Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
North Dakota
Weber State hosts North Dakota in FCS Playoffs first round game Saturday
11/22/2022 2:08:00 PM | Football
The two former Big Sky rivals will meet Saturday at 2 p.m. at Stewart Stadium in the first round of the FCS Playoffs.
It's playoff time for Weber State football. After closing out the regular season with a 9-2 overall record, the Wildcats are headed for the FCS Playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven years. Weber State will host the University of North Dakota this Saturday, November 26. The Wildcats and Fighting Hawks, former rivals in the Big Sky Conference, will kickoff at 2 p.m. at Stewart Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN+ and on the ESPN app with Ted Emrich and Tyoka Jackson calling the action.
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 ncaa.com.
Weber State reaches nine wins for just the sixth time ever
WSU closed the regular season with a 9-2 overall record and finished in a tie for third in the Big Sky at 6-2. Weber State has now reached nine or more wins in a season for just the sixth time in school history, with four of those seasons coming since 2017 under head coach Jay Hill.
Weber State is ranked ninth in the nation in this week's Stats Perform media poll and 10th in the AFCA Coaches poll. The Wildcats have been nationally ranked 20th or better in every poll this season and have been ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll for nine-straight weeks.
Weber State FCS Playoff history
This will be the 10th all-time appearance for Weber State in the FCS Playoffs. The first appearance for the Wildcats was in 1987 under head coach Mike Price. WSU also appeared in 1991, 2008 and 2009.
The Wildcats are headed to the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven seasons under head coach Jay Hill. WSU has competed in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and the spring 2021 season. The 'Cats reached the quarterfinals in 2017 and 2018 and the semifinals for the first time ever in 2019.
Weber State's all-time record in the playoffs is 7-9 and is 5-5 since 2016 under coach Hill.
Home sweet home
This is the fifth season WSU is hosting an FCS Playoff game, all coming since 2017. The Wildcats finished the regular season at 5-1 at home and WSU is 17-6 at home over the last four seasons.
Abraham Williams named National Player of the Week
Weber sophomore Abraham Williams was named the FedEx Ground National Special Teams Player of the Week after another historic performance in Weber State's regular season finale, a 33-31 win at Northern Arizona on Saturday. He was also named the Big Sky Player of the Week.
Williams returned his fourth 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown this season, which is a new Big Sky Conference single-season record. He finished the day with five returns for 198 yards for an average of 39.6 yards per return.
The Salt Lake City native leads the nation at 45.4 yards per return and is the only player in all of the NCAA (FBS, FCS, DII, DIII) with four kickoff returns for touchdowns and all four have been 100 yards.
Winston Reid named Buck Buchanan Award finalist
Weber State junior linebacker Winston Reid has been named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award. He is one of only three players from the Big Sky named to the finalist list. Reid leads the Wildcats and is fifth in the Big Sky in tackles at 8.6 per game. He has 95 tackles through 11 games with 57 solo tackles.
He also has 10 tackles for loss, eighth in the Big Sky. He is tied for second in the country with four forced fumbles. He also has three sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery on the season.
He was named the National Player of the Week after Weber State's win over Idaho State on November 12, after forcing three fumbles, with two strip sacks, one of which led to a Wildcat touchdown.
Reid is also serving as a team captain this season.
National rankings
Weber State has been near the top in several categories this season. The Wildcats currently lead the nation in kickoff returns at 34.8 yards per return.
On defense, Weber State is second in the country in third down conversion defense and third in team pass efficiency defense.
The Wildcats are also sixth in the nation in total defense, sixth in scoring defense and eighth in interceptions with 15. WSU is 10th in the country in passing defense and 10th in red zone defense.
Four field goals for Kyle Thompson
Wildcat sophomore Kyle Thompson made a career-best four field goals in Saturday's win, all coming in the second half. He made field goals of 39, 29, and 41 yards, then connected on a 23-yard field goal with five seconds left to seal the win.
