OGDEN — Weber State gave Ron McBride a nice birthday present with a 26-14 victory over Sacramento State on Saturday, but the win would never have come without a severe halftime tounge-lashing from the seasoned coach.

McBride, who celebrated his 66th birthday on Thursday, said he used every superlative in the book in a locker-room tirade after watching his team play flat in the first half.

"It probably wasn't good for the missionaries," McBride said.

But the players took the message to heart.

Trailing 13-14 early in the fourth quarter, the WSU defense came alive when it forced three fumbles that translated into 13 points and held Sacramento State scoreless. Joe Johnson kicked two field goals and Zach Hall sealed the win with a 12-yard touchdown run late in the game.

WSU defensive lineman Shane Barkdull, who finished with two sacks and two fumble recoveries, said the halftime speech was the turning point for the Wildcats.

"(Mac) lit a fire under some guys and we came out and played," Barkdull said. "He got in our faces and challenged us. We stepped up in the second half and responded."

WSU linebacker Eric Jones echoed the sentiment.

"We knew we were the better team. (In the first half), we just thought they were going to come in and just lay down for us," said linebacker Eric Jones. "When we decided to play, the game went like we thought it would go."

Despite scoring on a 19-yard pass from Ian Pizarro to Lynzell Jackson, the Wildcats trailed Sacramento State 14-7. McBride was livid. As part of his half time verbal thrashing, he told the defense if it gave up a touchdown in the second half, don't bother coming back.

"Football players don't understand reasoning. You try to reason with them, they don't understand that. But if you rip them, they get the message," McBride said. "Then we took over. I hate no-effort football."

The defensive effort sparked the offense to make the necessary plays. Hall finished the game with 24 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a 47-yard run in the third quarter where he stiff-armed two defenders on his way to the end zone. Sione Havili rushed 12 times for 72 yards, including a 42-yard scamper. McBride said the two tailbacks really bailed the offense out.

Sacramento State (2-5, 1-2) took the lead in the first half on two short touchdown runs by quarterback Chris Hurd. The Hornets are now 0-5 when playing the Wildcats in Ogden.

Sacramento State coach Steve Mooshagian felt the Hornets gave the game away.

"We gave Ron McBride a really nice birthday present called turnovers. When you do that you are not going to win football games," Mooshagian said. "I still think we were the better football team, it didn't show on the scoreboard, but we led for three quarters and they beat us in the fourth quarter."

After dropping two heart-breaking losses to ranked opponents over the last two weeks, Barkdull said Saturday's victory was very significant.

"This one was a huge win because it gets our minds right and picks us up," Barkdull said. "I think that was one reason we came out flat was because of those two losses. Hopefully we can keep this ball rolling."

The Wildcats travel to play Eastern Washington next Saturday.