Vince Moraga and co. started slow against Fresno on Saturday. By Owen Main

Cal Poly Football’s short roadie over the hill to face the Fresno State Bulldogs was something several local fans were looking forward to: not having to travel too far for a chance to see their Mustangs compete on the road.

A trip to the valley is only two hours away for fans in San Luis Obispo County. The excitement for Mustang followers was quickly met squarely in the face with Fresno State’s vastly superior talent, size and speed, as the Mustangs fell to the Bulldogs 41-25 Saturday night at Bulldog Stadium.

In the first half Cal Poly only had 10 more yards than Fresno State had points — 44-34 — and mustered only two first downs on offense. The Mustangs’ running attack and noticeably smaller offensive line was stymied by the physically superior defensive line and linebackers of the Bulldogs. It was clear that Cal Poly’s by-design, smaller and quicker offensive lineman that are featured in their option attack were a bad matchup against the FBS size and speed of Fresno State’s defensive front.

Throughout the first half, the Bulldogs were able to stuff the fullback on the inside, easily get to the pitch on the outside, and weren’t falling for the misdirection of the trap play. The Mustangs were unable to mix things up and get the Bulldogs out of their base defense, which allowed Fresno State to comfortably pin their ears back without the occasional mental hiccup to distract their physical superiority.

Derek Carr looked great on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Bulldogs quarterback Derek Carr looked every bit of the hype and attention he has received, which isn’t something easily lived up to. Carr went 17-24 in the first half for 147 yards, while connecting on two passing touchdowns. Fresno State’s air-attack was highlighted by quick wide receiver screens, as well as running their tight ends vertically down the middle. This countering combination gave the Mustang linebackers and secondary fits all game long. The fact that Cal Poly also wasn’t able to get any sort of pressure on Carr with their pass rush eminently became a recipe for mega-disaster on defense.

The real back-breakers for the Mustangs? The Bulldogs returned two punts for touchdowns and Cal Poly fullback Akaninyene Umoh lost a fumble inside his own 30 that lead to another quick Fresno State score. In a situation where you are up against an FBS team that is undoubtedly more talented, there are two things that can easily cause a game to get out of hand: ball security and special teams. Giving up two “gimme” scores and losing a fumble inside your own territory drastically shifts all sorts of momentum and will get any team beat, let alone one that is already physically outmatched.

Things looked beyond dismal at the half the Mustangs, who trailed 34-0.

It was obvious head coach Tim Walsh and his staff dulled out some “constructive criticism” in the locker room at halftime, as the Mustangs came out with a new sense of purpose in the second half. After Kristaan Ivory broke a 52-yard run down the home sideline, Bobby Zalud kicked a 43-yard field goal to get Cal Poly on the board, 34-3.

Derek Carr then stepped back onto the field and marched his offense North to South once again, as Fresno State scored their final points of the game halfway through the third quarter, leading now, 41-3.

On the subsequent Cal Poly possession, their season changed. Quarterback Vince Moraga went down with an apparent knee injury. Walsh described it as a probable ACL tear and Moraga will likely be out for the remainder of the season.

This is absolutely a devastating blow for Moraga and the team, but they must move on. Times like this are when the cliché ‘football is like war’ metaphors come into play, how the game is always a revolving battle of attrition. “Next man up” has most recently become the popular credo within the game that this idea echoes. While it is an unfortunate tragedy, as teammates and Vince alike are probably filled with a definite amount of disappointment, the campaign must go on. There is no time to feel sorry for yourselves and the purpose must move forward without him.

With Dano Graves also already on the shelf, the next man up was arguably the best raw talent on the quarterback depth chart, a true dual-threat, sophomore Chris Brown.

Brown stepped in, albeit against primarily Fresno State’s second team, and brought a definite lightning-rod quality that was lacking before. While Brown had a handful of egregious decision-making errors, his play-making ability with his feet and down-the-field throwing precision vastly outweighed those mistakes.

Twice in the second half Brown slung deep bombs behind the Bulldog back-end, once to Willie Tucker and another to Cole Stanford. Both big plays took the Mustangs from backed up in their own territory, to instantly threatening.

The intangible ‘make something out of nothing’ ability of Brown got Poly into the end zone on back to back possessions late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. Brown eluded pressure inside the pocket and would-be tacklers outside of it, juking and weaving his way to pay-dirt on multiple occasions.

