Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, September 16
Salt Lake City, UT
12:00 p.m.
Weber State University
2-1 , 0-0
7
at
31
Utah
3-0 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Weber St.
0
7
0
0
7
Utah
7
10
14
0
31
Photo by: Robert Casey
Wildcats fall 31-7 at Utah
9/16/2023 3:42:00 PM | Football
Weber State returns home for the Big Sky opener against Montana State next Saturday.
SALT LAKE CITY - Weber State suffered its first loss of the season, a 31-7 defeat to No. 12 ranked Utah Saturday afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The Utes totaled 424 yards of offense and held the Wildcats to just 127 yards. WSU had five first downs, compared to 23 for Utah.
The 'Cats had 61 yards rushing and 66 yards passing. WSU was also just 3 of 11 on third down conversions.
The 12th ranked Utes were the highest ranked FBS progam Weber State has ever faced.
Utah led 10-0 early in the second quarter when the 'Cats got on the board. A 47-yard run by Damon Bankston set up a two-yard touchdown from Kris Jackson to make it 10-7.
The Utes answered right back with a touchdown to extend the lead to 17-7.
Utah started the second half with a 68-yard drive and a two-yard touchdown to take a 24-7 lead.
Utah's Lander Barton intercepted a WSU pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown to make it 31-7 with 4:36 to play in the third quarter.
"Credit goes to Utah and I thought they played extremely well on all three phases," said WSU head coach Mickey Mental. "I loved how our kids competed throughout the game to hang in there and didn't breat. We still have to do better in lots of areas but proud of the effort and look forward to taking that next step."
Individually, Damon Bankston ran for 59 yards and Jackson added 15. Kylan Weisser was 11 of 23 passing for 66 yards. Treyshun Hurry had two catches for 22 yards and Jacob Sharp had two receptions for 17 yards.
Defensively, Winston Reid led the Wildcats once again with 12 tackles, including seven solo tackles and one tackle for loss.
Brayden Wilson added eight tackles and LJ Anderson had seven.
WSU had four tackles for loss and one sack.
After two-straight road games, the Wildcats will return home next week for the Big Sky Conference opener as the 'Cats host Montana State in a nationally-ranked showdown. Kickoff at 6 p.m. on Septembe 23 at Stewart Stadium and will be the grand opening of the renovated Stewart Stadium.
The Utes totaled 424 yards of offense and held the Wildcats to just 127 yards. WSU had five first downs, compared to 23 for Utah.
The 'Cats had 61 yards rushing and 66 yards passing. WSU was also just 3 of 11 on third down conversions.
The 12th ranked Utes were the highest ranked FBS progam Weber State has ever faced.
Utah led 10-0 early in the second quarter when the 'Cats got on the board. A 47-yard run by Damon Bankston set up a two-yard touchdown from Kris Jackson to make it 10-7.
The Utes answered right back with a touchdown to extend the lead to 17-7.
Utah started the second half with a 68-yard drive and a two-yard touchdown to take a 24-7 lead.
Utah's Lander Barton intercepted a WSU pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown to make it 31-7 with 4:36 to play in the third quarter.
"Credit goes to Utah and I thought they played extremely well on all three phases," said WSU head coach Mickey Mental. "I loved how our kids competed throughout the game to hang in there and didn't breat. We still have to do better in lots of areas but proud of the effort and look forward to taking that next step."
Individually, Damon Bankston ran for 59 yards and Jackson added 15. Kylan Weisser was 11 of 23 passing for 66 yards. Treyshun Hurry had two catches for 22 yards and Jacob Sharp had two receptions for 17 yards.
Defensively, Winston Reid led the Wildcats once again with 12 tackles, including seven solo tackles and one tackle for loss.
Brayden Wilson added eight tackles and LJ Anderson had seven.
WSU had four tackles for loss and one sack.
After two-straight road games, the Wildcats will return home next week for the Big Sky Conference opener as the 'Cats host Montana State in a nationally-ranked showdown. Kickoff at 6 p.m. on Septembe 23 at Stewart Stadium and will be the grand opening of the renovated Stewart Stadium.
Team Stats
WSU
UTA
Total Yards
127
424
Pass Yards
66
193
Rushing Yards
61
231
Penalty Yards
60
35
1st Downs
5
23
3rd Downs
3
6
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
19:55
40:05
1st Quarter
WSU 0, UTA 7
UTA - Johnson,Nate 1 yd run (Cheek,Joey kick), 10 plays, 69 yards, TOP 05:19
2nd Quarter
WSU 0, UTA 10
UTA - Cheek,Joey 37 yd field goal 10 plays, 61 yards, TOP 04:39
WSU 7, UTA 10
WSU - Jackson,Kris 2 yd run (Thompson,Kyle kick), 5 plays, 59 yards, TOP 02:33
WSU 7, UTA 17
UTA - Parks,Money 13 yd pass from Johnson,Nate (Cheek,Joey kick) 9 plays, 70 yards, TOP 05:39
3rd Quarter
WSU 7, UTA 24
UTA - Glover,Jaylon 2 yd run (Cheek,Joey kick), 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 04:37
WSU 7, UTA 31
UTA - Barton,Lander 23 yd interception (Cheek,Joey kick)
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
11
TD
0
YDS
66
INT
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DE
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