Wildcats Lost More Than Just the Game in Flagstaff

Six minutes and ten seconds.

That is precisely how long it took the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona to take a 21-0 lead in the Red Rock Rivalry game played Saturday afternoon in Flagstaff. Believe it or not, the game was out of reach even before that. Giving up a 75 yard run on the first play from scrimmage and throwing two picks in three offensive plays is how things started out for Weber State. It’s hard to remember a game getting off to a worse start.

Coming in after a bye week, the Cats lacked the juice, grit, desire, focus, and discipline to put up a respectable effort in a rivalry game. This loss cements the certainty of a losing season, the first in a decade, and more than that, a cloud of pessimism hanging over the football program is at a level not seen since the Jody Sears days.

The game wasn’t the only thing that was lost this weekend. This team is losing the faith of the fanbase. If you’re reading this, you’re probably a diehard fan, and will ride or die with this team no matter what. You’re not the fan I’m talking about. I’m talking about the 75% of the fanbase that will quickly pivot their attention to other teams and other games in a very crowded Utah sports market. I can envision a lot of conversations between friends and families in Northern Utah going something like this over the next few days:

 

Casual Fan #1:  Hey, do you want to go to the Weber game on Saturday?

Casual Fan #2: Um… I don’t know, we kind of suck this year. Who are we playing?

Casual Fan #1: Idaho State. Yeah, the team does kind of suck this year. I miss Jay Hill.

Casual Fan #2: Nah, let’s not. I don’t want to sit in the cold to watch two crappy teams play.

 

When only 5,000 people show up to Stewart Stadium to watch the game this Saturday, with a student section 1/3^rd of what it was in the Portland State game, it sends a message that Weber State has lost more than just some football games this year.

I’ve been willing to give the Wildcats and Coach Mental the benefit of the doubt through last year and up until yesterday, but now, I’m ready to say it. The football team is headed in the wrong direction.

You could see it in the body language of the players yesterday. They have lost their mojo. The lack of confidence is especially apparent on offense. May I remind you this is the same team that went up to Missoula and put up 55 points, and the same team that put up 48 points in Sacramento. This team has the ability to score points. Munoz was the National FCS Player of the Week earlier this year and through the Montana game had thrown 13 TDs and 1 pick. Since that point however, he’s thrown just 4 TDs and had 5 picks, not to mention all the lost fumbles.

Not to pile on Munoz, because I still think he is a very talented player, but since that Montana game, something has just looked off, and it was never more apparent than yesterday in Flagstaff. That 1^st pick was thrown into double coverage with no room for error and was tipped and intercepted. Looked to me like a case of trying to force a play that wasn’t there. Not great. However, that 2^nd pick was really bad. Jacob Sharp ran a short sideline route where the QB is supposed to throw to the ball to the outside shoulder, away from the CB. Instead the ball was thrown way inside directly the corner for an easy pick. Ouch. At another point in the game, a wide-open receiver streaking on a post route which would have gone for six but the ball hit the turf several yards short. To his credit, Munoz threw some dimes as well, but he also air mailed and skipped a few more passes than usual yesterday. What has happened to the Munoz who threw 6 TDs in Missoula? Seems like he has lost some of his confidence.

It's not all on Munoz. There was a dropped pass in the endzone, stupid penalties, (a delay of game right before a field goal and multiple false starts), our inability to play well in the red zone, going for it on a 4^th and 9 in field goal range, and a myriad of other mistakes on a rough night.

Perhaps the thing I was most frustrated with was Coach Mental. I get it, the coach gets all the credit when we win and all the blame when we lose and it’s a lot more complicated than the one man at the top. But my gosh, I’d like to see a little more fire and passion there. When Brian Wright, the NAU head coach, was interviewed on TV going into halftime he bluntly stated how pissed he was with his teams play in the 2^nd quarter. That’s a man who had a clear vision and clear expectation and won’t settle for less. I immediately had respect for him. Cut to post game comments by Coach Mental. Same lines of “gotta give them a lot of credit” and “we’ve got to get better and that starts with me”.

Coach! You’re damn right it starts with you! Lets see a little fire in your eyes and some passion! I want to see you fired up! I want to see you disgusted and mad when the team craps the bed like they did yesterday. I want to see you get in an assistant coach’s face on the sideline. I want to see you yell at a player when he commits a stupid penalty. If I have to hear him give the other team “a lot of credit” one more time I’m going to be sick. I’m sick of hearing it. Look, I don’t know Coach Mental personally, I’m not with the team at practice, nor do I see or hear him any other time other than what they show on TV during the games and what he says on the radio pre and post-game, but man, I don’t get the impression that things are changing for the better or that there is much of a plan to fix the massive issues with this team when I hear him speak or see his body language on the sideline.

Now, I know I’m starting to sound like Eeyore here in this blog post, but… it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Some players had great individual performances. Bankston had another great game. That guy is just amazing. Godley played well, and the O line played well, allowing the RBs to have good production, albeit not in the Red Zone. Munier-Baily and Wilson were all over the place with 8 tackles each. And that sack by Enriquez. Wow. Plus special teams played well with two blocked kicks and Kyle Thompson knocked down both of his FG attempts. We still have some great talent on this team that we can win with…if they stay.

That brings me to my last point of what we be losing this year in addition to all the games and the faith of the fanbase. We might be losing some of our better players. What talented player wants to play on a losing team trending in the wrong direction? This is pure speculation, I don’t have any inside information on this, I don’t work in sports media, I’m just a passionate fan, but here are a few players I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear their names on the transfer portal in the offseason:

Damon Bankston, Jalon Rock, Jayleen Record, Marcus Chretien, Adrian Cormier, Richie Munoz, Davion Godley, and maybe some of the offensive lineman. All of these are guys have remaining eligibility and have been high performers this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys are getting looks from other teams. Bankston especially will probably get offers from some FBS teams, he’s that good. As a Weber fan, you hold your breath, cross your fingers, say your prayers, and hope we can hang on to these guys. But who would blame a guy for taking a bunch of money to leave a losing team on a downward trajectory.

So to recap, yesterday was more than a loss. It was a lost game, a lost opportunity to salvage a season, lost interest in the fanbase, loss of faith in our coaching staff, loss of player mojo and confidence, higher potential to lose our best players to the transfer portal, and worst of all – the loss in the belief of the trajectory of this program.

The Wildcats will show what they are really made of this week when we battle our oldest and true rival in Idaho State. This is an absolute must win for the Wildcats. No moral victories, no development progress, no “right direction” talk. None. The fans patience has been exhausted and we expect more from the bevy of talented players donning a Weber State uniform this Saturday. We need to beat the Bengals and beat them convincingly. As I’ve written, there are no doubt many fans who will ignore the team the rest of the season. I am not one of them. I am in. 100%. And there is nothing more I want to see than an absolute clobbering of Idaho State. We own the Bengals. We haven’t lost to ISU in 10 years, and have not lost to them in Ogden since 1984—40 years. This game is an absolute must win. Bring it home guys.

Go Wildcats

Michael Garlick