'We're never about consolation prizes': UWF football stumbles after second-half surge at FAMU

Momentum.

An eight-letter word that means something is moving. And generally, in the sports world, “momentum” is used in a positive light – moving forward. In football, it’s advancing down the field and scoring a lot of points.

Neither the University of West Florida football team nor Florida A&M University could seem to get an edge of the momentum during the first half, with the score tied 3-3 when teams headed back to their locker rooms.

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But three touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the third quarter from the Rattlers – including a touchdown just four minutes into the frame – and momentum shifted in favor of FAMU.

UWF just couldn’t catch up, resulting in a 31-10 FAMU victory on Saturday from Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.

“They had a couple momentum-changing plays, coming out to score right out of the half … and you could feel momentum going their way,” UWF head coach Kaleb Nobles said. “We end up throwing a tough interception – the ball gets batted and they make a big play. That basically put a stop to the momentum we had going. … A lot of improve on. I’m proud of our team. I’m proud of our effort. But we’re never about consolation prizes.”

Things weren’t perfect at halftime, with the Argos recording just 65 yards of total offense. UWF only crossed midfield – and stayed there – one time in the first half, resulting in Griffin Cerra’s first field goal of the 2023 season, a 31-yarder, to tie the game with 7:22 left in the half.

That was until the Rattlers made those second-half adjustments, with quarterback Jeremy Moussa taking charge of his offense. Moussa threw for 271 yards in the game with three touchdowns.

“It’s going to be good film to watch and get better about. I’ve got to get better as a coach. … . It starts from the person at the top. It starts with the guy that has the head coach title,” Nobles said. “We’ve got to get better as a team overall, and that starts with me.”

Minimal gains

Compared to previous weeks, where UWF was able to break out long gains, either in the air or on the ground, the Rattlers kept the Argos’ offense at bay.

The passing seen on Saturday was similar to UWF’s Week 1 game against Kentucky Wesleyan College – quick, short passes to receivers since the Panthers were playing off the ball. That style of play allowed shifty receivers – such as Caden Leggett or John Jiles – to make a couple moves and burst up the field.

While those passes were utilized against FAMU, the problem was the Rattlers’ defense was right on those receivers a majority of the time, limiting how many yards were gained after the catch. Peewee Jarrett went 16-for-37, throwing just 134 yards with a long throw of 23 yards. Leggett had that catch, which was the Argos’ lone touchdown of the night with 13:53 left in the game.

Even then, on the ground, the longest run was mustered by C.J. Wilson for a gain of 25 yards. He finished the night with just 57 yards rushing.

“Too often, the line of scrimmage was being moved back on run plays. That’s never going to lead to big, explosive runs,” Nobles said. “That’s going to be my challenge to (the offensive live) coming out of film on Sunday.”

Jarrett was also forced out of the pocket several times. He was hurried 14 times in the contest and sacked twice for a loss of 20 yards. Anthony Dunn Jr. had four of those quarterback hurries.

“I’m going to challenge our offensive line: we’ve got to get better up front,” Nobles said. “That starts with play calling. That starts with everything we’re doing. We’ve got to win our one-on-one battles up front. That’s what it’s all about.”

Penalties … again

It may seem repetitive to mark penalties as a problem for the second week in a row. But that’s exactly what they were on Saturday. The Argos lost considerably less yardage for penalties – only 99 yards against FAMU compared to 160 against McKendree University in Week 2 – but the actual number, 13, was nearly as many as Week 2 (15).

The difference in the game vs. the Rattlers was more in-play penalties. There were just a couple of personal fouls resulting in 15-yard losses. There were several holding calls against UWF offensive linemen.

“To me, that comes down to technique stuff. That comes down doing your job and winning your one-on-one battles,” Nobles said. “If you don’t win, you try to recover. Usually, that’s where you get penalties – holding, things like that. … We’ve got to get better at both lines of scrimmages and we’ve got to get better at every position overall.”

Between the miscues and the long gains from FAMU during the second half, Nobles called it a “momentum-killer” especially when the Argos scored off of Leggett’s touchdown.

Another “drive-killer” was the interception late in the game that tipped off Leggett’s hands in the endzone, only to be caught by Kym-Mani King for a touchback.

“Our guys know we’ve got to clean that stuff up,” Nobles said. “When you play somebody like that, those penalties come back to bite you in the butt.”

League play starts up

FAMU was a good benchmark entering Week 4 of UWF’s season. After a couple dominating victories in the first two weeks of the season, the Rattlers exposed some weaknesses in the Argos’ system that might not have been shown against KWC and McKendree – other than the aforementioned penalties.

But, for the most part at McKendree, the post-whistle penalties in Illinois, those calls were self-inflicted.

With a “great program” that FAMU head coach Willie Simmons has built, Nobles said the focus remains internal, “worrying about winning the right way.”

Given the strength of the Gulf South Conference, UWF has its work cut out for it during the week. Only GSC opponents remain for the rest of the Argos regular season. Conference play begins with the University of West Georgia on Saturday at Pen-Air Field – a program that recently announced it will make the jump to Division I starting in 2024.

“Any time you lose, there’s a lot to things to improve on. … We’re going to play great teams in this conference every week, starting next week with West Georgia,” Nobles said. “We’re going to let this one sting for about 24 hours and get going on West Georgia, and go figure out how to beat them. … It’ll be good to get in conference play.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF football falls to Florida A&M in Tallahassee after second-half surge