Homecoming week has finally arrived for Weber State University, and as everyone gets ready for the dance on Friday night, the Wildcats have an unwanted date with their rivals from Cedar City on the evening of Oct.12.
This year’s homecoming game will bring the Southern Utah Thunderbirds to Stewart Stadium on Oct. 12 in a clash of bitter in-state rivals. SUU will be bringing in their 1-5 record as they attempt to upset the ‘Cats’.
The last time WSU lost to their rivals from down south was in 2017 when they knocked off the Wildcats in an ice-cold Stewart Stadium. The ‘Cats’ returned the favor later that year when the teams battled in the FCS playoffs and hammered them to a tune of 30-13 in Cedar City.
The Wildcats will come into this game with a record of 3-2 with both losses coming to FBS level opponents. The STATS FCS top 25 poll features Weber State ranked at #4 in the nation, but it has not come easy as the ‘Cats’ have overcome injuries of junior QB Jake Constantine and sophomore QB Kaden Jenks. This week, Constantine will get the nod after returning from injury last week in a hard-fought win against the Idaho Vandals in Moscow, ID.
SUU is a different team from the last time they came up to Ogden. They went from co-champs of the Big Sky with WSU to having won only two out of their last 17 games. Before the rivalry takes place on the field on Oct. 12, Southern Utah’s campus has begun to make a few changes. The letter “W” has been replaced with a red “X” as they get ready for their clash with Weber State.
This prompted a response from WSU’s sophomore cornerback Eddie Heckard who pointed out their recent woes by tweeting, “I thought it was because they haven’t been getting any W’s.”
The WSU-SUU rivalry formed in 1984 and the Wildcats hold the all-time record with a 18-8 lead in the series. Weber State won the first 11 games in the series and also hold the largest margin of victory during that streak after winning 62-20 in 1985. Despite the Wildcats dominance in the series, the two teams are tied with a 5-5 record in their last 10 match ups with each other.
This game will be only the third game for the Wildcats as they have traveled to California, Nevada and Idaho. This will be a two-game homestand before they travel to northern California in back-to-back weeks to battle with UC Davis and Sacramento State.
