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BOZEMAN, Montana — Weber State football coach Jay Hill understands how close his team is to winning.
Each of the last three games, the Wildcats have had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, yet each of the times they have fallen short because of some reason.
Saturday, Weber fell short to the No. 9 Montana State Bobcats, 23-13. The Bobcats are a prime contender for the Big Sky Conference title, and are in the conversation of best teams with a shot at the national title. And, the Wildcats had a shot to take them down.
However, for Hill, the continued lack of offensive execution late is bewildering.
“This was one of the more frustrating ones because it was there,” he said. “That’s three weeks in a row where we’ve had the ball, driving for the victory. We were moving the ball great in the fourth quarter, and I felt like if we got the ball, their secondary had been kind of playing on their heels. And, we fumble the punt.”
Weber operated on Montana State’s side of the field eight different times in the loss, but scored only one touchdown and two field goals.
"A bunch of missed opportunities (have) defined our season," Weber State coach Jay Hill said.
One missed opportunity Hill highlighted came in the third quarter when the Wildcats were driving for a score. Quarterback Billy Green could have thrown a quick slant route to wide receiver Cam Livingston for an easy score, but instead threw an interception.
“A bunch of missed opportunities (have) defined our season. We’ve got to get that fixed as a coaching staff," he said. “Bottom line, we battled and we didn’t get it done. You’ve got to give credit to Montana State, they’re a heckuva team.”
While the offense has struggled as of late, the defense has kept the Wildcats in games late for the past month. After Montana State scored 77 points a week ago and Weber held the offense to 160 rushing yards and forced two turnovers in the process.
Hill said the defense’s improvement is thanks to defensive coordinator Justin Ena.
“I definitely believe (Ena) is one of the top defensive coordinators in the country,” he said. “He had put together a great game plan with the other assistant coaches. They did things that kept them off-balance in the throwing game, where they limited big plays.”
Another highlight came from punter Blake O’Neill, who converted two fake punts on the day. Hill said the fakes are part of his philosophy of aggressive play-calling.
“I told these players I’m going to continue to be aggressive,” he said. “I told fans that I’m going to be aggressive. When I see something there, we’re going to call it. We had two fake punts that should have been huge momentum swings and we got zero points out of them.”
The Wildcats have received several impressive performances from their underclassmen. Freshman receiver Darryl Denby, who missed the first five games with injuries, came in and caught three passes for 97 yards, and sophomore receiver Livingston caught four passes for 47 yards. Also, freshman safety Mitch Tulane had an interception for the defense.
Hill said the younger players on the roster would be the centerpieces down the road.
“I like the fact that these young guys continue to step up because we’re going to be a darn good football team here in the future,” he said.
