They didn't invent it by any means, but the Weber State Wildcats have now perfected the second-half collapse.
Proving that no lead the 'Cats build is safe, they squandered a 14-point advantage in the third quarter Saturday at Wildcat Stadium and went on to suffer a stunning 35-28 upset loss to Cal State Northridge."The feeling of football wasn't there on the sidelines," explained quarterback Roger Cook of the emotional letdown.
It was a scenario hauntingly fresh on the minds of WSU coach Dave Arslanian and his squad, too. A week ago, they blew a 17-point second-half lead and watched Northern Arizona roll off 31 straight points in a 59-45 win against the Wildcats.
The loss was Weber's third consecutive, leaving the Wildcats at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky play.
Northridge easily had its way against the Wildcats swiss-cheese frontline as the Matadors rushed for 208 yards. The biggest chunk of that came from Norman Clarke, who racked up a career-high 171 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Though fans probably don't remember Clarke's name, Wildcat coaches surely do. He redshirted at Weber State as a freshman in 1993 but was dropped from the team for some trouble that he got into, said Arslanian. Since then, Clarke said he'd "been waiting three years for this" opportunity "to show them that I was a back."
"He had a lot to prove and he did," said Arslanian of Clarke.
Clarke gave the Matadors a 7-0 lead on a three-yard run to cap an impressive first drive of the game. But the Wildcats defense responded later in the first quarter, setting up Weber's first score when sophomore linebacker David Stroshine hit CSN quarterback Aaron Flowers and forced him to cough up the ball. Weber's Weston Weaver recovered the fumble on the 10-yard line and the Wildcats scored two plays later on a Cook pass to Taurus McGhee.
Then, Weber cornerback Jami Webb picked off Flowers and scrambled for a 29-yard touchdown. The Wildcats scored their 21st-straight point of the first half when Cook connected with senior Chris Knight for a 16-yard touchdown toss.
Mistakes killed the Wildcats in the third quarter. First, a touchdown was called back because of a holding penalty. Then a field goal at the end of that drive was blocked.
With the Wildcats controlling the ball and the game, CSN cornerback Benny Herron intercepted an overthrown pass by Cook and waltzed in for a 27-yard TD return. Both coaches called it the turning point of the game.
"I shouldn't have thrown it," admitted Cook, who finished with 316 yards and three TDs on 34 of 56 passing. "It was a bad read."
Northridge forced Weber to punt on its next possession and then Flowers hooked up with the nation's top receiver David Romines for a 21-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 21-all with 14 seconds left in the third.
CSUN then went ahead on a 62-yard TD pass to Jimmy Greninger and added a 10-yard TD run by Clarke.