Weber State’s 571 yards of offense at Cal in 2017 are much more the exception than the rule for an FCS team facing a power-conference FBS opponent. The Wildcats’ next three games against power opponents were all at Utah, games in which WSU averaged 152 yards per game.

So Saturday’s 253 yards at Washington were decent, but Weber State came away with just three points in five trips to Huskies territory — giving the Wildcats plenty to work on ahead of their home and Big Sky opener this week against Portland State.

“Got to be more efficient in the passing game. Just looking at the numbers, it’s easy to see,” WSU head coach and offensive coordinator Mickey Mental said. “And, we’ve got to get the ball carrier down on defense, we missed too many tackles. The good thing is, it’s all correctable stuff.”

Otherwise, Mental said he was encouraged by his team’s effort.

“They’re together as a group. They don’t splinter off when things get rough, they stayed together. So I like that aspect,” Mental said. “I like where we’re at right now from a practice standpoint this week.”

Weber State’s depth chart for Week 2 looks identical to Week 1, though one unwritten change was apparent by Wednesday: sophomore guard Vae Soifua will be out of action for a handful of weeks after a lower-leg injury late in the loss at Washington.

“Still undetermined on length,” Mental said. “Shouldn’t be too long but we’re still weighing that.”

Roy High alum and redshirt freshman Cole Millward finished the Washington game in his place and, depth-chart-wise, likely gets the start on the offensive line against PSU.

Mental said the Wildcats otherwise came away healthy from the road trip.

WILDCATS NO. 24

Weber State fell to No. 24 in this week’s STATS Perform FCS Top 25. The Wildcats remain one of six Big Sky teams in the top 25.

Montana State and Montana switched spots at Nos. 3 and 4, Idaho and Sacramento State stayed put at Nos. 7 and 8, and UC Davis remains at No. 18.

South Dakota State and North Dakota State have the top spots nationally.

The biggest piece of Big Sky injury news came at Idaho, where starting quarterback Jack Layne had surgery to address a broken collarbone suffered in their thrilling, 24-14 loss at FBS No. 3 Oregon. Layne threw for 168 yards in the loss and scored a rushing TD that made it 17-14 in the fourth quarter.

MISSED PENALTY

Washington submitted a second-quarter play for review to the Big Ten after senior tight end Quentin Moore was injured, and the conference confirmed an ineligible Weber State player injured Moore, according to reporting from the Seattle Times.

Attempting to substitute after an 8-yard Washington pass play, Weber State sent several players to the sideline, including senior linebacker Garrett Beck. But skipping a huddle, the Huskies lined up quickly for the next snap and Beck was out of bounds when the snap occurred. He re-entered and made an otherwise legal tackle on Grimes, but one that resulted in a leg injury.

A 5-yard penalty should have been assessed — though, the Big Ten said in a release, if referees had seen the penalty live it would not have resulted in an immediate stoppage.

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