Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Idaho State
Wildcats host Idaho State in last regular season game
4/6/2021 3:25:00 PM | Football
• With the Big Sky title on the line, Weber State returns home for the final regular season game of the spring 2021 schedule when the Wildcats host Idaho State Saturday at Stewart Stadium. Kickoff with the Bengals will be at 1 p.m. and the game will be televised throughout the state of Utah on KJZZ TV. It will also be streamed online on Pluto TV 1054 and WatchBigSky.com, with the radio broadcast on 103.1 FM "The Wave".
Limited number of tickets available
Weber State is allowing 5,000 spectators to home games at Stewart Stadium, meaning a limited number of tickets are available. Fans can reserve tickets online at WeberStateSports.com or by calling the WSU Ticket Office at 801-626-8500.
Wildcats rally for road win at Southern Utah
Weber State scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to rally for a 19-16 road win at Southern Utah last Saturday to move to 4-0 in the spring season. WSU trailed 9-3 at halftime and trailed 16-9 after three quarters but rallied for the win in the fourth quarter. The 'Cats totaled 402 yards of offense and held the Thunderbirds to 236 yards.
WSU remains second in the nation in coaches poll
Weber State remained second in the nation in the AFCA Coaches national poll, and third in the Stats Perform poll. The second place ranking is the highest in school history. Weber State has been ranked in at least one of the national polls every week since November 2016. The 'Cats have been in the top 10 in every poll since October 2018.
James Madison is first in both polls with North Dakota State ranked second in the Stats poll and third in the coaches poll.
Big Sky title on the line
The Big Sky Championship will be on the line Saturday for the Wildcats. With a win, Weber State would clinch the outright title, the first outright conference crown in school history. WSU would also win its fourth straight conference title and eighth all-time. It would be just the second time in conference history that a team has won four straight Big Sky titles.
Home winning streak
Weber State also has a chance to set a new school record for consecutive home wins. The Wildcats have won 10-straight games at home entering Saturday's game, which is tied for the most in school history. Weber State won 10-straight in 1991-92. One more home win would give the Wildcats the school record. WSU's last home loss was in the quarterfinals of the 2018 FCS Playoffs against Maine.
Overall, the Wildcats have won 19 of their last 20 home games, and have won 14-straight home games against Big Sky opponents.
Freshman kicker Kyle Thompson earns Big Sky Player of the Week honors
After two field goals in Saturday's win, including a career long, Weber State freshman Kyle Thompson has been honored as the Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Thompson opened the scoring and ended the scoring in the win. In the first quarter, he connected on a career-long 51-yard field goal for the first score of the game. Then in the fourth quarter, he made a 19-yard field goal that broke a tie and gave the Wildcats the lead for good. He also was 1 of 1 on extra point attempts.
The American Fork, Utah native is 3 of 4 on field goal attempts this season and a perfect 11 of 11 on extra point attempts.
Desmond Williams anchors Wildcat defense in win
The WSU defense held Southern Utah to 236 yards, the lowest by a Wildcat opponent this season, including just 55 yards rushing. The Wildcats also forced one turnover, which was a forced fumble by Desmond Williams, which he also recovered. Williams led the team in tackles with nine, including seven solo tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
This season, WSU leads the Big Sky in scoring defense, total defense, passing defense and interceptions. Conner Mortensen and Williams each have 33 tackles on the season to lead the team and rank eighth in the conference. Mortensen is third in tackles for loss with seven and George Tarlas is fifth in sacks. Preston Smith leads the conference in interceptions with three and Maxwell Anderson and Eddie Heckard are both first in the league in passes defended. Williams is also first in forced fumbles and second in fumble recoveries.
Run game
On offense, WSU is second in the league in rushing offense at 225 yards per game and ranks fourth in total offense. In the seven seasons under coach Hill, Weber State is 20-1 when rushing for more than 200 yards in a game.
Individually, Josh Davis is first in the Big Sky and ranks 16th in the country in rushing, averaging 96.5 yards per game.
Records watch
Rashid Shaheed needs one more reception to become the 28th player in Weber State history to reach 100 career receptions...Josh Davis needs 116 yards to become just the fourth player in WSU history to reach 3,000 career yards...Those two players rank seventh and eight respectively in career all-purpose yards...George Tarlas, currently with 14, needs one more sack to move into the WSU all-time top 10.
No Senior Day
Even though Saturday will be the final regular season home game, Weber State does not plan to recognize any of its seniors prior to the game. Currently all seniors are expected to return for the fall 2021 season.
Team captains
Weber State has named six captains for the 2021 spring season, as voted on by the Wildcat players. This year's captains are sophomore offensive lineman Noah Atagi, junior running back Josh Davis, junior wide receiver Ty MacPherson, senior linebacker Conner Mortensen, senior wide receiver Rashid Shaheed and senior defensive lineman Jared Schiess.
About Idaho State
Idaho State enters Saturday's game with a 2-3 record in the spring season and is coming off a 24-22 home win over Idaho last weekend. Since losing to the Wildcats to open the season, the Bengals won at Southern Utah then had narrow losses to nationally ranked Eastern Washington and UC Davis, before Saturday's win over Idaho.
The Bengals rank second in the conference in passing offense, first downs and third down conversions. Tyler Vander Waal is second in passing and total offense and Malakai Rango is second in rushing at 74.8 yards per game. Tanner Conner is first in the league in receiving yards per game at 117.4 and Connor Wills is third in the league in tackles.
Earlier this season in Pocatello - WSU 49-21
This will be the second meeting of the regular season between the two schools. The two teams opened the spring season on February 27 in Pocatello with the Wildcats winning 49-21. The Wildcats scored 28 points in the third quarter and finished the game with 641 yards of offense, including 349 yards passing in the win. In his first collegiate game, Bronson Barron threw for 312 yards and four touchdowns.
Series history
WSU holds a 45-15 all-time series lead over Idaho State and the Wildcats have won six-straight and 17 of the last 18 games against the Bengals, including earlier this season.
In games at Stewart Stadium, Weber State is 23-5 all-time and has won 17 straight games. Idaho State's last win in Ogden came in 1984.
Up next
With the cancelation of the April 17 game at Cal Poly, this Saturday's game will be the final regular season game for the Wildcats. The 16-team FCS Playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 24, with the selection show on Sunday, April 18 at 9:30 a.m. on ESPNU.
