposing defenses will be beat for big plays.

So, what have we learned (with glorious, bulleted formatting)?

* Chris Brown is a legitimate dual threat, who is getting better at making good decisions, but isn’t quite at a championship level yet. Yes, he is taking a few more hits than anybody would like.

* Cal Poly’s improved passing game can be a really great weapon moving forward.

* In games they win, Cal Poly will still run the ball well and probably hold advantages in things like time of possession and number of plays.

* The Mustang defense, which has shown flashes of great play, still has plenty of room for improvement.

Agree or disagree?