Big Sky Conference play begins for the No. 14 Weber State Wildcats at Stewart Stadium on Sept. 25 with their first opponents, the No. 12 UC Davis Aggies.
The last six conference openers ended with a Weber State victory, and the team has a 15-game winning streak against their Big Sky Conference opponents.
“This is probably one of the biggest games on our schedule,” wide receiver Ty MacPherson said. “This is a really good football team. We’re taking this one day at a time.”
Weber State currently sits at 1–2 for their overall season play, taking losses from the University of Utah, 40–17, and James Madison University, 37–24, and a win against Dixie State University, 41–3.
The Aggies are 3–0 for their season, collecting wins from the University of Tulsa, 19–17, the University of San Diego, 53–7, and Dixie State, 60–27.
The two have gone head-to-head eight times, and the Wildcats have walked away as the winners for the last six, having not fallen for the last nine years.
Their most recent matchup was on March 13, ending in a Wildcat win with a score of 18–13. That game saw a powerful offense with Bronson Barron racking up 140 yards, completing 12 of 28, Josh Davis taking 71 yards after 20 rushes and MacPherson catching three catches for a total of 60 yards. On defense, Conner Mortensen tallied 11 tackles and Eddie Heckard and Preston Smith each grabbed an interception.
UC Davis was able to hold down the Wildcats for the first half while scoring 10 points. Weber State came back in the second half and gained 18 points after two touchdowns.
For the Aggies, Cole Hansen led the defense with 10 tackles, Connor Airey had seven tackles, Isaiah Thomas had four tackles and Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. rushed for 71 yards with four interceptions.
Their offense was strong, with quarterback Hunter Rodrigues going for 13 of 28 passes and 139 yards, and Isaiah Gomez had two field goals.
“We like to compare their defense to our defense,” MacPherson said. “They’re strong, they’re disciplined and we’re excited for the challenge.”
Following this game, the Wildcats will hit the road to take on Cal Poly in California on Oct. 2.