As Cal Poly took back some momentum, there was a certain electricity that began to emanate from the Poly sideline and from the faithful in the stands that wasn’t formerly present. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Cal Poly only trailed 41-17.

Late in the fourth, Brown showed off his strength, breaking two tackles to get into the end zone with shades of Andre Broadous from one yard out. He also then ran in the 2-point conversion, bringing the tally to 41-25.

At this point, even if the tables hadn’t completely turned on the scoreboard, they had undeniably turned as far as the attitudes and climate on the field were concerned. The Mustangs were doing body high-fives and the Bulldogs were moping. This inexplicably caused Fresno State to put their star quarterback Derek Carr back into the game. Along with the emergence of Chris Brown, this was another small moral victory for Cal Poly.

Chris Brown showed what he can do with his legs and his arm on Saturday. By Owen Main

Some will contend that Brown’s success, again, was against the Bulldogs second team, one also has to consider that most of the backups on the Fresno State roster would start and may even star in Cal Poly’s Conference. This is something that should be considered when examining the outlook for the remainder of Poly’s season. Trying to find ways to discredit the great things Brown accomplished in the second half may seem realistic to some, intentionally pessimistic to others.

Regardless, there is no doubt that Brown now steps into the role and instantly becomes a dynamic threat to the opposing team’s defensive game plan week-in, week-out. This truly wasn’t the case before.

The coaching staff decided to go with the safest choice at quarterback at the season’s outset, which is understandable based on the option system that they run, instead of taking a chance on a huge payout.

Brown was my pick to be the starter all things equal at the outset of the season. I was of the opinion that if you didn’t have a standout guy at the position, you build your program around your youngest player with the most upside – the player that has the most time left to improve at the highest rate. That was Brown. Well, now he has the opportunity to prove myself and all like-minded thinkers right.

And even though the Mustangs took their licks in Fresno, ultimately falling to the Bulldogs 41-25, they can certainly take a ton away from the experience. The loss of one leader’s season may have inadvertently began the great career of another. It is inauspicious that it had to unfold this way, but I personally believe that when compared to all other quarterbacks on the roster, injured or otherwise, Brown has the highest number of the tools you look for from a signal caller in today’s game.

Yes, Mustang fans are going to have to get ready to take the good with the bad when it comes to Brown, but it will always be enthralling to watch, and trust me, once this kid gets the majority of the repetitions in practice and gets his feet completely underneath himself, the good will catapult the bad completely off the teeter totter.

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Cal Poly travels to Fort Collins this Saturday afternoon to take on the Colorado State Rams. Kickoff is at 12:30pm. Radio play-by-play can be heard on ESPN Radio 1280 The Ticket. Fansmanship.com will be there covering the game. Look for real-time game photos at halftime and after the game on fansmanship.com

Chris Brown was kind of a revelation for Cal Poly on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Cal Poly went into Fresno on Saturday night with high hopes. By the end of the first half, those hopes were as far away as the cool Central Coast ocean breeze.

After giving up two punt returns for touchdowns and netting only 44 total yards in the first half, things seemed pretty bleak for the Mustangs, who were down 34-0.

Mostly against Fresno State’s backup players, the second half was a different story for the Mustangs. Along with being reminded that I have weak coastal blood (it was REALLY hot), here’s what I learned on Saturday night.

Fresno State is good this year

Derek Carr got all kinds of media attention all week leading up to the game, and on Saturday he proved why. The run/pass option that Fresno State presents on nearly every play will hold defenses in-check enough for the Bulldogs to put up big numbers all season.

The one thing I didn’t have a lot of information about going into the game was how good their receivers actually are. We found out pretty quickly as Carr carved-up the secondary. Just as impressive is the big-play ability of kick returner Isaiah Burse, who ran back two punts for touchdowns and caught a third from Carr.

Fresno State has a hugely entertaining offense for fans to watch. Because of Carr and receivers like Burse, they are basically never completely out of games.

Cal Poly probably isn’t as bad as they played in the first half

On the surface, it seemed like the classic stereotype of an FBS vs. FCS team. The FCS team (Cal Poly) comes into the FBS team’s stadium, gets blown-out, and the home team’s quarterback doesn’t play the last quarter-and-a-half. Fans call it a “body bag” game.

For the first half, this game fit the stereotype completely.

Cal Poly showed a little something in the second half. They didn’t continue to roll-over. They competed. In fact, they played so well that Carr was brought back into the game at the end of the fourth quarter as were some of the Bulldogs’ first-team defenders.

