Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Portland State
Game 6: Sixth-ranked Wildcats hit the road at Portland State
10/11/2022 2:38:00 PM | Football
Weber State has won seven-straight games overall and a school record seven-straight road games.
With an undefeated record, No. 6 Weber State hits the road for another Big Sky showdown as the Wildcats take on Portland State Saturday. The 'Cats and the Vikings will kickoff at 2 p.m. Pacific time (3 p.m. Mountain time) from Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon. It will be Weber State's first trip to Portland State since 2017.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
The Weber State radio coverage will be on KLO 103.1 FM "The Wave" with Steve Klauke and former Wildcat head coach and athletic director Jerry Graybeal on the call.
Live stats available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
Weber State beats Eastern Washington to move to 5-0
Weber State improved to 5-0 to start the season with a 45-21 home win over Eastern Washington last Saturday night in the annual Homecoming game at Stewart Stadium. The Wildcats scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to pull away.
Weber State had 460 yards of total offense with 237 yards pass and 233 yards rushing and held the Eagles to 321 yards.
The Wildcat defense held Eastern Washington to just 99 total yards in the second half.
Wildcats tied for best start in school history
Weber State is now 5-0 to begin a full season for just the third time ever, tying the 1968 and 1998 seasons.
Seven-game winning streak for Weber State
Dating back to the final two games of last season, Weber State has now won seven-straight games. The last team to beat the Wildcats was Portland State on November 6, 2021, in Ogden.
The seven-game winning streak is tied for the third longest winning streak in school history.
Wildcats up to sixth in national polls
With the win, Weber State is now ranked sixth in the country in both the AFCA Coaches poll and the Stats Perform poll. The Wildcats are one of four teams in the Big Sky in the top six in the country with Montana ranked third, Montana State fourth and Sacramento State fifth. WSU plays all three of those teams over the next four weeks.
Abraham Williams named Big Sky Player of the Week
In Saturday's win over Eastern Washington, Wildcat sophomore Abraham Williams returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. For his performance, Williams was honored as the Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.
He returned the kickoff in the second quarter that gave the Wildcats a 21-14 lead. It was the 12th 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Weber State history and the first career touchdown for Williams.
The Salt Lake City, Utah native is currently second in the country in kickoff return average. He has six returns for an average of 36.8 yards per return in the five games this season.
Wildcats take seven game road winning streak to Portland State
Weber State has won a school record seven-straight games on the road, which is currently tied with Sacramento State for the longest streak in the nation.
WSU's last road loss came in the season opener of the 2021 season at Utah. The Wildcats have won six-straight road games against FCS opponents and have won seven-straight road games against Big Sky opponents.
Saturday's game will be the 100th career game for Jay Hill at Weber State
Saturday's game at Portland State will be the 100th career game for Jay Hill as the head coach at Weber State.
Hill is in his ninth season as head coach and is WSU's all-time leader in career wins with a record of 63-36. His .636 winning percentage is the second-highest in school history and he is 46-17 (.730) in Big Sky Conference games, the best overall winning percentage.
Hill has led the Wildcats to four Big Sky titles and five appearances in the FCS Playoffs. He has been named the Big Sky Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region Coach of the Year during his career at Weber State. Later this season he will coach his 100th career game at Weber State.
The 100 games coached will tie Hill with Dave Arslanian (1989-97) for the most games coached in Weber State history.
Fourth quarter shutout
Through five games, Weber State is pitching a shutout in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats have not allowed a point in the fourth quarter of any game this season. Weber State is outscoring its opponents 38-0 in the fourth quarter of the six games this season.
In addition, Weber State is getting off to a fast start. The Wildcats are outscoring their opponents 69-26 in the first quarter of games this season. The 'Cats are leading 85-16 in the second half of the five games.
Weber State is 54-5 under Jay Hill with leading after three quarters.
Maxwell Anderson leads nation in interceptions
Wildcat junior cornerback Maxwell Anderson recorded his fifth interception of the season in Saturday's win. He picked off an Eastern Washington pass and returned it 26 yards.
The five interceptions are the most of any player in the country this season.
