In football’s season opener, the Wildcats narrowly missed their first shutout since Nov. 18, 2017, when they faced the University of Tulsa Saturday night and lost 35-7. 

The Wildcats ended up scoring late in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard rush from Stone Earle, senior quarterback from Fort Worth. 

However, the team had several chances to score but could not reach the endzone despite being on the one-yard line. Head Coach Keith Patterson said the play calling was good, but the execution was what was lacking. 

Patterson said, however, he would have let the team try for a touchdown if they had reached the one-yard line again. 

“I’m just trying to show those guys that I believe in them, and I have confidence in them,” he said.

Patterson said the tide turned most when the offense was unable to get anything going in the second half, when they received the ball in the opponent’s half of the field twice, but he also said the defense did not help the team’s case by not getting any takeaways. 

“We didn’t create momentum defensively,” Patterson said. “We did not do it enough. We didn’t take the ball. We knew going into the game, one of the keys to victory was the ball.”

Moving forward, Patterson knows the team will be able to succeed, but it needs to rely more heavily on what is worked on throughout the week in practice. 

“Honestly, just looking at it, what we have to do better is just trust your training,” he said.