Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Idaho
Game 7: Wildcats return home to host Vandals Saturday at 1:00
10/6/2026 5:02:00 PM | Football
Weber State begins the second half of the regular season Saturday.
• Weber State returns home and begins the second half of the 2026 season when the Wildcats host the Idaho Vandals Saturday afternoon at Stewart Stadium.
• Weber State is 3-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big Sky play.
• The Wildcats are coming off a thrilling 42-34 double-overtime win at Cal Poly on Saturday.
• Idaho is 1-4 overall. The Vandals are coming off a thrilling 35-34 win over No. 1 ranked Montana State last Friday night in Moscow.
• Porter Small was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the win at Cal Poly, including three sacks.
• Weber State leads the Big Sky and is 10th in the nation in scoring offense.
• WSU is in the first season with Eric Kjar as the new head coach of the Wildcat football team.
• The Wildcats have 80 new players on this year's squad.
• WSU will play four of its final six games at home.
• In Saturday's game Weber State will wear the State Beehive logo on the helmets.
• This will be the 36th overall meeting between the two schools and Idaho's first visit to Ogden in three seasons.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will kick off at 1:00 p.m. from Stewart Stadium.
The game will be televised across Utah on KJZZ TV and KMYU TV and will also be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Dave Fox, Alema Harrington, and Frank Dolce will call the action.
The Weber State radio broadcast will be on 103.1 FM with Carl Arky and former Wildcat quarterback Dave Stireman on the call.
Live stats available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
Wildcats win double overtime thriller at Cal Poly
Weber State scored touchdowns on both of its overtime possessions and the Wildcat defense came up with a fourth down stop as WSU beat Cal Poly 42-34 in double overtime last Saturday in San Luis Obispo.
David Dellenbach made a 38-yard field goal with 55 seconds left to force overtime. After the Mustangs scored first, the 'Cats answered with a 25-yard touchdown run by Nate Dahle, then Dahle connected with Tate Kjar for a nine-yard TD in the second overtime. The WSU defense had a sack on third down and forced a fourth down stop to secure the road win.
Porter Small named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week
After a strong performance in helping the Wildcats to a win, Weber State sophomore defensive end Porter Small has been named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.
Small recorded five tackles, including three sacks and four tackles for loss in the road victory. His three sacks resulted in 22 yards lost, while his four tackles for loss totaled 26 yards. He's the first Wildcat to record three sacks in a game since Brayden Wilson had three at Cal Poly in 2023.
He came up with two key sacks late in the game. Small recorded a 7-yard sack on third down with 2:13 remaining in regulation to force a Cal Poly punt. Weber State took over and drove for the game-tying field goal to force overtime.
Small added a 10-yard sack on third down in the second overtime, pushing Cal Poly back to a fourth-and-19. The Wildcats stopped Cal Poly on the next play to secure the 42-34 win.
He currently ranks second in the Big Sky with six tackles for loss and second in the league in sacks with four.
Small, a native of Springville, Utah, originally signed at BYU and sat out the 2024 season as a gray shirt, before transferring to Weber State where he played in nine games last season.
Offensive rankings
After six games, Weber State is one of the top offensive teams in the Big Sky and FCS football. The 'Cats lead the conference and rank 10th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 37.5 points per game. WSU has scored at least 30 points in all five FCS games this season and has reached 40 or more four times.
This is the first time since 2001 that Weber State has scored 40 or more points in three straight games.
Weber State is also third in the conference and 15th in the nation in total offense, averaging 452.8 yards per game. WSU is fifth in the nation in passing yards per completion at 14.9
Nate Dahle leads the 'Cats again
Freshman Nate Dahle led Weber State in passing and rushing yards in leading the Wildcats to the win Saturday. He totaled 308 yards of total offense as he was 15 of 33 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns and had 15 carries for a team-high 85 rushing yards and one touchdown.
He has thrown for 1,319 yards and 14 touchdowns in the first six games of the season. Dahle is also Weber State's leading rusher this season. He has 53 carries for 284 yards and a touchdown.
After six games, Dahle ranks sixth in the Big Sky in total offense at 267.2 yards per game. He is second in the conference and eighth in the nation in passing touchdowns with 14 and is 11th in the country in passing yards per completion. He is seventh in the Big Sky at 219.8 passing yards per game.
Kjar brothers lead the receivers
It was quite a receiving day for the Kjar brothers, Noah and Tate in Saturday's win at Cal Poly. The two oldest sons of head coach Eric Kjar combined for 10 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Junior Tate Kjar had his best game as a Wildcat as he finished with five receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns. His 89 receiving yards were a season-high, and he averaged 17.8 yards per reception.
Kjar caught a 39-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to give Weber State a 7-3 lead. He then came up with the game-winning touchdown in the second overtime, hauling in a 9-yard pass to give the Wildcats a 40-34 lead before the two-point conversion. He also had receptions of 14 and 13 yards that resulted in first downs during the game.
Kjar has eight catches for 129 yards and the two touchdowns in four games played this season.
