Weber State football fumbles away stupefying loss to winless Northern Colorado
Blunders and bloopers doom Wildcats to defeat
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- Northern Colorado defensive back Darrell Bryant Jr. (33) forces Weber State quarterback Richie Muñoz, center left, to fumble into the end zone on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State defenders take down Northern Colorado’s Caden Meis (27) on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Jacob Sharp (14) and Northern Colorado defensive back LaDavion Osborn (7) battle with the ball in the air on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State running back Damon Bankston (1) carries the football against Northern Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Jacob Sharp, right, jumps for a touchdown catch over Northern Colorado’s LaDavion Osborn (7) on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State linebacker Jayden Ah You, left, tackles Northern Colorado’s David Afari (1) on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Northern Colorado’s Noah Mangham (10) grabs the facemask of Weber State’s Marcus Chretien on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State quarterback Richie Muñoz, right, runs in a touchdown against Northern Colorado’s Cam Chapa on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State defensive tackle Steven Bryant (50) battles Northern Colorado’s Levi Johnson (70) and Lincoln Fa’apouli on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State defensive tackle Zeke Birch rushes against Northern Colorado’s Jack Ziebell (63) on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Jayleen Record runs with the football against Northern Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Marcus Chretien (87) tries to avoid Northern Colorado’s Cam Chapa (49) on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State defensive lineman Matt Herron (97) signals a first down after rushing a fourth-down fake punt against Northern Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Jacob Sharp (14) and Northern Colorado defensive back LaDavion Osborn (7) battle with the ball in the air on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
OGDEN — “It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.”
The stronger, lesser-repeated dichotomy from the opening of the Charles Dickens novel “A Tale of Two Cities” may still not hammer the nail on the head squarely enough in describing the recent Weber State football experience.
After an all-time great win at Montana (who was 232-35 at home since 1986), the No. 20 Wildcats strung together a litany of disastrous errors and bungled away a 21-17 home loss Saturday night to Northern Colorado, a team winless in nearly two calendar years.
The best win of Mickey Mental’s tenure at Weber State followed by the worst loss, evening the second-year coach’s record at 9-9.
The Wildcats, 10th nationally this season with only three turnovers lost through six games, turned it over five times Saturday.
Sophomore quarterback Richie Muñoz fumbled four times, losing three. He coughed up three of them at the Northern Colorado 1-yard line, with two of those lost, and a rare interception (the third of his 12-game career) ensured the final result.
“Ultimately he’s going to do what I coach him to do. So that’s on me, 100%,” said Mental, the offensive coordinator and former quarterback. “Gotta get him ready to go and play better and secure the ball. That’s on me.”
Muñoz whiplashed from WSU’s first six-touchdown passing game in 31 years and national offensive player of the week honors to committing four turnovers in a one-possession game.
“Coach him harder. Get him better. Talk to him about how to handle success after a game like that,” Mental said about what’s next for the QB.
One of Weber State’s worsts provided a lot of firsts for the jubilant Bears (1-6, 1-2 Big Sky) whose coaches erupted in the press box when freshman safety Cam Chapa intercepted Muñoz with 28 seconds left to seal the victory.
It was Northern Colorado’s first win in 19 games and first for second-year head coach Ed Lamb, who left BYU’s staff to take on a rebuild similar to the one he completed at Southern Utah. It was the Bears’ first win over a ranked opponent since 2016, and first road win over a ranked opponent since 2006.
Weber State (3-4, 2-1) shot out of the gates on a 25-yard Muñoz throw to Marcus Chretien and, with the help of an 11-yard dash from defensive lineman Matt Herron on a fake punt just across midfield, drove inside the Northern Colorado 10 in eight plays.
Muñoz took a run from the 8-yard line and absorbed contact at the 1 from two defenders. As he leaned to the goal line, defensive back Darrell Bryant Jr. arrived and jarred the ball loose. UNCo’s Marcus Howard recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback at the 9:26 mark of the first quarter.
It appeared Muñoz reached the goal line before Bryant popped the ball loose but the play was not reviewed.
