After a rather stunning home loss to Portland State put a halt to Weber State’s path to the football playoffs, the Wildcats were expectedly sullen.

Head coach Jay Hill used words like “down” and “dejected” to describe the mood two days after the defeat, but said he thought his players were starting to pick things back up and prepare for the season’s final road trip.

For a team that has struggled to be consistent and had no postseason left to play for, what happened next was nearly as stunning as the PSU loss, especially under extenuating circumstances.

The Wildcats trounced Southern Utah 62-0 and held the T-Birds to a pitiful 76 yards of offense.

“I think we just saw what happens whenever we play for each other as teammates and as brothers. We just came together and just wanted to go out and have fun. We did that,” senior linebacker Conner Mortensen said this week. “We were disciplined and executed at the same time. Really the biggest difference is there was an energy we have had before, and had at certain points of the season. It was something we felt Saturday.”

The 62-point margin of victory was the fourth-largest in WSU history, and 76 yards allowed the second-fewest to any FCS opponent. Despite all the good defenses Hill has put on the field, it was still the team’s first shutout of an FCS opponent since 2007.

Weber State has missed some shots at shutouts before because Hill consistently uses games like that to get younger players experience earlier in the clock than other coaches might, especially with the prospect of finishing a statistically historic effort.

That’s part of what made Saturday remarkable, and one of the reasons Hill and company hope they come together to “handle it the right way” in the season finale — at home to Northern Colorado — and into the offseason. Weber State was without usual starting cornerback Marque Collins to an ankle injury, and corners Kam Garrett, Maxwell Anderson and LJ Anderson to COVID protocols.

To boot, Ja’Kobe Harris, a usual safety with the skill to fill in at corner, left the team early in the season. That left usual shutdown corner Eddie Heckard leading a patchwork effort. Though it helped to have Preston Smith and Desmond Williams at safety, Weber State moved Braxton Gunther from his career-long safety spot to cornerback, Jemaurri Bailey played most of the game, freshman Abraham Williams tallied a tackle, and walk-on Ty Barnett saw significant reps, among others.

Southern Utah isn’t prolifically good, by any means, but lost by one point after a blocked field goal at No. 7 Montana earlier this season and QB Justin Miller averaged 236 passing yards entering the game. So forcing Miller into a line of 8 of 17 for 55 yards and three interceptions was definitely a feat.

“That was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my career is how the team rallied,” Hill said. “We went down there with Eddie Heckard … and they rallied behind it and played unbelievable.”

Not to mention three running backs averaging more than 6 yards per carry, Rashid Shaheed needing just three catches to rack up 125 yards and two touchdowns, and Bronson Barron shaking off some inconsistency to go 13 of 18 for 225 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and zero sacks after WSU’s first possession.

“We’ve never played a game as good as we just played last week,” the eighth-year head coach Hill said. “I don’t care what you say as far as who the opponent was … we played our best game we’ve ever played since I’ve been here.”

The program’s consistent streak in hitting its goals — making the playoffs five straight seasons, winning the Big Sky for four — are coming to an end. But with Senior Day ahead for a 1 p.m. Saturday kickoff, Weber State will be playing to finish 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big Sky, which would be seven consecutive winning seasons.

“The reality is that only a few teams can win a conference championship. The way this league is, you battle, you fight, you claw, you dig and if you make a couple mistakes, that might be all it takes in a given year where you don’t win it. You regroup and you fight like crazy to do it the next time,” Hill said. “We just one four in a row. That’s a big deal to us. I don’t think anyone had won back-to-backs in (15 years).

It’s something Hill sees as an important goal to how the Wildcats springboard into next season after saying goodbye to 13 seniors.

“Bottom line, what (this group has) accomplished is huge, and we had a hiccup in a couple games this year and it didn’t turn out the way we wanted. That’s life, that’s reality,” Hill said. “All you can do is readjust your goals and move on. And this team will. There’s resilient dudes and if they handle it the right way, we can grow from this. Could be a wake-up call and we come back better than ever, hopefully.”

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