PENALTIES, ERRORS PLAGUE CSUN TV AUDIENCE SEES MATADORS' LATEST MELTDOWN WEBER STATE 31, CSUN 14.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

OGDEN, Utah - There was no reason to be concerned about a second-half collapse. That's because it happened in the first half.

The Cal State Northridge football team self-destructed in front of 8,812 fans Thursday night at Stewart Stadium. And it happened in front of a televised audience on Fox Sports West and Fox Sports Northwest.

CSUN faltered behind a plethora of mistakes in a 31-14 loss to Weber State.

The Matadors (1-4) looked anything but inspired as they had two turnovers, five costly procedure penalties and plenty of missed tackles and dropped passes. That was just the first half.

CSUN has all but eliminated itself from its last shot at the Big Sky Conference title, falling to 0-3. And it hasn't even played top guns Montana and Portland State yet. So much for leaving the Big Sky with a bang.

``It seemed like it was the first game again,'' quarterback Marcus Brady said. ``The mistakes - a lot of mental mistakes - were mistakes weshouldn't be making this late in the season.``

CSUN had two turnovers in the first quarter and was lucky to be down only 14-0 at halftime.

CSUN hit a low point in the second quarter when it started a drive just outside the red zone and still couldn't come up with any points. CSUN got the ball at Weber State's 24-yard line when Shane Theobald fumbled after a catch. Linebacker Peter Kieus was there for the recovery, but the offense went nowhere.

Fullback Crayton Milton was stuffed for no gain. Brady hit Gil Rodriguez for a 5-yard gain. Then a false-start penalty pushed the ball back five yards and D.J. Hackett dropped a pass on third down.

That's how most of the night went.

Kicker Derek Brown then missed a 42-yard field goal, which hit the left upright.

CSUN had a false-start penalty - the fifth such penalty in the first half - on that drive.

Brady connected with Hackett for touchdown passes covering 54 and 4 yards in the fourth quarter. Hackett's second touchdown, which pulled CSUN within 14 at 28-14 with 9:38 left, was set up by a 54-yard catch by Drew Amerson.

Brady fumbled on a series in the first quarter. He scrambled for what would've been a first down at Weber State's 33, but the turnover negated alengthy drive that started at CSUN's 25.

By contrast, Weber State started out by marching 80 yards in 14 plays. Running back Jordan Miller - who started for the injured Johnnie Gray - caught a 14-yard touchdown on a screen pass to put the Wildcats up 7-0.

On the ensuing series, Julien Sells returned a kickoff 46 yards to giveCSUN great field position. But receiver Drew Amerson fumbled after whatwould've been a first-down catch.

``We just took three steps back,'' CSUN coach Jeff Kearin said. ``It's really disheartening. We're just not getting it done.''

Weber State capitalized and scored on the next series. The Wildcats went 75 yards in seven plays and scored on Jon Jefferson's 10-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Cole Cooper.

CSUN tailback Bruce Molock, who ran for 199 yards on 36 carries last week, was held to just 16 yards on five carries in the first half. He left the game with a pulled groin.

Defensive back Cory Oggs had a first-half interception, giving CSUN the ball at Weber State's 49.

Same story, different series. CSUN went three plays and out. And again, the series was plagued by a false start.

CSUN ran six plays in its first possession of the second half and then just three in the second series.

The Matadors got on the scoreboard when Brady found Hackett for a 54-yard reception. Hackett had dropped a pass earlier, but CSUN went back to the freshman, who beat a gambling defensive back and outran the secondary to cut CSUN's deficit to 14-7.

Weber State answered on the next series. The Wildcats went 55 yards in 3:16 and Miller capped the drive with a 3-yard run. Weber State took a 21-7 lead late in the third.

Last week, the Matadors ran the ball 60 times - an unheard of number for a passing team - but it wasn't enough as Idaho State pulled out a 31-30 overtime win.

Weber State was the successful running team on Thursday.

CSUN's rushing performance last week made Weber State coaches develop different defensive strategies. The CSUN offense couldn't do much of anything against the Wildcats.

``We can't really go to the playoffs (because of NCAA probation) but we do want to make an impression,'' Molock said.