The Weber State University football team traveled to Pocatello, Idaho, to face its rival, Idaho State University, in the 66th meeting between the two schools.
The Bengals beat the Wildcats in 2024 for the first time since 2014 and the first time in Ogden since 1984, but the Wildcats looked to bring the Train Bell Trophy back to Ogden.
However, that wouldn’t happen for the Wildcats, as they were defeated 31–3 by the Bengals.
This game was different from others for Weber, after Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Mickey Mental was fired on Nov. 10. Associate Head Coach Brent Myers was then promoted to serve as interim head coach for the final two games of the season, while tight ends coach Robert Conley took over the interim offensive coordinator position.
The game started quickly for the Bengals, with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take the early 7–0 lead after a 2-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Jordan Cooke.
The Wildcats’ first drive went the opposite, after an incomplete catch, a sack, a holding call, followed by a screen play that failed to make it to the first-down marker, causing the Wildcats to punt the ball away.
The teams traded punts before ISU drove down to the Weber 2-yard line, but were stopped on fourth down.
Weber drove to the Idaho State 49-yard line, but was forced to punt to end the quarter. This led to ISU driving down to the Weber 3-yard line, and then finishing it off with a 3-yard touchdown run by Dason Brooks to make it 14–0.
The teams traded punts again, followed by another three-and-out by the Wildcats.
On the following drive, Cooke found Damien Morgan for a 17-yard touchdown, but it was called back due to an offensive pass interference. Two plays later, Cooke found Morgan again for a 29-yard touchdown pass to make it 21–0.
Weber drove down to the Idaho 40-yard line but was stopped on fourth-and-one. Idaho State then drove down to the Weber 32-yard line and attempted a 49-yard field goal, but missed it short, keeping the score 21–0 at the half.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the teams traded three-and-outs, and then Weber had a good drive going, with quarterback Dijon Jennings finding A.J. Jayroe for a first down. However, after a sack resulted in a 10-yard loss, Weber was unable to reach the first-down marker and was forced to punt.
The Bengals drove to the Wildcat 37-yard line but were stopped on third. They went for it on fourth down, and Cooke reversed field to get the first down for the Bengals. But after an incomplete pass on third down later in the drive, the Bengals attempted a 48-yard field goal, which kicker Trey Sinatra hit to make it 24–0.
Weber had another three-and-out, and Idaho followed that up with a 67-yard drive culminating in a 13-yard pass from Cooke to Ian Duarte to make it 31–0.
Weber drove down to the ISU eight-yard line but was stopped on third down. This brought out kicker Sloan Calder, who hit the 25-yard field goal to make the score 31–3 and deny the Bengals the shutout.
The Bengals then took the ball and drove down to their own 43-yard line, but were forced to punt with less than eight minutes left in the game.
The Wildcats had another three-and-out, which the Bengals were then able to use to run the clock down, ultimately securing a 31–3 win.
This marked the first time since 1984 that the Bengals have won back-to-back games against the Wildcats, and only their third win since 2002.
“We felt pretty good going in, but we just weren’t as sufficient an offense as we’d liked to be,” Myers said. “We have a week left, and my goal is to team them to continue working … They got at least one more game in Weber State, depending on their scenario. We want to win for our seniors.”
The Wildcats fell to 3-wins and 8-losses on the year, with a 1-win, 5-loss record in Big Sky Conference play. They finish the season at home against the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks on Nov. 22, at 1 p.m.