Two minutes later, WSU had the ball at the Bears’ 46.
Freshman back Davion Godley rushed for 22 yards in four carries to get to Northern Colorado’s 1-yard line. But before he could reward Godley with a finishing score, Muñoz fumbled the handoff. He quickly scooped it up and ran through an open left side, however, putting Weber State ahead 7-0 with 2:58 left in the first quarter.
The Bears moved the ball for the first time but stalled when Tre Tribble and Montae Pate stopped David Afari’s fourth-and-5 rush for a turnover on downs at the WSU 33.
Junior running back Damon Bankston, who finished with 108 yards on 16 carries, rushed the Wildcats into UNCo territory and Jayleen Record’s 22-yard reception put WSU inside the 10.
On third-and-goal from the 3, WSU faked a handoff to Adrian Cormier and Muñoz took the keeper to the 1 — and fumbled again. Linebacker Payton Polson forced it and defensive back Franky Morales recovered for another touchback.
“We preach two hands on the ball. We do countless drills to make sure he can run the ball and be successful in the run game, to add to it,” Mental said. “It’s just a lack of execution and focus at that point.”
After each team had three possessions, Weber State had outgained UNCo 192-52 but led 7-0.
Afari, who was the Bears’ leading rusher last season, was rusty early but soon got his ground game going. His 28-yard run helped get Northern Colorado driving late in the half.
On third down at the WSU 21, quarterback Kia’i Keone somehow danced around a collapsing pocket, avoided the flailing arms of would-be tacklers and soon found an opening through the middle of the field, dashing for a touchdown and a 7-7 knot with 1:09 left.
Weber State seemed to have its momentum-grabbing answer over the next four minutes.
Bankston rushed a 15-yarder and Muñoz ran a 20-yard scramble out of bounds to the UNCo 29 with 18 seconds left. There, Muñoz lofted a ball up the left sideline to Jacob Sharp, who outjumped his defender for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 14-7 halftime lead.
WSU received the second-half kickoff and darted downfield in four plays — Bankston rushes of 11 and 19 yards, and Muñoz completions of 14 yards to tight end Pete Knudson and 16 to Chretien, who finished as the team’s leading receiver (four catches, 57 yards).
Northern Colorado may not have known at the time how crucial the next play was but, at their own 15-yard line, the Bears bottled up Bankston for no gain on first down. Two incompletions later, WSU settled for a 32-yard Kyle Thompson field goal and a 17-7 lead at the 11:47 mark of the third quarter.
For the night, Weber State outgained the visitors 401-321. But after Bankston’s 19-yarder to the UNCo 15, WSU would gain just 82 yards for the rest of the ballgame.
Unfortunately for the sophomore signal-caller, Muñoz’s fumbles made for a three-touchdown swing on the scoreboard — 14 would-be WSU points left at the 1-yard line, and soon seven actual points for the visitors.
After the Thompson field goal, Weber State’s next offensive play saw Muñoz scramble for an 8-yard gain. But the quarterback made a costly decision, putting his shoulders down to take on linebacker KJ Smedley instead of falling forward or sliding to end the play. Smedley met him squarely and forced the ball out, recovered by teammate LaDavian Osborn.
When asked how to balance the competing ideas of taking out a player struggling with mistakes and resetting, versus letting them play through it, Mental simply said Muñoz “has to protect the ball.”
“There’s got to be accountability. We’ve had those discussions … you can’t put the ball in harm’s way when it matters most,” he said. “This could be a totally different outlook if we take care of the ball in the red zone in the first (half). But would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.”
The resulting 28-yard field gave the Bears new life in their longing for victory.
Four plays later, senior running back Caden Meis punched in a 2-yard touchdown, cutting WSU’s lead to 17-14 at the 7:29 mark of the third quarter.
Weber State’s only decent possession after the Thompson field goal followed, hammering Cormier and Bankston on the ground to the Northern Colorado 35. But the Bears stacked up Godley for two runs totaling no gain.
