By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES – The compliments came for the Northwestern State football team following its most recent home game – a six-point loss to Prairie View A&M on Sept. 7.
Two weeks later, as the Demons return home to face Weber State at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+, first-year head coach Blaine McCorkle is looking for a homonym – specifically a complement.
“We’ve got to help each other out in all three phases,” McCorkle said. “That’s one thing last Thursday night in Mobile (against South Alabama) we had to force ourselves to do. The offense had to get away from its game plan a bit to slow the game down, and we had to adjust some things in the kick game to protect our returns. One of the things we have to do as we grow and mature as a program is learn to play complementary football, help each other out and put together a true four-quarter team effort.
“If the defense gets a turnover, we have to capitalize. If the offense gets in a bind, the defense has to find a way to flip the field position. Those are all things that are really important. We’re making progress, and we’ll get there. That’s part of the growth process as you build a program.”
In the Demons’ Week 3 loss at South Alabama, Northwestern failed to force a turnover for the first time this season while committing four turnovers themselves. In the first two games, the Demons (0-3) were a plus-3 in turnover margin and had scored 21 points off their four forced turnovers.
Winning the turnover battle against Weber State (1-2) would aid the Demons in slowing down the No. 11 rushing offense in the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Wildcats average 206 yards per game on the ground, playing to type for a Big Sky Conference team. With nine days to prepare for Weber State following a loss at South Alabama, the Demons have kept their focus on complementing one another.
“(McCorkle) brings it up in almost every meeting and practice,” linebacker Danny Sears said. “He brought it up after the (South Alabama) game. That’s a huge part of the game – going from scoring to having a three-and-out to having a touchback on special teams. It all comes together. You’re only as good as your other side of the ball. It’s an important part of the game, and he’s made it a pretty big point.”
Stopping the run will be a pivotal point for the Demons, who limited Prairie View to 98 rushing yards in their lone FCS vs. FCS game of the first three weeks.
Meanwhile, Northwestern allowed more than 300 yards rushing in each of their two games against FBS opponents, including 363 at South Alabama.
“We have a chip on our shoulders now, as we should,” Sears said. “If you’re not angry about what happened last week, you’re not doing this for the right reasons. Coach McCorkle has a great Bible quote for us. You’re allowed to be angry, but you can’t sin with that angriness. You should be angry. You’re allowed to be. Now, we have to go play with that angriness.”
In the Demons’ first home game, they played in front of the largest Turpin Stadium crowd since 2021, providing a homefield advantage.
A repeat of that atmosphere would provide yet another complement for which McCorkle has searched.
“Two of our first three games have been in FBS stadiums with a little bigger crowd and atmosphere, but the game we had against Prairie View two weeks ago was just as loud and exciting a homefield advantage as the two FBS stadiums we played in,” he said. “I challenge the people – if you came to the game two weeks ago and had a good time and you like watching good football – come back again this week. These kids still need you in their corner.”