I’m not saying that Cal Poly is in the same class as Fresno State. But they aren’t as bad as they played in the first half on Saturday, and they proved it as a team in the second half.

Vince Moraga was developing

The Cal Poly quarterback and his group were making headway. Kristaan Ivory had finally got the edge on an option pitch and Moraga’s offense had finally got on the board.

On the next drive, Moraga’s offense once again got the Mustangs into field goal range, where Bobby Zalud missed a 41-yard attempt. The Cal Poly defense finally got a 3-and-out, and Moraga’s unit was poised to move again.

In a flash the game, and probably the season, was over for the junior starting quarterback. Moraga suffered a knee injury on the Mustangs’ second drive of the half. Initial reports are that it might be an ACL tear, a would-be season-ending injury. The narrative that might be told at the end of the year is that “Moraga’s was an ineffective offensive leader” or that “finally someone other that Moraga came in and the Mustangs started to move the ball.”

Both of these would be false.

Moraga’s team was moving the ball. The offense had begun to turn things around. The coaches had made some adjustments. The team finally had their collective head on straight, and things were starting to go the Mustangs’ way already. Chris Brown’s backup numbers look great and will create a lot of fan excitement, but Moraga had already started to turn things around. Whatever comes of this season or the remainder of his career, let’s remember that.

Chris Brown is exciting

After the Moraga injury, Brown came in and the momentum continued to shift toward the Mustangs. After Kristaan Ivory forced a fumble on special teams, Brown threw a confident pass to Tucker over the middle for a touchdown.

If they want all the explosiveness that Chris Brown brings, Cal Poly fans will have to be patient. By Owen Main

In the fourth quarter, Brown led the team on two drives down the field, scoring on a 22-yard scramble and on a one-yard dive, sending Cal Poly fans into an excited fervor about what “could-be.”

Of all Cal Poly’s quarterbacks, and there were four of them to start the season, Brown is the biggest, tallest, fastest guy with probably the best arm. Presumably, Vince Moraga won the job originally because of his decision-making and experience within the triple-option offense, but after seeing the tools Brown brings to the game, it’s hard to argue with having him in the game.

I’m a Dodgers fan and I have to liken what fans will go through with to the Yasiel Puig situation in Dodgertown. There are times when you wonder, “What is that guy doing!?” and other times when you know that no other athlete available to you at that position could make that play.

If you want the possibility of the exciting 22-yard touchdown run on a broken play, you’ll also have to be patient with the time that Brown and Brandon Howe ran into one another twice on the same play and were lucky not to have fumbled. If you want the arm that can throw a 12-yard comeback route off of one leg in the fourth quarter, you’ll also have to deal with a guy who doesn’t always hand-off to the right guy or pitch the ball at the right time or who runs backwards trying to make something happen.

Tim Walsh understands that the kind of risk incurred by giving the offense’s keys to Brown could cost Cal Poly games. But the threat of Brown’s strong arm and FBS-class running ability are too great to dismiss. Fans, and for now Walsh, will have to take the good with the bad.

Another interesting subplot of this week will be how/whether the offense and play-calling are adjusted this week to account for Brown’s skillset as opposed to Moraga. More on that for another post.

How can you watch this video and not get a little excited if you’re a Cal Poly fan?

Willie Tucker and Chris Brown celebrate after Tucker’s touchdown on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Cal Poly has weapons

Even without Brown on the field, Cal Poly has weapons. Willie Tucker already has two 100-yard games and Cole Stanford can be counted-on for at least one or two big plays per game. At slot back, Ivory remains the key, but players like Kori Garcia have also looked promising during the first few games.

Moraga was lauded for his ability to get the ball to the right playmakers at the right time, but Chris Brown did a very good job of that during the second half Saturday. Brown’s ability to read the triple option and get consistent yardage will make the difference between a competitive team this Saturday and one that sees some kind of deja vu.

Plans sometimes don’t go how you want them to

Like Cal Poly, Fansmanship had a little bit of a rough first half. We are usually able to get some first-half photos up on the website by halftime. It’s Monday and they still aren’t up. They should actually be up by tonight both here and on our facebook page.

The reason is a new camera that required a software update. We will be in Fort Collins this Saturday and WILL HAVE PICTURES UP during the game.

Photos by Andy Stevens and Owen Main

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]