Chris Brown will be the opening game starter at quarterback for Cal Poly when they face New Mexico State on Thursday night. By Owen Main

Chris Brown or Dano Graves? Graves or Brown?

It’s Brown — at least for the first game. On Monday, Matt SantaMaria and Joshua Scroggin both tweeted that Brown will be the opening game starter for Cal Poly’s first game of the season on Thursday night in Las Cruces, New Mexico as the Mustangs take on New Mexico State.

In eight games last season (six starts), Brown led the team with 836 yards passing and was second with 685 yards rushing. The suspension of Kristaan Ivory makes him the top returner now in both passing and rushing on the team.

If you haven't heard yet, Cal Poly football has named Chris Brown the starting QB for Thursday's game at New Mexico State. #BigSkyFB

— Joshua D. Scroggin (@SLOcollegebeat) August 26, 2014

Chris Brown gets the start in the Mustangs season opeaner http://t.co/2hA4DvLxLc

— KSBY Sports (@KSBYSports) August 26, 2014

Amid the turmoil of the early portion of the football season, the “lost” story has been the battle to be the starting quarterback. It hasn’t been the four-man battle as it was last season, but both Brown and Graves logged significant time last season and either could have been the opening day starter.

Today, Walsh chose Brown, though the junior will have to earn his spot for the following week by playing well on Thursday.

Walsh said Brown earned the edge with his performance in the season finale last year. Nothing beyond the start is guaranteed. @fansmanship

— Joshua D. Scroggin (@SLOcollegebeat) August 26, 2014

After transferring from Air Force prior to last season, quarterback Dano Graves looks much more comfortable this camp. By Owen Main

For whatever it’s worth, Graves has looked a thousand times more comfortable this year than I think he did last year. To me, the biggest improvement has been how he’s looked as a passer both inside and out of a pocket. While Graves’ skills have really looked great to my untrained eye during camp, Brown showed some flashes of brilliance last season and is the more explosive runner. Coming into camp, I was fully on the Brown bandwagon, but watching Graves now in the new season, I think that both have their own unique set of skills that will help Cal Poly this season.

If Tim Walsh wanted breakaway ability, Brown has always been his guy, though I do believe that Graves will get opportunities throughout the season.

Last season, I think I said that all four guys would get a shot at quarterback. If Brown and Graves are the only two quarterbacks the Mustangs are forced to utilize this year, then one might even call it a move toward consistency. When it’s all said and done, I believe both guys will get a chance to prove they are a true number-one, top-flight quarterback. Cal Poly fans just hope at least one of them really is.

Let me be clear. Before the season started, I was in the “Chris Brown” camp. “Team Chris” seemed to have more upside than “Team Dano,” more poise than “Team Tanner,” and more explosiveness than “Team Vince.”

While Cal Poly head football coach Tim Walsh ultimately chose Vince Moraga, the more savvy veteran, the perception was that all four potential starting quarterbacks were very close. When Moraga went down to a knee injury, the theory fans were told to operate under was that Brown and Graves were close enough that, on some level, it shouldn’t matter that much who was in there.

After Moraga got hurt, Brown decent until the Yale game. Graves looked solid until the Montana game. Trosin has looked good in limited mop-up action. Brown looked great the last two weeks. Round and round we’ve gone — the door wide open for armchair coaches to criticize and second-guess coaches’ decisions about who should play the most important position on the field.

Chris Brown has established himself as the best quarterback Cal Poly has. By Owen Main

Throughout the year, we have maintained the de facto premise that all the quarterbacks are still very close in what they can bring to the table. This week, they were close enough in the minds of the coaching staff that Chris Brown at less than 100 percent meant that going with Dano Graves was the best option. Brown rushed for a program record (for a quarterback) 195 yards and three touchdowns in Davis, then threw four touchdown passes last week in a big win over Sacramento State, a team who beat Cal Poly last year in Sacramento. But he was hurt this week, so he didn’t start.

Instead, Dano Graves did. Graves, who transferred into the program after last season, has looked slippery at times, running the ball decently and generally taking care of the ball. He has been able to move the ball some. But it has been nothing like Brown, especially against tougher opponents. With Brown not starting, I figured Trosin would probably be the number two quarterback. If Brown could play at all, I thought, he would be in the game after the last two weeks he’s had.