Defensive rankings
The Wildcat defense ranks high nationally in several statistical categories. Weber State is second in the country in interceptions with 11, second in red zone defense and third in team pass efficiency defense. The 'Cats are also fifth in scoring defense, allowing 11.8 points per game, and fifth in turnovers gained with 14 on the season.
In addition, Weber State ranks 11th in the nation in total defense, rushing defense and third down conversion defense.
Individual rankings
Individually on offense, sophomore quarterback Bronson Barron is second in the Big Sky in total offense at 247.4 yards per game and fourth in passing yards at 232 per game.
Senior wide receiver Ty MacPherson had a big game in Saturday's win with six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown in the win. He now ranks fourth in the Big Sky in receiving at 88.2 yards per game and has six touchdowns. Damon Bankston is fifth in the Big Sky in rushing at 69.6 yards per game after totaling 94 yards in Saturday's win.
Haze Hadley is third in the league in punt returns at 13.4 per return.
Records watch
Wildcat sophomore running back Dontae McMillan had 93 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's win. He also became the 32nd player in Weber State history to surpass 1,000 career rushing yards. McMillan has 17 carries for 1,032 yards and 12 touchdowns in his three seasons at Weber State.
MacPherson now ranks 18th in career receiving yards (1,830) and 24th in career receptions (113). Bronson Barron is 14th in career passing yards with 3,540 yards. Eddie Heckard ranks second in career pass breakups with 27 and Maxwell Anderson is fourth with 22.
Kyle Thompson moved into 10th in school history with his 10th career field goal.
Team captains
As selected by their teammates, Weber State has five captains for the 2022 season. This year's captains are junior offensive lineman Noah Atagi, junior cornerback Eddie Heckard, senior wide receiver Ty MacPherson, junior linebacker Winston Reid and senior safety Desmond Williams. MacPherson also served as a team captain during the spring 2021 and the 2021 seasons.
About Portland State
Portland State enters Saturday's game with a 2-3 record and has won its last two games after a difficult schedule to open the year. The Vikings started the season with a tough 21-17 loss at San Jose State where the Spartans took the lead with 1:11 remaining in the game. They then played another FBS opponent with a 52-6 loss at Washington and opened Big Sky play with a 53-16 loss at No. 2 Montana.
The Vikings are coming off a 35-27 home win over Northern Arizona and a 48-6 win last Saturday over Lincoln.
Through five games, the Vikings are second in the Big Sky in red zone defense at 73.9 percent. PSU is also third in sacks with 13 and fourth in opponent third down conversions. The Vikings rank fifth in rushing defense and seventh in scoring offense.
Head coach Bruce Barnum
The Vikings are coached by Bruce Barnum who is in his eighth season as head coach at PSU. Barnum is 28-46 overall and 19-31 in Big Sky games.
This is Barnum's 13th season overall at Portland State as he was the Offensive Coordinator for five seasons before becoming head coach. He played college football at Eastern Washington. Barnum was coached by Jerry Graybeal at Eastern Washington when Graybeal was an assistant coach for the Eagles. WSU Associate Head Coach Brent Myers was also on the EWU staff when Barnum played.
Series history
This will be the 38th all-time meeting between the two schools. Weber State holds a 22-15 overall lead over the Vikings. Portland State defeated Weber State 30-18 at Stewart Stadium last November, the last loss for the Wildcats.
In games at Portland State, the series is tied 9-9 all-time and Weber State has won four of the last five games on the road. This will be the first ever game for Weber State at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, where the Vikings have played the last four years.
The two teams have not met in Oregon in five years. The last meeting was on November 11, 2017, a 63-17 win for Weber State over Portland State at then Jeld-Wen Field. The Wildcats rushed for 421 yards in that game, that also included a kickoff return from freshman Rashid Shaheed.
The two teams also played an epic game in 2007 in Portland. The Wildcats beat the Vikings 73-68 in what is still the highest combined scoring game in FCS history.
Up next
After Saturday, the Wildcats are back on the road next week for a showdown at Montana State, who is ranked fourth in the country this week. The 'Cats then host Montana, currently ranked second, on October 29 and host Sacramento State, currently ranked fifth, on November 5.
