‘Dogs’ loss problematic

Once again, our football team had a chance to beat a Top 25-rated team and found a way to lose. There are a few Pollyannas out there who will say, “Oh, I don’t want to say anything bad…” Well, I’m not one of them.

The Fresno Bee’s Matt James put it in a nutshell: “The Bulldogs couldn’t put it away, as has been the case in so many big games.” So true. Alas, there was no Bernard Berrian to rattle the opponents’ cage with a 96-yard kickoff return like he did against 23rd-ranked Wisconsin in 2001.

“They made some stops at the end,” coach Pat Hill said. Yes, coach, but it’s your job, along with those on your staff, to teach these young men how to prevent that from happening. You used a similar excuse (“…you have to give a lot of credit to the defensive stand…”) last year following the humiliating loss to Wyoming in the prestigious New Mexico Bowl, when the offense failed to get into the end zone after four tries from the one-yard-line. It was Wyoming, for Pete’s sake.

More quotes from Matt James: “Somehow, someway, losing is infectious.” It certainly appears that way. “This team can play with pretty much anyone…” Yes, it can. It just lacks the character to beat them.

The first step to overcoming a problem is to admit that it exists. It’s time for this team to start ‘fessing up.

Michael Kincheloe
Mass Communication & Journalism