So, when the Mustangs only scored three points in the first half, despite multiple opportunities and great field position, I thought Walsh might make a move. Yes, it would be uncharacteristic for him to make a change that quickly, but down 14-3 to the number-three team in the country might have called for a little shake-up. Instead, Graves stayed in. Here’s how the third quarter went for Cal Poly:

* EWU six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive (21-3)

* Mustangs run six plays, gain 16 yards in under three minutes, and punt. The punt goes 21 yards

* EWU five-play, 70-yard touchdown drive with a second-string quarterback (28-3)

* Graves drives Cal Poly to the EWU 40 yard line, but is intercepted. Again, a six-play drive, taking up less than 2:00.

* EWU five-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for their final score of the game. The score was 35-3, in favor of the Eagles.

* Graves and the Mustangs again drive a little. Graves is again picked-off — his third of the game.

After Eastern Washington punted, Cal Poly got the ball back at the 50. Three plays later, the Mustangs were punting, again unable to move the ball.

When Cal Poly got the ball back, Chris Brown, not Tanner Trosin, was the quarterback and things changed quickly for the Cal Poly offense. Brown led three consecutive touchdown drives in the quarter, running the option to perfection. He showed-off his best-on-the-team speed, long-striding for a 47 yard run. He showed his best-on-the-team arm, going 4-7 passing for 87 yards and a touchdown. He showed his good decision-making, committing zero turnovers. Brown put guys in position to make plays, and they did.

Maybe it was against a bunch of EWU second-stringers. Maybe the visiting third-ranked team in the country let down after going up 35-3. We saw at Fresno State what can happen when a good team takes their foot off the gas pedal too quickly. But, at this point in the year, with the information I have, I don’t care. Chris Brown has to be the guy. For this year and, for my money, to start next year.

The premise that the quarterback options are still so close has, at this point, been busted. I’m not saying that Graves is that bad. Maybe he’s not, but Brown seems to really be that good. At this point, Brown is good enough that he can take limited reps, be a little hurt, and still be effective. He has done enough to be the guy. When his health is “borderline,” like he was today, he has earned the right to give it a try. It’s a luxury that Graves was afforded at Montana, where he admitted he could barely stay upright for much of the second half with an injury. If Graves is allowed to stay in under those circumstances, why wasn’t Brown starting?

Brown will make some mistakes, I think we’ve always known this. But if the alternative to Brown is an offense that is held to three points over three quarters, I’ll take a few mistakes as a fan — and the learning that goes with them. All four remaining candidates for next year’s starting position — as of now, they’ll all be back — have something going for them. But Brown has put himself head and shoulders above the others. We have more information now than we did at the beginning of the year about all of these players. Eleven games have been played. Five quarterbacks have been used. Brown has started five games, Graves four, and Moraga two. Decisions need to be made based on that information, not on a stale premise established at the beginning of the year.

If my calculations are correct (and it’s possible they aren’t), Andre Broadous threw five interceptions in 28 games where he threw a pass. To expect that out of any quarterback isn’t realistic. Cal Poly does have a talented quarterback who has proven himself better than the rest. Perhaps Broadous spoiled everyone over the past few seasons, but if we are still searching for the next Andre Broadous, we’ll be looking for an awfully long time.

For now, Brown is the best Cal Poly’s got, and even though there is only one game remaining, he needs to be given the reins of the Mustangs offense. If there is one thing we’ve learned this year, it’s how things can be offensively when the starters are different week-to-week.

By the Numbers:

PASSING

RUSHING

Photos by Owen Main

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Redshirt freshman Tanner Trosin is one of at least four players vying for the starting quarterback job. By Owen Main

Spring is in the air. With the sun peaking over Cuesta Peak, the Cal Poly football team continued their second week of spring practice. The Mustangs have a lot going on this Spring. Their offensive coordinator took a job at Georgia Tech just a week before spring practice began. Coming off a successful 9-3 season and a trip to the playoffs, Cal Poly has a number of personnel question marks, especially with some high-profile offensive positions.

After losing quarterback Andre Broadous to graduation, the Mustangs have four quarterbacks vying for the vacated position. As reported in the link above by J.D. Scroggin of the Tribune, head coach Tim Walsh would like to have a solid idea of his depth chart by the end of Spring practice.

If you want to see the quarterback battle in-person, Cal Poly will have scrimmages each of the next two Saturdays. This Saturday, they’ll run about 60 plays on the upper field of the Cal Poly Sports Complex. A week from Saturday, the Mustangs will hold their Spring Game at Spanos Stadium.

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