Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Cal Poly
Game 11: Wildcats head to Cal Poly for final regular season game
11/14/2023 5:26:00 PM | Football
Weber State looking to close the year with three-straight wins and seeking ninth-straight winning season.
• Riding a two-game winning streak, Weber State closes out the season on the road this Saturday night as the Wildcats take on Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.
• Weber State is 5-5 overall and 3-4 in Big Sky play. The Wildcats are coming off a 31-29 win over No. 4 ranked Idaho on Saturday at Stewart Stadium in the final home game of the season.
• Cal Poly is 3-7 overall and 1-6 in Big Sky play.
• Weber State is seeking its ninth-straight winning season.
• The Wildcats have won five-straight against Cal Poly.
• Winston Reid was named the National Defensive Player of the Week.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will kickoff at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time (6 p.m. Mountain time) from Mustang Memorial Field Presented by French Hospital. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
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 win second-straight with upset win over No. 4 Idaho
Weber State won its second-straight game and upset a top-five team in the country with Saturday's win over No. 4 Idaho. The Wildcats trailed 10-0 early in the second quarter but outscored the Vandals 14-3 in the second quarter to take the lead. The Wildcats extended the lead to 10 points late in the game and held on for the win.
Winston Reid named National Defensive Player of the Week
After a career performance in a win over a nationally-ranked opponent, Weber State senior Winston Reid has been named the FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week.
On Senior Day, Reid had a career performance in helping the 'Cats to the win. He posted a career-high 17 tackles with seven solo and 10 assisted tackles. The 17 tackles are the most in a game by a Wildcat in nine years. It's also the most tied for the most in a game in a season by any player in the Big Sky. He also had 1.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two quarterback hurries, and one pass breakup.
He is now eighth in the nation in tackles at 11.0 per game and is seventh in the country in solo tackles at 6.3 per game. This is Reid's second National Player of the Week honor as he also earned the honor in November 2022.
He has played in 45 career games in his career at Weber State. He has been a part of the Wildcat program since 2017.
He now ranks in a tie for third in Weber State history in career solo tackles with 165. The forced fumble is also the ninth of his career, which is tied for the most in school history.
Reid was named the Big Sky Preseason Defensive MVP and earned All-America and All-Big Sky honors last season.
Two touchdowns for Kris Jackson
Another Wildcat senior came up big in Saturday's win as senior running back Kris Jackson rushed for 84 yards and had two touchdowns in the win.
Jackson had 16 carries for the 84 yards. He had touchdowns of one yard and three yards in the second quarter as the Wildcats took the lead. He had a long run of 25 yards.
The two touchdowns give him seven rushing touchdowns this season and he moved past Josh Davis into sixth in career rushing touchdowns with 28.
Jackson has rushed for 455 yards and seven touchdowns this season and ranks 17th in the Big Sky in rushing.
He has played in 45 games in his Wildcat career and has 1,249 rushing yards, 28th-best in Weber State history.
Big return day for Haze Hadley
Yet another senior had a big day on special teams as senior Haze Hadley had two punt returns for 89 yards, an average of 44.5 yards per return and had a career-long 71 yard return in Saturday's win.
Late in the third quarter, with the score tied 21-21, he returned an Idaho punt 71 yards to the 12-yard line. That set up a Weber State touchdown.
Hadley ranks second in the Big Sky and 17th in the nation in punt returns at 11.3 per return. He ranks second in school history with 809 career punt return yards.
He has played in 41 career games at Weber State over the last five seasons.
Two sacks for Jack Kelly, aka Sack Kelly
Weber State sophomore Jack Kelly recorded two more sacks in Saturday's win. He leads the Wildcats, is fourth in the Big Sky, and is 20th in the nation in sacks with 8.5 this season. He has had two sacks in each of his last two games and has recorded two sacks three times this season.
Kelly is also first in the Big Sky and 12th in the country in fumbles recovered with two and forced fumbles with three. Kelly has 9.5 tackles for loss on the year.
Wildcats seeking ninth straight winning season
At 5-5 overall, Weber State is looking to finish the year with three-straight wins, which would also give the Wildcats another wining season. It would be the ninth-straight winning season for Weber State. The current eight-straight winning seasons is already the most in school history.
National/Big Sky rankings
Weber State is second in the nation in kickoff returns at 26.1 yards per return and Abraham Williams is fifth in the country at 30.2 yards per return.
The Wildcats are also eighth in the nation in net punting and Jack Burgess is first in the Big Sky and second in the country in punting at 47 yards per punt.
Weber State is 13th in the country in sacks with an average of 2.7 per game. WSU has recorded 10 sacks in the last two games. The 'Cats are also 22nd in the country in red zone defense.
Season trends
Weber State is 5-1 this season when leading its opponent in rushing yards and is 0-4 when trailing. The Wildcats have also trailed in passing yards in all 10 games this season. The 'Cats are 4-0 when scoring 30 or more points and 1-5 when scoring less than 30 points. WSU is 3-0 when leading in turnover margin and 1-4 when trailing. The Wildcats are 3-0 when leading at halftime and 1-5 when trailing at the break. WSU is also 4-0 when leading after three quarters and 1-5 when trailing.
Mickey Mental concluding first year as 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 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 Cal Poly
The Cal Poly Mustangs enter Saturday's season finale at 3-7 overall and 1-6 in Big Sky play. The Mustangs have lost six of their last seven games, with the only conference win coming over Northern Colorado. The Mustangs opened the season with a win over San Diego and also defeated Lincoln before starting conference play.
Cal Poly is second in the Big Sky and 16th in the country in passing offense, averaging 269.5 yards per game. They are also second in the conference in passing defense at 198.2 per game. They are 11th in scoring offense and 12th in scoring defense. The Mustangs are also 12th in the country in fewest penalty yards per game at 40.7, and 14th in fewest penalty yards.
The Mustangs are coached by longtime coach Paul Wulff who is in his first year at Cal Poly. Wulff became head coach last season after working the previous three years as an assistant at Cal Poly. He was the head coach at Big Sky member Eastern Washington for eight seasons from 2000-07 and lead the Eagles to two Big Sky titles and three trips to the FCS Playoffs. He then spent four seasons as head coach at Washington State.
Series history
This will be the 17th all-time meeting between the two schools with Weber State leading the series 10-6. The Wildcats have won the last five games against the Mustangs, with the last win coming in October 2021, a 38-7 victory.
In games in San Luis Obispo, Weber State is 5-3 all-time and the 'Cats have won the last three games.
Quick hits
Weber State is 4-1 this season when leading its opponent in rushing yards and is 0-4 when trailing in rushing...The Wildcats are also 3-0 this season when scoring 30 or more points and just 1-5 when scoring less than 30 points...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.
Players Mentioned