On a fourth-and-10, WSU punted on the first play of the fourth quarter. Bears receiver Brayden Munroe appeared to give WSU a big break, however, by fair catching the skied Oscar Doyle punt at his 2-yard line.
Ultimately, though, that just meant Northern Colorado would take a big chunk of time on what became the game-winning drive.
It didn’t come without help, however. WSU senior defensive end Kemari Munier-Bailey soon sacked Keone on third down back to the Northern Colorado 11. But instead of a punt, the Bears celebrated a first down to the 35 because Pate, a cornerback, was flagged for a facemask penalty somewhere else on the field.
With that assist, the Bears slowly drove and converted fourth-and-1s at their own 44 and at the Weber 42, lining up in a three-tight-end, no-receivers package and plunging into a defense without senior linebacker Garrett Beck, who sat to recuperate a lingering injury, and without linebacker Jayden Ah You, who played but left the game hurt.
Afari picked up steam, rushing six times for 38 yards in the drive; Weber could not take him down on first contact and the senior running back got the Bears to the WSU 15.
It was then that Justin Walterscheid — who was also Lamb’s offensive coordinator at SUU and who won two Big Sky titles with the T-Birds — drew up a beauty.
Misdirecting a fake handoff to Afari going left, Keone instead handed to a sweeping Darius Stewart going right. Stewart got around the edge and found the 15 yards he needed and pulled two tacklers into the end zone.
Northern Colorado used 18 plays and 8:38 to go 98 yards, taking a 21-17 lead with 6:14 left.
Somehow, the misadventures weren’t over.
Three plays later, Weber State appeared to quash its hopes on a play so uncommon it would seem unbelievable to those who didn’t see it, one that ended with an official’s conference and the ball taken by Northern Colorado.
WSU center Terrance Caldwell snapped the football behind him, but not enough to reach Muñoz in his shotgun position. With the ball on the turf, most players — including all Wildcats — didn’t move, as if perhaps they expected the play to be stopped with a flag. But a couple of Bears pushed behind WSU’s line and linebacker Keyvon Lakes jumped on the football. It was ultimately ruled a fumble recovered at the WSU 24 with 5:33 left.
Despite Weber State’s bloopers reaching near-comical levels, it didn’t end the game yet. WSU’s defense did enough to get the offense the ball two more times, starting with senior defensive tackle Steven Bryant blocking Hunter Green’s 38-yard field goal attempt at the 3:28 mark.
Weber State’s offense gained 4 yards and punted back to the Bears with 2:36 left.
After WSU used all three timeouts and the two-minute warning, Northern Colorado didn’t risk going for another fourth-and-1 conversion in the quarter, instead punting from its own 47 to the WSU 17 with 0:56 left.
Two plays picked up a first down out of bounds to the 27 with 0:45 left but any hope of a miracle drive ended there when Muñoz overthrew Sharp downfield and the ball nestled directly into Chapa’s arms.
Muñoz finished 13 of 26 for 171 yards. With Northern Colorado’s long march and WSU’s odd fumbled snap, the Wildcats ran just 10 plays in the fourth quarter, totaling 13 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Raimoana Tinirauarii led WSU with 15 tackles, including eight solo.
“This team almost beat us last year. We weren’t overlooking anybody. We just have to play better,” Mental said. “I thought practices were good this week … I thought they were focused. The attention was there. Just didn’t execute at a high enough level today to win a football game.”
The Wildcats, whose slim playoff hopes now seem to rely on a 5-0 finish, next travel to Sacramento State. The Hornets are now 2-4 and will be one of three Big Sky teams, joining WSU and Northern Arizona, who will drop out of the Top 25 after one-win Eastern Washington claimed a 35-28 win Saturday in Sacramento.
Elsewhere in the Big Sky, No. 3 Montana State handled No. 7 Idaho 38-7 at home in the league’s top-billed ESPN2 matchup.
No. 14 Montana rallied to beat No. 24 Northern Arizona 31-20. No. 6 UC Davis crushed Cal Poly 56-10 and Portland State picked up its first victory, using a strong second half to win 42-38 at Idaho State.
