Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Southern Utah
Game 2: In-state state showdown at Southern Utah on Saturday
9/1/2026 4:35:00 PM | Football
Wildcats and Thunderbirds meet for the first time in five years at 6 p.m. Saturday in Cedar City.
• After an exciting start to a new era of football, it's back on the road for Weber State for an in-state matchup at Southern Utah this Saturday.
• The Wildcats are coming off a thrilling 30-29 win at Northern Colorado last Friday in the season opener. The 'Cats blocked an extra point in the final seconds to seal the win.
• It was the first game for Eric Kjar as the new head coach of the Wildcat football team.
• The Wildcats have 80 new players on this year's squad.
• Weber State is playing its first three games on the road for the second straight season.
• Southern Utah is back in the Big Sky after a four year hiatus.
• The Thunderbirds are coming off a 28-21 loss at No. 2 Montana on Saturday.
• Even though SUU is back in the Big Sky, Saturday's game will be a non-conference matchup and will not count in the Big Sky standings.
• It will be a Color Rush matchup for the two teams.
• Weber State holds 21-8 series lead over Southern Utah but this will be the first meeting in five years. The Wildcats shutout the Thunderbirds 62-0 in the last meeting.
• WSU is a 9-2 all-time in games in Cedar City and has won five straight.
Media coverage
Saturday's game will kickoff at 6 p.m. from Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with Spencer McLaughlin and Lyle Santos calling the action.
The Weber State radio broadcast will be on 103.1 FM. The voice of the Wildcats Carl Arky will be joined by former Weber State quarterback Dave Stireman on radio broadcasts this season.
Live stats available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
The Eric Kjar era begins with exciting win
It was a thrilling start to the 2026 season as Weber State knocked off Northern Colorado 30-29 on Friday night in Greeley.
The Wildcats led 17-13 at halftime and held a 30-20 lead with 9:04 to play. SUU scored twice in the final four minutes and converted a touchdown with three seconds left but WSU's Zach Smith blocked the extra point to seal the win.
Offense
Weber State totaled 370 yards of offense in the win with 233 yards passing and 137 yards rushing.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Devin Brown started the game and threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns, before leaving the game in the third quarter with a dislocated finger.
Freshman Nate Dahle finished the game and was 6 of 8 passing for 54 yards. Dahle was the Utah 4A Player of the Year at Ridgeline High School last season and led his team to a 14-0 record and a state title. He also finished his career second in Utah high school career passing yards with 12,467 yards and passed for 127 touchdowns.
Career day for Noah Kjar
Noah Kjar, the oldest son of head coach Eric Kjar, had a career-day in Friday's win as he led the Wildcats with six receptions for a career-high 114 yards and hauled in two touchdowns.
He caught a 15-yard pass for a touchdown early in the second quarter that put the Wildcats up 10-7. He then had a 34-yard touchdown reception late in the second quarter that gave WSU a 17-13 lead at halftime.
It was the most receptions and most receiving yards in a game in his career. Kjar was selected as a team captain this year. He is in his third year in the Wildcat program and has played in 15 career games.
Defense
The Wildcat defense totaled eight tackles for loss with two sacks in Friday's win. Fifth-year senior Raimoana Tinirauarii led the Weber State defense with nine tackles and two tackles for loss. He had the two tackles for loss and included six solo tackles and three assisted tackles. The nine tackles are the second-most in a game in his career and the two tackles for loss is a career-high.
Chevy Robinson and Teni Worthen each recorded six tackles and Da'Veon Ross also had two tackles for loss.
Three field goals for David Dellenbach in debut
It was a great start for junior kicker David Dellenbach at Weber State on Friday as he was 3 of 3 on field goal attempts in the win.
He made a 44-yard field goal on WSU's first drive for the first points of the year. He made a 42-yard field goal and a 39-yard field goal, both in the third quarter, with the last one extending WSU's lead to 23-13.
Dellenbach also made three extra point attempts and had seven kickoffs for 445 yards, an average of 63.6 yards per kick, with four touchbacks.
Dellenbach is a native of Park City, Utah. He first signed at UCLA, then played last season at Ohio before transferring to Weber State.
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 Jacobsen 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).
80 new players
In addition to a new coaching staff, the Wildcats also welcome 80 new players to this year's squad. The team is made up of 35 transfers, including 11 Division I transfers.
