COLUMN: SEMO football plays to win without getting Paul McRoberts the ball -- wait, what?

Tom Matukewicz likes to use the phrase "man crush" to describe his affection for players, and he's probably used it to describe his relationship with senior wide receiver Paul McRoberts more than any other Redhawk.

So extensive was Matukewicz's admiration for the talents and character of McRoberts that in the offseason he was part of the creation of PaulMcRoberts.com, which labels the wideout as "legitimately one of the top wide receivers in the Football Championship Subdivision" and was designed to boast his status as an all-American and national player of the year candidate.

So deep was the coach's devotion to McRoberts that he said he was as good as any player he's coached that made it to the NFL, and he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that "he's like 7-11: He's always open. You just have to throw it."

It seems Matukewicz has forgotten that last bit, and the man-crush phase of the Matukewicz-McRoberts relationship officially got awkward on Saturday afternoon.

McRoberts, a guy drawing NFL scouts to practice on a regular basis, got two touches for 18 yards in an embarrassing loss to Division II Shorter University.

It was far from the Redhawks biggest issue of the day. The defense couldn't get off the field and while players Chad Meredith and Roper Garrett addressed the struggles with poise and determination, defensive coordinator Bryce Saia, we were told, had some place to be after the game and couldn't talk about it.

While I've been tracking the mysterious aversion to getting the all-everything receiver the ball, it wasn't at the top of my list of concerns following the loss until hearing how McRoberts, quarterback Dante Vandeven and Matukewicz each chose to address it.

"I do what I'm told, so it's just execution for me," McRoberts said respectfully. "If I'm told to block, I block no questions asked. That's all it is. I'm not here to coach, I'm here to play."

Asked if he was knocked off his routes or slowed by the defense somehow, he gave a simple "Nah" in reply.

"Not getting the ball doesn't bother me because I love doing what I'm told and trying to help my team in any kind of way." McRoberts added later. "I know the fans want to see me get the ball but it's not about the fans, it's about my team so execution is all it's about."

It was a much cheerier reaction than he offered following a season-opening loss at Missouri when both he and now-injured running back DeMichael Jackson were dejected and both openly said they thought they should have taken more chances on offense.

But taking chances is far too bold a phrase for anything this offense has done. The extremes the staff has taken to protect the ball, protect former starter Tay Bender from making mistakes in the passing game and protect Vandeven from who knows what have manifested into an offense that -- unless given absolutely no choice by the game situation and sometimes not even then -- is turning its best player into a blocker and a bystander. It's confounding, even for the players.

"From an offensive standpoint we do what we're told to do and we play the play that we're supposed to," Vandeven said without prompting after the game. "If Paul doesn't get two catches or he gets no catches a game that's because of the plays we're running. It's just all in the process of what we do in our offense."

Maketukewicz's suggestion after the Missouri loss that the gameplan, which included two passes that flew farther than five yards in the air, was designed to protect inexperienced players from injury against the Tigers' fierce front line among other things was widely accepted and even applauded. His insistence that he trusted Bender to pass, however, was proven hollow long before he chose to insert Vandeven last week.

Forced to attempt a comeback at ranked Indiana State, Vandeven was allowed to pass down the field and went 12 of 17 while McRoberts caught seven passes for 100 yards. The freshman QB also threw an interception, as he did on Saturday, but if every team reverted to the type of offense Southeast showed in the second half against Shorter after a single turnover, the game of football would take a step back into another generation.

Despite the pick a week ago, Vandeven still led the team back to have a chance to win the game before a failed two-point conversion with no time on the clock led to a one-point loss.

Even when Bender was allowed to throw the ball down the field against Missouri, McRoberts found plenty of room to catch two passes and set up the Redhawks' only score in a game they never really seemed to be playing to win on offense.

With the game on the line on Saturday and Southeast trailing its D-II opponent 26-21, the Redhawks never looked to McRoberts on an eight-play drive that stalled at the Shorter 31.

It was a fitting ending to a second half that featured just 25 passing yards on seven attempts and just seven points added to the scoreboard.

"We were running the ball really well and then all of the sudden we got behind the chains and then we went back to throw it and they were covering him," Matukewicz said following the loss, though his players didn't seem to think that was the case. "But we're going to distribute the ball. Lots of guys caught the ball. This isn't the Paul McRoberts offense."

No, it's not. Tremane McCullough's contribution of 166 rushing yards was vital to the Redhawks even being able to hang with Shorter. But there's a long way between the assertion that it can't be all about McRoberts or all about throwing the ball and the steady stream of handoffs, short slants and passes completed at or behind the line of scrimmage we've seen this season.

"I just want to win football games," Matukewicz said. "The last time I checked we're not playing for Paul. We're playing to win."

The last time I checked, whether you're playing for him or not, getting the ball to Paul McRoberts is a pretty good formula for winning football games.

You just have to throw it.