Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Utah
Game 3: Wildcats take on Utes in Salt Lake City Saturday
9/12/2023 4:02:00 PM | Football
Weber State and Utah are both 2-0 heading into Saturday's game which will kickoff at 12 p.m. and be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
• It's an in-state matchup with a pair of 2-0 squads this week as Weber State travels to Salt Lake City to take on the University of Utah. The Wildcats and Utes will kickoff at 12 p.m. on Saturday from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
• Weber State is 2-0 following a 34-17 road win at Northern Iowa last week. The Wildcats are ranked in the top 10 in the FCS national polls.
• Utah is also 2-0 following a 20-13 win at Baylor last week. The Utes are ranked 12th in the nation in this week's AP Top-25 poll.
• This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools and the first since 2021. Utah is 6-0 all-time in the series.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network with Roxy Bernstein and Lincoln Kennedy on the call. The Weber State radio coverage will be on KLO 103.1 FM "The Wave" with
Tony Parks and former WSU head coach and athletic director Jerry Graybeal on the call.
Live stats available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
Nationally ranked schools
Weber State moved up to No. 7 in the AFCA Coaches poll and is ninth in the Stats Perform poll.
Utah is ranked 12th in the country in this week's AP Top-25 poll. Utah will be the highest ranked FBS opponent Weber State has ever played.
Weber State wins top-25 FCS matchup at Northern Iowa
In a top-25 FCS matchup, Weber State went on the road and came away with a 34-17 win at Northern Iowa last Saturday. The two teams were tied 17-17 at halftime before Weber State shutout the Panthers in the second half. The Wildcat defense forced six turnovers with three interceptions and three fumbles and the offense posted 390 yards of offense. It was the second-straight game WSU has shutout an opponent in the second half. Two Wildcats earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors after the win.
Damon Bankston named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week; reaches milestone
Wildcat junior running back Damon Bankston was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for a career-high 144 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He had 22 carries for an average of 6.5 yards per carry.
He had a two-yard touchdown early in the first quarter, a 26-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and a 58-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to seal the win. He also had two receptions for 13 yards.
In two games this season, Bankston has rushed for 265 yards and five touchdowns and is averaging 7.5 yards per carry. He ranks second in the nation in rushing yards at 131.5 yards per game in the first two games.
He also became the 33rd player in Weber State history to surpass 1,000 career rushing yards and now has 1,095 rushing yards with 16 touchdowns in 24 career games with the Wildcats.
Jack Kelly earns Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors
The Wildcats received another Player of the Week honor on the defensive side of the ball as sophomore Jack Kelly earned the Big Sky honor for his performance in Saturday's win.
Kelly helped anchor the Wildcat defense and recorded two sacks, including one strip sack, forced two fumbles, and one fumble recovery in the road win.
He recovered a fumble late in the first quarter, had a nine-yard loss sack in the second quarter, then a strip sack in the third quarter. He also had four total tackles, all solo tackles, and had one pass breakup. His two sacks resulted in a loss of 11 yards.
The Kearns, Utah native helped lead the Wildcat defense that forced six Panther turnovers with three fumbles and three interceptions.
Abraham Williams leads nation in kickoff returns
Wildcat junior All-American kick returner Abraham Williams leads all of FCS football at 51.3 yards per return after two games this season. In the season-opening win over Central Washington, Williams returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. It was his fifth career kickoff return touchdown and all five returns have been 100 yards.
Last season, Williams was a consensus All-American after returning four kickoffs for 100 yards. He led the country in kickoff return yards last year at 37.4 per return. He was the only player in all divisions of the NCAA to have more than two kickoff returns in a season last year.
He is WSU's all-time leader in average at 39.0 yards per return and is seventh in career yards. He is also second in WSU history with five touchdowns, behind Rashid Shaheed, now with the New Orleans Saints, who is tied for the FCS record with seven touchdowns.
Winston Reid leading Wildcat defense
Weber State senior All-American linebacker leads the Big Sky in tackles, and tackles for loss, and is second in sacks after two games. Reid had 12 tackles in the season-opening win and had 11 tackles at Northern Iowa. He also has 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the first two games.
Prior to the season, Reid was named the Big Sky Preseason Defensive MVP. He earned first-team All-Big Sky honors and earned All-America honors last season as he started all 13 games and finished sixth in the Big Sky in tackles with 112 for an average of 8.6 per game. He had 68 solo tackles, the sixth-most in a season in WSU history, and had 10 or more tackles in a game five times. He also finished in a tie for first in the conference with five forced fumbles.
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.
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.
A look back at 2022
The Wildcats posted a 10-win season in 2022 and advanced to the second round of the FCS Playoffs. Weber State has now been to the FCS Playoffs in six of the last seven seasons. The Wildcats were 10-3 overall and finished 6-2 in Big Sky Conference play. Weber State defeated North Dakota at home in the first round of the playoffs before falling at Montana State in the second round.
The Wildcats ended the season ranked ninth in the country.
Weber State football history
This marks the 62nd season of football at Weber State, since the school became a four-year institution. The Wildcats are charter members of the Big Sky Conference and have won eight Big Sky titles and advanced to the FCS Playoffs 10 times, including six of the last seven seasons.
About Utah
Utah opened the season with a 24-11 win over Florida and a 20-13 win at Baylor last week. The Utes have won the last two Pac-12 titles and played in the last two Rose Bowls.
The Utes are coached by Kyle Whittingham who is in his 19th year as head coach and is Utah's all-time leader in wins with 156. He is the second-longest tenured head coach at the same school in all of FBS football.
The Utah coaching staff includes Colton Swan (linebackers) who was a former player at Weber State and spent 15 years coaching with the Wildcats. Quinton Ganther (running backs) was an assistant coach at Weber State for seven seasons before going to Utah.
Highest ranked FBS opponent in WSU history
This will be the sixth game for Weber State against a ranked FBS program and the No. 12 ranking for Utah will be the highest FBS ranked opponent in WSU history. It will be the third time the Wildcats take on the Utes as a ranked opponent, including in 2021. Weber State won its last FBS matchup, a 35-7 win at Utah State last September, which was the first FBS win in 29 years.
Series history
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools located 35 miles apart. Utah is 6-0 in the previous meetings with the last game played in 2021, a 40-17 Ute win in the season opener. The two teams also meet in 2018, 2013, 2008, 1984, and 1978.
Quick hits
Weber State ranks third in FCS football in kickoff returns and is fifth in turnover margin and sixth in rushing defense and scoring defense...Junior placekicker Kyle Thompson made two field goals in Saturday's win. He now ranks sixth in WSU history with 37 field goals and is sixth in career scoring...Prior to the season Thompson was named to the preseason watch list for the Fred Mitchell Award, given annually to the top place-kicker in FCS football. He is one of 13 on the FCS preseason watch list...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 return home and open Big Sky Conference play on Saturday, September 23 against Montana State. The game at Stewart Stadium will also mark the first game with the newly renovated east stands.
Following that game, the 'Cats hit the road at Northern Colorado on September 30.
Players Mentioned
