Hill, Weber find positives in disappointing loss


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TEMPE, Arizona — Weber State football coach Jay Hill didn’t think too highly of himself in postgame analysis of his first game coaching the Wildcats.

Weber opened at defending Pac-12 South champion Arizona State and the Sun Devils dispatched the Wildcats, 45-14, Thursday night.

However, there were numerous points of improvement for Weber, especially when compared to last year’s games against FBS opponents Utah and Utah State. Indeed, there is a new attitude about Wildcat football and the reaction to the loss demonstrated as such.

“Arizona State did what you would expect a team like that to do and they are a terrific team,” Hill said. “I’m disappointed that we didn’t defend better than we did. We didn’t stick to our plan to win and made too many mistakes. I thought our guys took a bunch of punches but they bounced back and played hard. There are no moral victories. We had some positive things happen, but the bottom line is we have to get better as a team.”


"There's a lot of positives; there is a lot of positives coming out of this game, but we've got a long ways to go still for this program to be where it should be," Weber coach Jay Hill said.

After playing much better against an FBS opponent and beating the oddsmakers’ predictions on the game spread, one would have expected Weber State to find a moral victory in the process. However, linebacker Luke King said the Wildcats will find no solace in losing.

“We expect to win every time we play,” said King, who made seven tackles. “But they’re a good team. We’ve just got to learn from it and we’ve got to go back and watch film. We’ve got a game next week, so we’ve got to get ready for that one.”

The Wildcats started the game well, but had numerous moments in the first half that hurt their momentum. Whether it was a missed red-zone opportunity or a nearly blocked punt, Weber didn’t play a perfect game, and Hill said his team’s execution need to improve.

“We just did not stick to our plan to win and it showed,” he said. “We felt like we could come down here and win. We knew we had to play perfect and we didn’t.”

Weber’s offense finished with 308 total yards, of which 128 were earned by running back Zach Smith. As the team goes forward, starting with next week’s game against North Dakota State, Smith said the team’s preparation need to greatly improve.

“We had a couple problems here and there (with pregame preparation,” he said. “But, other than that, I think we’re ready to go.”

While Hill and the players said losing is never a good feeling, there were some facts that were positive takeaways. First, Weber tied Arizona State in points in the second half, with both scoring 14, and second, Smith scored on a 60-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Hill said he was proud of the continued effort from the team.

“I thought our guys bounced back,” he said. “They took a bunch of punches, and I thought they bounced back (and) played hard. I told them I wanted to win the fourth quarter, the biggest reason is that’s part of our plan to win. I was proud of our guys for not giving in. I was proud of them for the way they finished that game.”

Now, as Weber State prepares for its home opener a week from Saturday at Stewart Stadium, Hill said there are some signs that encourage him going forward.

“They’ve got to abide by the plan to win, and our plan to win is we’ve got to play great defense,” he said. “Offensively, we’ve got to sustain drives a little better. There’s a lot of things we can do to clean up.

“There’s a lot of positives. There is a lot of positives coming out of this game, but we’ve got a long ways to go still for this program to be where it should be. I know the players know it, but we’ve got the backing to do it. I’m more convinced now than ever after this game.”

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