Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
UC Davis
Game 7: Wildcats host UC Davis for Homecoming game Saturday
10/10/2023 2:11:00 PM | Football
Weber State and UC Davis both 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play.
• It's back home again for the Weber State football team as the Wildcats take on UC Davis in the annual Homecoming game Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.
• Weber State is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play following Saturday's 27-10 home loss to Northern Arizona.
• The Wildcats are ranked 22nd in the nation in the Stats Perform poll and 23rd in the AFCA Coaches poll.
• UC Davis is also 3-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Aggies are coming off a 31-23 home loss to Montana last week.
• Weber State's Winston Reid had a career-high 16 tackles in Saturday's game against NAU.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will kickoff at 6:00 p.m. from Stewart Stadium in Ogden. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with Tony Parks calling the action.
Weber State's radio coverage will be on 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.
Wildcats drop home game against NAU
Weber State dropped its last home game, falling 27-10 to Northern Arizona last Saturday night. The Wildcats scored the first touchdown of the game but failed to score a touchdown again and gave up 20 points to the Lumberjacks in the second quarter.
NAU had 321 yards of total offense and held Weber State to just 180 yards.
Career-high in tackles and top 10 list for Winston Reid
A week after being named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week, Weber State senior Winston Reid added to his strong season with a career performance in Saturday's game.
Reid had a career-high 16 tackles in the game against NAU, the most tackles by a Wildcat in a game in eight years, since Josh Burton had 16 tackles in 2016. Reid had 10 solo tackles and six assisted tackles and also had two tackles for loss.
Through six games this season, Reid is eighth in the country in tackles at 10.8 per game. He has 70 tackles on the year with 41 solo and 29 assisted. He has 26 more tackles than the next closest Wildcat.
Reid is also sixth in the country in solo tackles and is second in the Big Sky in tackles for loss with 7.5.
He also moved into the Weber State career top 10 list in solo tackles, now with 143 solo tackles, tied for the eighth-most in WSU history.
Reid has played in 41 games in his Wildcat career that began in 2017 as a walk-on. He earned All-America honors last season and was named the Big Sky Preseason Defensive MVP. Reid now has 233 career tackles and 24 tackles for loss. In addition, Reid has been named to the watch list for the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl, the prestigious pre-draft game next February. He is one of five players from the Big Sky on the preseason watch list.
Two sacks for Keahnist Thompson
Weber State freshman transfer Keahnist Thompson had a big game for the Wildcats, recording two sacks against NAU. Thompson's to sacks accounted for a loss of 18 yards.
On the season, the Lakeland, Florida native, has played in all six games and has 16 total tackles with the two sacks on the year. He transferred to Weber State this summer after one season at Central Florida.
Wildcats one of six ranked Big Sky teams
The Big Sky Conference has six teams nationally ranked in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll, and has three teams in the top four.
Weber State is now ranked 22nd in the Stats Perform poll and 23rd in the AFCA Coaches poll. Montana State is ranked second in the country, Idaho is third and Sacramento State is fourth. Montana is 16th with Eastern Washington 21st. UC Davis and Northern Arizona are receiving votes in both polls.
National rankings
Weber State is second in the country in kickoff returns, averaging 28.9 yards per return. Abraham Williams is fifth in the nation at 33.2 yards per return. The Wildcats are 10th in the country in interceptions with seven, 13th nationally in red zone defense, and 16th in net punting.
Brayden Wilson leads the Big Sky and is 10th in the nation in tackles for loss with 10.
Jack Burgess first in Big Sky and second in nation in punting
Wildcat junior punter Jack Burgess continues to lead the Big Sky and now ranks in the nation in punting. Through six games Burgess has 30 punts for 1,402 yards, an average of 46.7 yards per punt, second-best in the country. He has a long punt of 70 yards and 10 punts of at least 50 yards.
Burgess, a native of Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia, has 80 punts in his two seasons with the Wildcats and has an average of 43.3 yards per punt, which is currently the fourth-best career average in school history.
Four All-Americans and eight All-Big Sky performers returning
Weber State has four returning All-Americans from last year's squad. In addition to Abraham Williams and Winston Reid, Maxwell Anderson and Noah Atagi also return as All-Americans. Atagi was an All-American last year and earned first-team All-Big Sky honors for the third-straight year.
