Weber State football notebook: Not in control of own playoff shot

OGDEN — With their bye week on tap this week, the Weber State Wildcats have time to regroup and refocus after their humbling loss at Montana on Saturday.

The Wildcats now have no shot at repeating as Big Sky champions, and making a return trip to the FCS playoffs is a long shot. Weber State wraps up its season with home games against Northern Arizona on Nov. 14 and Cal Poly on Nov. 21.

Weber State had what coach Ron McBride called a "mind-cleansing" film session on Monday, will take today off and return to practice on Thursday.

"You can carry on a thing like this (the Montana loss) through the rest of the season, so you've got to cleanse their minds and get it out of their minds, and you've kind of got to reset your goals of what you want to do," McBride said. "We still have a legitimate shot to get into the playoffs. We really have to win our next two games."

But winning their next two games might not be enough for the Wildcats to qualify for the FCS playoffs. The four losses they've suffered, including bad ones to Colorado State and Montana State that McBride said were "thrown in the garbage can," will probably keep them out of the 16-team playoff field.

"I don't see any way that Weber State earns an at-large bid with four losses," said Dave Coulson, the FCS executive director for The Sports Network. "There are going to be too many one-loss, two-loss and three-loss teams trying to gobble those up. Weber State killed itself with throwing away wins over Montana State and Colorado State in the final minute of those games. It is unfortunate that one of the most talented teams in the country and one that is capable of beating any team in the country will be on the sidelines for the playoffs."

Weber State would still likely finish in second place in the Big Sky if it beats Northern Arizona. Since 1981, there have been only two seasons that the conference has gotten just one team into the playoffs. Even if Weber State takes second place, Coulson said a team that finishes below the Wildcats in the conference standings could get into the playoffs instead of them. It's also a strong possibility that Montana will be the only Big Sky team in the playoffs.

"Finishing second isn't going to make a difference," Coulson said. "The only way the Big Sky gets a second bid is if Northern Arizona, Eastern Washington or Montana State finishes with three losses."

The Wildcats would like to think that their difficult schedule will help their cause with the FCS playoff committee. They played two FBS teams in Wyoming and Colorado State to start the season, and are barely having their bye week this week.