Weber State returns 35 players off last year's squad that posted a 4-8 overall record and a 2-6 record in Big Sky play. Only 16 players return that played in at least six games last season.
Three straight road games to begin
For the second straight year, Weber State will start the season with three straight road games, but unlike last year's start, all three are at least in the same time zone. The Wildcats play at Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, and Colorado to begin the season, but will then play six of the final nine games of the season at home. The Wildcats are one of two schools in the Big Sky and 10 schools in all of FCS football to start the season with three straight road games.
Team captains
As selected by their teammates, Weber State has named four teammates for the 2026 season. 5th year quarterback Devin Brown, junior wide receiver and kick returner Noah Kjar, 5th year cornerback Trevian Tribble, and 5th year linebacker Raimoana Tinirauarii will be the captains for this season.
Brown is a transfer to WSU after spending three seasons at Ohio State and one season at Cal. Kjar, the son of head coach Eric Kjar, is in his third season at Weber State. He has played in 14 games over two seasons with 19 receptions and one career kickoff return touchdowns.
Tribble and Tinirauarii are both in their fifth years at Weber State, having joined WSU in 2022.
Quick hits
This year's roster is comprised of 53 players from the state of Utah, followed by 23 from California, and 13 from Texas...WSU had two blocked extra points as Ashden Oberg blocked a kick in the second quarter, and Zach Smith in the final seconds of the fourth quarter...It is the first time WSU has had two kicks blocked in the same game since November 2024 at Northern Arizona...Weber State assistant coach James Cowser is returning to Southern Utah where he starred as a Thunderbird from 2012-15. Cowser was a two-time All-American in his career at SUU, was a Big Sky MVP, and the FCS Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. He finished his career as the NCAA FCS all-time leader in sacks. He played three years in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and is in his sixth season as an assistant coach at Weber State.
Wildcats in the NFL
After the 53-man cuts last week, Weber State has four former players on NFL rosters. Four-time All-American Rashid Shaheed won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks last year. Another former Wildcat is Taron Johnson, who is now with the Las Vegas Raiders after eight years with the Buffalo Bills. Former Wildcat Winston Reid is now in his third season with the Cleveland Browns.
Former Wildcat Jack Kelly was drafted in the 2026 draft by the New York Giants. Kelly spent three seasons at Weber State before transferring to BYU.
Non-conference matchup on Saturday
Even though Southern Utah is now back in the Big Sky, Saturday's game will be a non-conference matchup and will not count in the league standings. This was to be the first of a six-year non-conference scheduling agreement, before SUU returned to the Big Sky this season. This scheduled game remains but will not count in the standings.
Southern Utah was a member of the Big Sky from 2012-22.
Color rush matchup
Saturday's game will be a color rush as Weber State will wear all purple and Southern Utah will wear all red. The two teams did a similar color rush in the last meeting in November 2021.
About Southern Utah
Southern Utah opened the season with a 28-21 loss at No. 2 Montana on Saturday night in their first game back in the Big Sky. The game was tied 21-21 early in the fourth quarter before a late Montana touchdown. The Thunderbirds totaled 510 yards of offense in the game.
SUU was 7-5 overall last season and finished third in the United Athletic Conference with a 6-2 record. They were picked sixth in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll.
The Thunderbirds are coached by DeLane Fitzgerald who is in his fifth season at SUU. He is 25-22 in five seasons with the Thunderbirds and is also a former coach at Southern Virginia and Forstburg State.
Series history
Weber State holds a 21-8 all-time series edge over Southern Utah and the Wildcats have won the last five games.
The last meeting between the two schools was in November 2021 in Cedar City, a 62-0 Weber State win. The 'Cats totaled 480 yards of offense and held the Thunderbirds to just 76 yards, while forcing four turnovers. It is the fourth largest win in WSU history and the last time the 'Cats shutout a Big Sky opponent. That was the final season for SUU in the Big Sky before they left the conference.
In games in Cedar City, Weber State is 9-2 all-time and has won five straight. The 'Cats also beat SUU 30-17 in December 2017 in a memorable FCS Playoff matchup. Southern Utah's last win over Weber State in Cedar City was in 2014.
Looking ahead
After Saturday, it's one more road game for the Wildcats, before their home opener.
Weber State will return to Colorado to take on the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, September 12 at 1:30 p.m. It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
The home opener will be on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. against Northwestern State, then the 'Cats return to Big Sky play hosting Portland State on Sept. 26.
