OGDEN — It's hard for them to admit, but the best thing that could have happened to the Weber State Wildcats this season was losing to Montana State.

Since their surprising loss to the Bobcats, the Wildcats have looked like the team everyone thought they would be during the 2009 season. They clicked on offense, defense and special teams in wins over Eastern Washington and Sacramento State, winning those two games by an average of 33.5 points.

"Probably, yeah, because they had been living on the edge since the Colorado State game," was coach Ron McBride's response when asked if the Montana State loss was a good thing for his team. "They were sitting there just good enough to get themselves in a position to win a game, thinking that the magic fairy is going to line up and win a game for them. They were waiting around for (Wildcats quarterback Cameron) Higgins or somebody to pull them out of a hole instead of everybody contributing in all phases."

The loss to the Bobcats was a wake-up call for the Weber State. Not only have the Wildcats performed much better on Saturdays, their preparation during the week has greatly improved.

"Our practices now are more intense," said Wildcats safety Jordan Brown. "You can tell the difference in practice the last two weeks than the previous two weeks (prior to the Montana State loss). You can tell they all want it."

Of course, not everything is rosy about Weber State's loss to Montana State. The Wildcats still have no margin for error in trying to win the Big Sky championship and returning to the FCS playoffs. Weber State still pretty much has its own fate in its hands, but it will have to win at Montana next week, and defeat other quality opponents in Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.

"It would have just been better to not let ourselves get in that situation where we have to have our backs against the wall," said safety Beau Hadley. "It's something we didn't want, but since it's here, we're trying to make it a positive thing and learn from it."

DEFENSE SHINES: The Wildcats' defense sometimes gets overlooked because of the team's playmakers on offense. But the unit deserves its due, especially after holding Eastern Washington and Sacramento State to one touchdown apiece the last two weeks. And against Montana State, Weber State's defense kept the team in the game.

"As a team, we're just playing great team defense," Hadley said. "Guys that haven't played much are stepping up. Freshmen and sophomores are playing and they're having big contributions."