Weber State Wildcats 2010 Review

2010 Record: 6-5 (5-3), Tied 3rd Big Sky
2010 Playoffs: None
2010 Schedule/Results
@ Boston College, L 38-20
Northern Colorado, W 50-47
@ Sacramento State, L 24-17
UC-Davis, W 20-9
Eastern Washington, L 35-24
@ Idaho State, W 16-13
Portland State, W 44-41
Montana, W 30-21
Montana State, L 30-21
@ Northern Arizona, W 27-26
@ Texas Tech, 64-21

OFFENSE
440.8 yards per game

Ron McBride's teams have usually known a thing or two about offense, and this edition of Weber State Wildcats were no different. The problem in the passing game was that Cameron Higgins made too many mistakes when games counted, having tossed 12 picks in 11 games against just 15 TD passes. He surely put up solid yardage, having passed for 2512 yards, but mistakes kill, and he made his share.
There issue with the rushing game was that there was not one main back to carry the load, as Bo Bolen rushed for only 704 yards as the team leader, and he only found the endzone 3 times. Vaingamalie Tafuna rushed for 10 TDs on the season, solid number, but only rushed for 551 yards. Josh Boone also rushed for over 500 yards. Tafuna is now gone, so the Wildcats will now have to find a new primary scoring back in their offense. Shouldn;t be a problem, but it sure would be nice to have one back who could carry the load with a complimentary back to carry up the back end of games.
Joe Collins blew up in 2010, as he grabbed 62 catches for 1046 yards and 6 scores, good for the 2nd best total in yardage in the conference. Mike Phillips added 52 grabs for 793 yards and 4 scores. The issue is that both players graduate, and their reserves are very young coming into 2011.

DEFENSE
442.5 yards allowed per game

Obviously, the defense had problems stopping people when it counted, or at all for that matter. Jordan Brown led the team in tackles as a DB, and that was mainly because the front seven was an open door for offenses to attack at will.
Other than LB Nick Webb, the Wildcats couldn't put pressure on the run game, and Webb only totalled 10 TFLs on the year. Not one Wildcat player ranked in the top 15 in the conference in sacks, a heinous stat line.
Playmakers in the secondary were lacking as well, as only David James ranked with 3 picks on the year.
This unit doesn't need improvement, it needs rebuilding.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Shaun McClain took on the PK job as a freshman, and he did a solid job, hitting 15 of his 20 FG attempts on the season. He will likely get even better as he develops in the next 3 seasons. Ron McBride has no concerns with this young man.
The punting game, however, leaves room for improvement. Josh Kealamakia did not quite hit for 40 yards per punt. He is going to have some work to do in spring camp to get his leg up to par, as with a defense as bad as this, you can use every yard you can get.
Jordan Brown averaged over 12 yards per punt return, but that number will be hard to replace in 2011, as Brown graduates.
Bo Bolen was a better weapon as a kick return man than at RB in 2010, as he rolled up 847 yards on the season.

FINAL NOTES

Weber State had issues on defense, and those are the issues that kept them hovering around .500 for the season. Also blame the fact that the Wildcats got overzealous with a murderous non-conference schedule with 2 FBS opponents, which was just crazy. The Texas Tech game was especially ugly.
With more attention on offense, finding a big play RB, and finding a QB that can step up and play mistake free football are the major obstacles that lead me to beleive that Weber State will find it tough going in 2011.