Older brother Noah, a team captain this year, finished with five catches for 79 yards at Cal Poly. Noah still leads the nation with eight touchdown receptions this season and has reached at least 100 receiving yards in four of the six games.
He has 38 catches for 621 yards this year and ranks third in the country in receiving yards and fourth in yards per game at 103.5.
WSU was without fifth-year senior Marvin Session who missed the game with a hamstring injury. Session had 175 yards and three touchdowns in the game against Portland State and has 273 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season.
Defense performances
In addition to Porter Small, the Wildcat defense had multiple other strong performances in the win.
Jayden Mayberry had a 53-yard interception in the second quarter that led to a Wildcat field goal.
WSU had six tackles for loss and four sacks in the win. Raimona Tinirauarii led the 'Cats with eight tackles and Mayberry, Da'Veon Ross, Chevy Robinson, and Zion Finau each had six tackles.
Weber State leads the Big Sky and is 12th in the nation in sacks with 16 so far this season. The 'Cats are also first in the conference in tackles for loss at 5.7 per game.
Close games
Weber State has had four games decided by one possession this season. The four games against Big Sky opponents, including the non-conference game at Southern Utah, have all been decided by a total of 17 points, an average of 4.3 points per game.
Second half of season
Weber State is halfway through the 2026 season with a 3-3 record. The Wildcats begin the second half on Saturday against Idaho. Four of the final six games will be played at Stewart Stadium.
All six of the games will be played in the afternoon.
Welcome to the Eric Kjar era
The Eric Kjar era is underway. Weber State named Kjar as the 13th head coach in its Division I history on December 16, 2025. He joined the Wildcat program after unprecedented success as a Utah high school coach.
Kjar (pronounced: Care) posted a 112-10 record with six state championships over the last nine seasons as the head coach at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah. He guided the Chargers to three consecutive state titles in 2018, 2019, and 2020, followed by three more championships in 2023, 2024, and 2025, along with two state runner-up finishes. His teams were nationally ranked multiple times, including as high as No. 8 in the nation. Corner Canyon also set a Utah state record with 48 consecutive wins from 2018 to 2021 and advanced to the national championship game in 2025.
Kjar coached multiple state MVPs and All-Americans, along with numerous Division I college players and NFL Draft picks, including quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Zach Wilson.
Before Corner Canyon, Kjar spent eight seasons as the head coach at Jordan High School, where he posted a 69-29 record that included a state championship in 2012. He also served as an assistant coach for five years at Jordan before becoming head coach.
In 17 years as a high school head coach, Kjar compiled a career record of 181-39.
In addition to his head coaching responsibilities, Kjar will also be the offensive coordinator for the Wildcats.
New coaching staff
Kjar has also added several new members to the Wildcat coaching staff. Tanner Jacobson was named the Associate Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator. Gavin Fowler is the new Defensive Coordinator.
Other new coaches are Isaac Asiata (offensive line), BJ Cavender (tight ends), former WSU player Kam Garrett (cornerbacks), former WSU player Isiah Jackson (wide receivers), Dustin Long, Ono Tafisi (defensive tackles), and Tana Vea (running backs).
Returning assistant coaches are Jace Campbell (outside linebackers), James Cowser (defensive ends), and Zach Larson (quarterbacks).
About Idaho
Idaho enters Saturday's game at 1-4 but is coming off a dramatic 35-34 win over No. 1-ranked and defending FCS champion Montana State last Friday night in Moscow. The Vandals scored a touchdown as time expired, then converted a two-point conversion to seal the win.
Idaho started the season with a loss at Cal Poly, then lost at Utah and home games to Lamar and Abilene Christian before the Montana State win.
The Vandals are coached by Thomas Ford Jr., who is in his second season as head coach at Idaho. The Vandals were 4-8 overall and 2-6 in Big Sky play last season, same record as Weber State.
Series history
This will be the 36th meeting between Weber State and Idaho, both charter members of the Big Sky Conference. Idaho was part of the Big Sky from 1963-1995, then returned to the league in 2018.
Idaho holds a 19-15-1 series lead, but the Wildcats are 2-1 since the Vandals returned to the Big Sky. Idaho won the last meeting 31-24 in Moscow in 2024.
In games in Ogden, Weber State is 11-5-1 all-time. This is only Idaho's second visit to Weber State since returning to the Big Sky. The 'Cats beat the fourth-ranked Vandals 31-29 in November 2023 at Stewart Stadium. Winston Reid had a career-high 17 tackles, the most tackles in a game in nine years, and had one forced fumble. He was named the National Defensive Player of the Week. Kris Jackson rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns and Jack Kelly recorded two sacks in the win.
Quick hits
The Wildcats welcome 80 new players to this year's squad, including 35 transfers, with 11 Division I transfers...This year's roster is comprised of 53 players from the state of Utah, followed by 23 from California, and 13 from Texas...WSU has lost the turnover margin in five of the six games...The double overtime win was just the seventh game in WSU history to go to more than one overtime.
Looking ahead
After Saturday, it's another home game for the Wildcats who will host longtime rival Idaho State on Saturday, October 17 at 1 p.m.
