Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Portland State
Game 7: Wildcats head to Portland State Saturday
10/14/2025 5:06:00 PM | Football
Weber State begins the second half of the season Saturday.
• Weber State begins the second half of the season and returns to the road to take on Portland State this Saturday afternoon.
• The Wildcats are 2-4 overall and 0-2 in Big Sky play and coming off a 55-27 home loss to Sacramento State on Saturday night.
• Portland State is 0-6 and 0-2 in conference play.
• The two teams both have played some of the toughest schedules in the country.
• Weber State is 16-10 overall against the Hornets and 11-2 in Ogden.
• WSU is halfway through the season. The first six games were all at night and Saturday will mark the first of six straight day games.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will kickoff at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time (3:00 Mountain time) from Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with Matt Richert and Scott Hermo calling the action.
The Weber State radio broadcast will be on 103.1 FM with Carl Arky 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.
Wildcats drop Homecoming game to Hornets
Saturday night's Homecoming game against Sacramento State was delayed by one hour and 45 minutes, then played in a torrential rain for most of the game. The Hornets beat the Wildcats 55-27 Saturday night behind 397 rushing yards. Sacramento State had three players rush for over 100 yards and totaled seven rushing touchdowns.
The Wildcats posted 301 yards of total offense with 157 passing and 144 rushing.
Two touchdowns for Boogie Sylvester
It was a career game for Weber State red shirt freshman Chauncey "Boogie" Sylvester. He led the Wildcats in rushing and receiving in Saturday's game. He had 17 carries for a career-high 83 yards and a five-yard touchdown run. He also had four receptions for 54 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown.
Sylvester has played in three games this season and has 31 carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns. He also has five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Dijon Jennings starts at quarterback for Wildcats
Junior Dijon Jennings got his first career start in Saturday's game. Jennings, a native of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, began his career at the University of Akron, then transferred to Weber State prior to last season. He appeared in five games for the Wildcats in 2024.
In Saturday's game, Jennings was 16 of 28 passing for 157 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. He also ran for five yards.
WSU's previous starting quarterback sophomore transfer Jackson Gilkey suffered a broken fibula in the game at UC Davis and will miss the rest of the season after surgery last week. Gilkey transferred to WSU from UTSA and started the first five games of the season. He threw for 693 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for 227 yards and another touchdown.
Redshirt freshman Cash McCollum, a transfer from UTSA, is also out indefinitely with a broken right hand.
The other quarterback listed on the depth chart is true freshman Kingston Tisdell, from Inglewood High School in Los Angeles. Tisdell threw for 6,898 yards and 73 touchdowns in his high school career. He graduated early and participated with Weber State in this year's spring practice.
Two field goals for Sloan Calder
Wildcat senior Sloan Calder was 2 for 2 on field goal attempts in Saturday's win, including a career-long. Calder knocked down a career-long 52 yard field goal for the first points of the game in the first quarter, then made a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter. The 52-yard field goal is tied for the fifth-longest in school history.
This season, Calder is 9 of 11 on field goals, including two of more than 50 yards. He is tied for seventh in the nation in field goals per game at 1.5. The Morgan, Utah native is 3 for 3 on field goals of at least 40 yards.
Defense
On defense, Trevian Tribble and Angel King each had nine tackles, while Monte Pate and Matt Herron each had seven. WSU had five tackles for loss.
On the season, Mayson Hitchens leads Weber State in tackles at 6.3 per game, which is 18th in the Big Sky. Angel King is second in tackles and leads the team with two interceptions. Sophomore captain Keahnist Thompson leads the team with four tackles for loss, but has missed the last two games due to injury.
Tough schedules
Through the first six games, Weber State and Portland State have played very difficult schedules, as have several teams in the Big Sky Conference.
According to the Massey Ratings, Portland State has the toughest strength of schedule in all of FCS football so far this season. The Vikings have played two FBS teams and have faced three FCS opponents that have been nationally ranked this season.
Weber State has the eighth toughest schedule so far, according to the Massey Ratings. The 'Cats started with three road games, including two FBS opponents, and had four of the first five games on the road, in four different time zones. In the Massey Ratings, the Big Sky has six teams in the top 12 of the most difficult schedules so far.
Team captains
As selected by their teammates, Weber State has named four captains for the 2025 season. Wildcat senior fullback Colter May, senior offensive lineman Gavin Ortega, senior wide receiver Jayleen Record, and junior defensive tackle Keahnist Thompson will be the team captains for the 2025 season. Record is a captain for the second-straight season. May and Ortega were both selected as preseason All-Big Sky selections.
About Portland State
The Vikings of Portland State will be looking for their first win this season as they enter Saturday's game at 0-6 overall and 0-2 in Big Sky play.
Portland State has played a very difficult schedule this season. They started the year with a 42-0 home loss to nationally ranked Tarleton State, then lost 690 at BYU. They then lost at nationally ranked North Dakota and Hawaii, before starting Big Sky play with a home loss to nationally ranked Northern Arizona and a narrow 35-27 loss at Eastern Washington. The Vikings are coming off a bye week last week.
Portland State leads the Big Sky and is 24th in the country in passing defense, allowing 183.5 yards per game. The Vikings are also 22nd nationally in sacks allowed. They are 12th in the nation and first in the Big Sky in fewest penalties at 4.67 per game and rank 15th in total fewest penalties.
The Vikings are coached by Bruce Barnum who is in his 11th season as head coach at Portland State and his 16th season with the program. In 11 seasons as head coach, Barnum is 38-70 overall and 28-46 in Big Sky play.
Series history
This will be the 40th meeting ever between the two schools and Weber State holds a 24-15 all-time lead. The Wildcats beat the Vikings 43-16 last season in Ogden. WSU has won four of the last five and nine of the last 12 against Portland State.
In games in Portland, Weber State is 10-9 all-time. The last game played was in 2022, a 42-7 Wildcat win at Hillsboro Stadium, Weber State's only visit to that stadium. The Wildcats have won the last two and five of the last six games on the road against the Vikings.
The two teams played a record game in 2007 in Portland, a 73-68 Weber State win. The 141 total points still ranks as the highest-scoring regulation game in FCS history. The Wildcats had 687 yards of total offense in that game, led by Cameron Higgins who threw for 334 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 106 yard and three touchdowns. Trevyn Smith ran for 225 yards and a touchdown. Drew Heubel threw for 485 yards and nine touchdowns for the Vikings.
Quick hits
Saturday's game marks the halfway point of the regular season for the two teams. Weber State played the first six games at night and will have the final six games during the day. This will also be Weber State's last flight for a road trip, as the final two games will be bus trips to Montana State and Idaho State...
Looking ahead
After Saturday's home game, Weber State will have back-to-back home games. The 'Cats will host Eastern Washington on October 25 and host Montana on November 1. Both games will kickoff at 1:00 p.m. at Stewart Stadium.