Also returning are four other players that earned All-Big Sky honors in 2022. Haze Hadley (punt returner) and Jordan Lutui (offensive line) earned second-team honors, Ethan Atagi (offensive line) earned third-team honors and Damon Bankston (running back) earned honorable mention honors in 2022.
Mickey Mental takes over as new Wildcat head coach
Weber State is under the direction of first year head coach Mickey Mental who was named the 12th head coach in Weber State history in December. Mental served as the offensive coordinator for the Wildcats in 2022 before being named head coach. He took over for Jay Hill who left for BYU in December after nine seasons as head coach. Hill is Weber State's all-time leader in coaching wins with 68 and led the Wildcats to four Big Sky titles and six trips to the FCS Playoffs.
This is not the first time for Mental as a head coach. The Olmstead Falls, Ohio native spent two seasons as head coach at Division II Notre Dame College in Ohio, prior to coming to Weber State. In two seasons as head coach he posted a 16-2 overall record and a 13-1 record in conference play. In the spring 2021 season, he led the Falcons to a conference championship.
Wildcats fourth in Big Sky preseason polls
The Wildcats were also ranked fourth in the Big Sky preseason media and coaches polls for the second-straight year. Montana State was selected as the preseason favorite in both polls with UC Davis second and Sacramento State third in the coaches poll and Idaho second and Montana third in the media poll.
Oh brother
This year's Wildcat squad includes six sets of brothers. LJ and Maxwell Anderson, Ethan and Noah Atagi, Garrett and Trevor Beck, Bronson and Jagger Childs, Ishaan and Rishi Daniels, and Jordan and Masi Lutui are all on the Wildcat team this season.
Team captains
As selected by their teammates, Weber State has named four captains for the 2023 season. This year's captains are senior offensive lineman Noah Atagi, senior cornerback Maxwell Anderson, senior cornerback Marque Collins, and senior linebacker Winston Reid. This is the third-straight year for Atagi as a captain and Reid was also a captain in 2022.
About UC Davis
UC Davis enters Saturday's game with the same record as Weber State, 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play. The Aggies opened the season with a win at Texas A&M-Commerce, then had a loss at Oregon State, followed by a win over Southern Utah.
In Big Sky play, UC Davis lost by three points to Eastern Washington, beat Cal Poly, and is coming off a 31-23 home loss to Montana last weekend.
The Aggies are third in the Big Sky in total defense and fourth in rushing defense. They are also third in sacks allowed and fourth in red zone defense.
The Aggies are coached by Dan Hawkins who is in his seventh season at UC Davis. He enters Saturday's game with a 40-32 career record with the Aggies, including a 27-23 record in Big Sky play. He has twice led the Aggies to the FCS Playoffs and won a Big Sky title in 2018.
Hawkins in his 22nd years as a head coach and has over 150 wins. He has also spent time as a head coach at Willamette, Boise State, and Colorado.
Series history
This will be the 11th all-time meeting between Weber State and UC Davis with the Wildcats holding a 7-3 series lead. Weber State has won six of the last seven games against the Aggies, including a 17-12 win in Davis last year.
In games in Ogden, Weber State is 4-2 all-time, but UC Davis beat the Wildcats in the last game at Stewart Stadium, a 17-14 win in 2021.
Quick hits
Weber State is 3-0 this season when leading its opponent in rushing yards and 0-3 when trailing...WSU has outscored its opponent in three of the four quarters, every quarter except the second quarter. Weber State is outscoring its opponents 35-23 in the first quarter through six games, but has been outscored 82-20 in the second quarter this season, including 20-3 last week...WSU has been outscored 55-3 in the second quarter of the three Big Sky games...Weber State has 39 players on this years roster from the state of Utah. California is next with 21 followed by Texas with 12 and Idaho with 10.
Up next
After Saturday, the Wildcats will hit the road for two-straight games, beginning at Eastern Washington on October 21. After a bye week, the 'Cats will then play at Idaho State on November 4, before the final home game on November 11 against Idaho.
