September wasn't a month to remember for Utah running back Charlie Brown. He started off by fumbling on the first play of the season against Utah State. The next game, against lowly Idaho State, he only got in for mop-up duty in the final quarter. In the last game of the month against Wyoming, his number was called for just one of the 46 rushing plays.
After starting the season as the No. 1 running back, Brown was relegated to No. 4 back on a team that often runs one-back formations. In his senior season at Utah, Charlie Brown was getting even less respect than his cartoon-strip namesake.Fast forward just two months to November when things had changed considerably for Brown. He ran for more than 100 yards in every game, setting a Ute record with four consecutive 100-yard games. Then he capped off the month by scoring the winning touchdown in Utah's exciting 34-31 victory over BYU.
From blockhead in September to Deseret News Athlete of the Month in November, it was quite a transformation for Charlie Brown.
"Charlie really did a great job running the ball for us," said Ute coach Ron McBride, who wondered himself if Brown would contribute much after the first few games. "He learned how to fight back in the program, and that's what got him where he is today."
Brown finished the regular season with 839 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns, which ranked him 1st in the WAC and 36th in the nation in scoring - quite remarkable considering he scored just once in the first four games when he barely played. Brown's 5.8 yards per carry average was tops in the WAC for runners with at least 100 carries.
It was quite a comeback for someone who spent the first month of the season in the doghouse.
"I thought I was going to be benched for the rest of the season," said Brown, remembering back to those dark days of September. "It got a little frustrating because it seemed like all the work I'd done to earn the No. 1 spot was wasted. I thought, `This doesn't make sense.' I said to myself, `Either quit or strive to come back.' "
He decided on the latter.
Brown got a break when he was given a chance against San Diego State in his old hometown on Oct. 8. He broke off a 50-yard touchdown run that was key to the Utes' win. He started seeing more and more playing time as other Ute backs such as Juan Johnson and Sylvester Cooperwood suffered injuries. Against UTEP in late October, Brown began his 100-yard string with a 143-yard performance that included four touchdowns.
In two close losses to New Mexico and Air Force, Brown was the one of the bright spots for Utah - he ran for 103 and 129 yards, respectively. Strangely, in the latter game, he only ran the ball eight times in the second half after picking up 108 in the first half alone.
Brown really can't say why he came on so strong later in the year, offering a couple of reasons for his improvement.
"The offensive line got better and began to jell," he said. "And I was studying film and making some corrections, like standing further back behind the line."
Mainly what Brown got later in the season was action and the chance to show what he could do. In the season finale against BYU, he ran for 107 yards and caught two passes, including that 20-yarder for the winning touchdown.
Brown viewed the BYU game as a microcosm of his whole season, saying, "Things weren't going so well early on, but they got better and better."
A Brown fumble early in the game led directly to a BYU score and later he dropped a wide-open pass ("My hands were frozen," he said). It looked like another Utah State game for poor ol' Charlie Brown
But the coaches didn't give up on Brown this time. On the first play of the second half, he broke off left guard for 29 yards. He kept getting the ball, going four yards here and five yards there, helping keep Ute drives alive. Then came the big play, the one that ultimately won the game for the Utes.
There was just over a minute left just after Brown had picked up 12 yards to the BYU 20 and then was stopped for no gain on a delay up the middle. The next play called for a pass downfield. Mike McCoy looked toward the goal line and found nothing. With pressure closing in, he looked to his left and there was No. 23 all by himself. Let's let Brown take it from there.
"I had checked to see if they were in a blitz, but they dropped back into a zone. They dropped off me and I was wide open. As soon as I caught it, I saw daylight. There were just a couple of guys to beat. I got around one guy and then Curtis Marsh made a good block on a linebacker. Then I had to outrun the DB, and I dove into the end zone."
From the stands it was hard to tell if Brown had stayed in bounds inside the flag. But Brown had no question.
"I knew I was in there, no doubt," he said. "I felt like I was on cloud nine - it was the best feeling ever."
Despite his other accomplishments this year, that touchdown by Brown will be forever remembered by the Ute faithful, along with the Chris Yergensen field goal of '93 and the Frank Henry touchdown in the 1978 BYU win.
Now Brown has an opportunity to go out a winner, playing in southern California in the Freedom Bowl.
"This is my last chance to shine," he said. Not only will his family and friends be watching again, maybe a few pro scouts will keeping their eyes on Charlie Brown, something that seemed impossible a couple of months earlier.