Thompson is fourth in the nation this season in field goals per game at 1.55. He is 17 of 22 on field goals this season and a perfect 45 of 45 on extra point attempts. He now ranks eighth in WSU history with 33 career field goals in 28 career games.
50th Big Sky win for Jay Hill
Saturday's win at NAU gave head coach Jay Hill his 50th career Big Sky Conference win. He is the first coach in Weber State history to reach 50 conference wins.
In his ninth season at Weber State, Hill has transformed the Wildcat program and now led the Wildcats to six FCS Playoff appearances and four Big Sky Championships. He is WSU's all-time leader in coaching wins with a career record of 67-38 and is 50-19 in Big Sky Conference games.
Season trends
Weber State is 9-1 this season when leading after the first quarter and 41-6 in the nine years under coach Hill. WSU is also 9-0 this season when leading after three quarters (and 58-5 under coach Hill), but is 0-2 this season when trailing after three quarters.
The Wildcats are 8-0 this year and 54-87 under Jay Hill when leading their opponent in rushing yards and 7-1 this season when leading in passing yards.
Josh Davis moves up career records lists
In Saturday's win at NAU, Weber State senior Josh Davis rushed for 80 yards, after missing four of the previous five games with an injury. During the game, Davis moved into second place on the Weber State career rushing list, passing Hall of Famer Nick Chornous. Davis now has 3,643 career rushing yards, second-most in school history. He also passed Tim Toone and for fifth place on the career all-purpose yards list with 4,573 yards.
Davis, a two-time All-American and a three-time All-Big Sky first-team selection, has played in 48 career games at Weber State. He won the Jerry Rice Award as the National Freshman of the Year in 2018.
Records watch
Wildcat sophomore quarterback Bronson Barron ranks seventh in WSU history in career passing yards with 4,954 yards and is now eighth in career total offense with 5,119 yards in his 24 career games at Weber State. On the season, Barron is sixth in the Big Sky in passing at 212.5 yards per game and is eighth in total offense at 228.1 yards per game.
Ty MacPherson continued his strong season with 97 receiving yards and a touchdown on Saturday. He is now sixth in career receiving yards with 2,306 yards and is 12th in career receptions with 144. MacPherson is fourth in the Big Sky this season in receiving yards per game and has 917 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Eddie Heckard is second in career pass breakups with 30, trailing only former Big Sky MVP and current Buffalo Bill Taron Johnson at 42. Maxwell Anderson is third with 27 career pass breakups.
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 North Dakota
North Dakota finished the regular season with a 7-4 overall record and finished in a tie for third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference at 5-3.
In non-conference play the Fighting Hawks started the season with a loss at Nebraska and beat Big Sky member Northern Arizona 27-24 in Flagstaff. They also defeated Abilene Christian at home.
UND finished the season winning five of the last seven games, with the only two losses coming to No. 1 South Dakota State and No. 4 North Dakota State.
Head coach Bubba
The Fighting Hawks are coached by Bubba Schweigert, a North Dakota native, who is in his ninth season as head coach at UND. Schweigert enters Saturday with a 54-44 overall record at UND and is 30-23 in conference games. He has led the Fighting Hawks to the FCS Playoffs four times. Schweigert was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading UND to an undefeated conference record.
Series history
Weber State and North Dakota are renewing a previous Big Sky Conference rivalry. UND was a member of the Big Sky from 2012-2019.
Weber State holds a 4-1 all-time series lead, all coming from 2014-2019. The Wildcats won the first matchup in November 2014 in Grand Forks, the first career win for Jay Hill as head coach at Weber State. The Wildcats won again in 2015 in Ogden before the only North Dakota win coming in 2016 in Grand Forks. Weber State won games in 2018 in Grand Forks and 2019 in Ogden.
WSU is 2-0 all-time in the series in Ogden.
Up next
The winner of Saturday's game will play at Montana State on Saturday, December 3 in Bozeman in the second round of the playoffs.
