Union's football team could be 3-1. Instead, the Dutchmen are 1-3.

The difference comes down to a pair of games that were lost in the final minute of play. That's the time when clutch performances are required. In the past, the Garnet came up with the plays they needed to win. So far, not so much.

Against Rochester, Union bounced back from a lackluster first half and took the lead late in the game. But they couldn't stop a late drive by the Yellowjackets, and then, to make matters worse, they failed to score on the final play of the game.

On that final play with four seconds left, Union came out in the wrong formation. Freshman quarterback Andrew Connolly had to scramble for what seemed like forever before he flipped a pass into the far corner of the end zone. It was tipped away at the last moment, and Union dropped its Liberty League opener.

Saturday, the Dutchmen were trying to prevent their first 0-2 start in league play since the program joined a conference.

WPI's option-style quarterback Justin Wells gave the Dutchmen fits all afternoon. He had the WPI homecoming crowd on their feet as he combined for 300 yards of total offense between his rushing and passing yards. His 58-yard touchdown run occured on a simple keeper play off tackle.

Union did another good job of stopping the rush from the WPI tailbacks, but they did a horrible job defending Wells' running and the WPI passing game.

Meanwhile, Chris Coney ran the ball well, as usual, and Connolly made some nice passes, especially to Josh McKelligan, a tight end who has become his favorite receiver, and to converted quarterback Jared Gourrier, who is now the Dutchmen's primary deep threat.

What eventually doomed the Dutchmen was their special teams. Against Rochester, Union missed three PATs and a field goal. The Dutchmen also gave up an 85-yard kickoff return in that game. Against WPI, Union made some changes, installing Zach Epley as the kicker instead of Ben Rapple. But Epley also missed a PAT, and he misfired on what could have been the game-tying 27-yard field goal with about 35 seconds left in the game.

Don't blame this loss on Epley, though, because the Dutchmen blew several other opportunities to get the job done.

Head coach John Audino says he still sees potential in this team, and I agree. Coney is the real deal at tailback, and Connolly has a good arm. But there are holes in this team that must be filled. The loss of defensive lineman Sean Conerly to a season-ending injury is one of those holes. Special teams are still a problem, and the secondary play also needs tightening.

It's pretty obvious that the NCAA playoffs are not realistic for this team, but if the Dutchmen run the table, maybe the ECACs are a possibility.

Let's see how good the coaching staff is on rallying the troops. This team still must play two of the league's top teams, Hobart and RPI, on the road.

I'd be surprised if the Dutchmen hit bottom, but they must be careful, because there are many young players on this team, and they need inspiration from their leaders.