This is already a weird season.
The week one comeback win against South Dakota Mines was too close for comfort and the most recent win against Eastern New Mexico raised a couple eyebrows for both good and bad reasons.
Let’s take this last game for example. CMU went into the locker room for halftime up 31-0 and were completely dominating Eastern New Mexico. The running game was back on point and the rest of the offense was avenging the slow first half start from the week before.
However, the second half was a bit concerning. The triple option attack of the Greyhounds finally caught up to the Mavericks. 21 points were put up against the CMU defense despite the fact that Eastern New Mexico passed for only 18 yards. The points came on the ground as 327 yards were accounted for via the rushing attack.
This shows the Mavericks had a tough time making game time adjustments to completely shut down the offense. The same problem was present the week before against the Hardrockers. SDMT got ahead of CMU early and forced them to fight back from 17 points down.
So what should have been two easy wins turned into wins with rising concern in both games.
This could be due to the fact that the Mavericks are young. 22 seniors lost after last season and only six returning starters on both sides of the ball left room for inexperienced team play and a lack of chemistry. In week one against the Hardrockers, the Mavericks played the worst football they have had in a long time.
Eystin Salum is having a tough time getting going as the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Offensive Player of the Year had 20 incompletions in week one and threw for only 184 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Eastern New Mexico.
Salum did, however, find his legs again. He rushed for 93 yards off of 17 attempts last Saturday.
Despite the lack of consistency and experience in the CMU locker room, there are positives that can be built upon to keep a zero in the loss column.
True freshman Lake Makakona is a breath of fresh air for the Mavericks. After losing David Tann from last season, the Mavericks’ rushing attack was in need of a primary three-down back. Makakona came out of nowhere and has seemingly claimed the spot. The Utah native elevated the Mavericks in week one with his two fourth-quarter touchdowns and then came back the next week and added two more touchdowns on top of his 98 yards rushing.
Other offensive entities like Peter Anderson and Corbin Covey are catching key passes for the Mavericks but it appears CMU will now rely on their explosive running game as the season goes on.
So the question is what will happen next? Will CMU find balance and use their explosive offense and blend it with their young but energized defense in order to get more sound wins? Or will opposing teams exploit those weaknesses and shut down the Mavericks for good?
The next game against Western State will be a good chance for CMU to get their team on the same page and attempt to get a solid win all around against the Mountaineers.
Last year CMU defeated Western State 49-23. This year it will be up in the air on how this game plays out. The Mountaineers are 0-2 with their most recent loss coming against South Dakota Mines who gave the Mavericks trouble in week one.
The key to this week has to be finding that balance. Believe it or not, CMU is still trying to find their rhythm for the year. It is week three, but the coaches that came in the spring and the early fall are still as fresh as a newborn child. Players are still adjusting to how each coach controls their section of the team and the new starters still have yet to find consistent fluidity with each other on the field.
The game against Western State will be in Gunnison and will kickoff on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m.
