Williamsburg, Va. » Weber State's season is over and the Wildcats didn't even get the consolation prize of showing just why they deserved to be in the playoffs in the first place.

Almost nothing went the Wildcats' way as they lost 38-0 to the College of William and Mary in the first round of the FCS playoffs in Williamsburg, Virginia on Saturday.

Weber State finished the season with a 7-5 record.

"The turnovers, no rushing game and 4-of-15 on third downs pretty much tells the story," Weber State Ron McBride said. "They just outplayed us, basically."

For a quarter and a half, the teams matched each other's defensive intensity to a scoreless tie. But Weber State made the first mistake when quarterback Cameron Higgins threw an interception to William and Mary linebacker Jake Trantin with about nine minutes left in the second quarter and he returned it 60 yards for a 7-0 lead.

That started the Tribe's momentum and William and Mary had its best offensive output of the half with four minutes left to play. The Tribe capped off a 72-yard, 13-play drive with a 27-yard field goal by Brian Pate.

It seemed the Wildcats prevented a two-touchdown halftime deficit by making the Tribe settle for the field goal but another Weber State turnover set the tone for the rest of the game.

Higgins threw his second interception to B.W. Webb and there was no one to stop as he returned the ball 58 yards for a 17-0 halftime lead.

"The game was manageable at 10," McBride said. "But we threw the pick and let them get another score to put them up 17. That might have been the biggest play of the game."

And the momentum didn't stop there.

"Our offense got cranked up in the second half," William and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock said. "We talked to them at halftime that we're not a one-dimensional team."

The offense continued to click as the Tribe scored on their first drive of the third quarter. But it was the defense that ruled the game. William and Mary made receiver Tim Toone a non-factor as it held him to six receptions for 46 yards.

The only bright spot of the game may be that Trevyn Smith reached the 1,000-yard mark for the season, but just barely. The Tribe held him to 22 yards on 13 carries. As a team, the Wildcats had 167 yards passing and -6 rushing yards. Meanwhile, the Tribe had 408 yards of total offense.

"When our offense isn't in a rhythm, we're way off," Toone said. "They brought the pressure. From the beginning to the end, we could never find that rhythm and get in sync with Cam."

Higgins threw two more interceptions in the second half. He also had a fumble and finished the day completing 21 of 40 passes for 167 yards. Besides being one of the lowest offensive productions of the season, it was the first time the Wildcats have been shut out since Cal Poly beat them 17-0 on Sept. 9, 2006.