Those of you out there who actually believed that Sac State football was a legit winner, please give me a call because I?ve got an investment plan that you might be interested in. Don?t be too worried about it, this year?s team had a lot of us fooled. Just like the solar powered flashlight that you bought stock in last year, the 2000 Hornets have crashed and burned. No, the season isn?t officially over yet, but the promise: gone. The chance to make the playoffs: over. The motivation for fans to care: lost.

We all lent an eager ear this pre-season when coach John Volek and company got us excited about the prospects of a team on the rise. That we?d see the same team that went 6-5 last year, with four of those five losses coming by way of 13 points, they?d get over the hump this year and make a run at the Big Sky conference championship. Instead, we?ve watched them slip right back into mediocrity, once again a doormat for Big Sky opponents to wipe away the grass infested dirt clods from their cleats. The team that was supposed to have matured and learned what it takes to be a winner still cannot win the big games, and they continue to blow the close ones.

The final straw came on Saturday when a 20-0 halftime lead was squandered at Montana. The game was lost 24-20, when the offense couldn?t scrounge up a single score in the second half. This devastating loss came just two weeks after they fell to Idaho State 41-39. The team has just been unable to bridge the gap from being in the game, to winning the game.

Sure, they have three wins this year. But against who? Well, one Big Sky opponent?Weber State. That?s their one significant win so far.

They also beat Cal Poly, a team that had been outscored 146-69 this season before coming away with a 41-20 win against an even sadder Saint Mary?s squad who now stand at 2-4 on the season. Oh, by the way, Saint Mary?s is the other victory for Sac State this year.

Another notch on Herky?s bedpost. The two early wins against Saint Mary?s and Cal Poly did put Sac State in the top 25 of Division I-AA after the first two weeks. However, it only lasted for a quick minute because the competition of the Big Sky has simply buried the Hornets 5?10″ deep into the college football cemetery. Only Charles Roberts? quest for the NCAA rushing record and the upcoming Causeway rivalry are halting the production of a shiny new tombstone that will eventually read: what if?

What if Sac State could have pulled off any of their close losses? What if Charles Roberts would have scored on that 15-yard run in the 41-39 loss to Idaho State instead of fumbling at the one-yard line? What if Ricky Ray?s lateral pass against Montana wasn?t intercepted and the Hornets held on to win? What if?

We?ll hear the same story after this year that we heard last year. That the team will come back having learned from the tough losses that they had the previous year. Great, but for right now it just doesn?t seem to matter. The community has lost interest. The attendance for games is decreasing and the outside media attention has done little more than ignore Sac State football lately. It?s just an ugly scene.

Get that record Charles.Comments?-E-mail [email protected]