November 17, 2012 at 7:09 PM

Zach Zwinak’s ability to hold onto the ball has been questionable and he didn’t do much to silence his critics on Saturday.

Despite his 135-yard rushing performance, a third-quarter fumble and bobbled touchdown reception are a cause for concern.

In all, Zwinak coughed the ball up twice, recovering one fumble himself, and also came close to having his 16-yard touchdown reception overturned after losing the handle of the ball shortly after securing it.

Zwinak said coach Bill O’Brien did not have pleasant words for him following the lost fumble, and his coach explained himself after the game.

“That was a bad fumble that he had today and he knows that was. I’m going to be hard on him because I just think he is a heck of a player, so he’s got to get better there,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien added that the coaching staff has tried to combat Zwinak’s ball handling issues with added practice specific to ball security, yet they have continued to hold him back.

Meanwhile, the running back also struggled to keep the hold on his touchdown catch, on which he was wide open. Although the refs upheld the catch, Zwinak said he was lucky the play was not overturned after he dropped the ball.

“My only reaction is someone was looking out for me, that’s all I got to say,” Zwinak said.

The redshirt junior, who was listed as the sole starter for the first time this week, leads the team with 90.3 all-purpose yards per game but said he has much to work do before becoming a complete player.

“It’s hard to be perfect every single time and I have a lot of growing and learning to do as a player.”