A look at the Terriers' playoff chances

Let's face it. Wofford's win on Saturday against Samford was big--there's no doubting that--and a crucial road conference victory, but in the grand scheme of things, it's going to be tough for the Terriers to bring their efforts into a playoff situation.

Wofford would, first off, have to win out. If the Terriers don't hold up their part, everything else is voided. As part of that scenario, the Chattanooga game would be of utmost importance, although every contest would have to be treated as such, with no game ignored. 

If the Terriers do win every game left on the schedule, including the aforementioned matchup at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga on Nov. 8, that would leave both squads with a single SoCon loss. The Mocs would have to overpower Western Carolina, who they will meet in Cullowhee on Nov. 1, and the Catamounts would have to suffer a setback at the hands of someone else as well.

That would leave the Terriers and Chattanooga as the lone teams with just one SoCon loss, and Wofford would own the tiebreaker and the automatic bid.

The above scenario is the easiest, and as far as this writer can forsee, the only way the Terriers would have any kind of a shot of having a postseason this year. Whether any of those things will happen seems unlikely, but you never know.

However, Wofford has, in a way, been doomed from the start.

Being slated with a schedule that contained two non-Division I games and a single winnable Divsion I contest proved to be the Terriers' downfall, for the playoff selection committee seriously considers a hopeful for an at-large bid if they have seven Division I victories. 

The first nail in the coffin was the frustrating setback to Gardner-Webb. Two Saturdays ago, the loss against Western Carolina almost took the Terriers out completely. The latter occurrence also hurt Wofford's chances at a conference title, the only sure-fire way to get into the postseason.

Another thing to consider is the fact that this season partly serves as a time for the players, who are predominately young, to gain valuable game experience and to mature within the Terriers' system. However, the chances at a playoff run are never out of the question for Mike Ayers' squad.

What will happen in the coming weeks? There's no way to know for sure. We, as Terrier faithful, can just have faith in this obviously capable squad, as they've shown us in recent games, and hope for the best as we continue to power through the final stretch of the season.