OGDEN, Utah-Saturday, Weber State football (8-3, 6-1 in Big Sky Conference play) plays for a Big Sky title as they face regional rival Idaho State (3-8, 2-5 in Big Sky).
The Wildcats, because of a 35-16 loss to Montana (9-2, 6-1 in Big Sky) last Saturday needs to beat the Bengals and hope for the Grizzlies to lose to Montana State in the “Brawl of the Wild” at Bozeman, Mont. Saturday.
If the Wildcats and Grizzlies are each 7-1 in Big Sky play to end the regular season, Montana would win the Big Sky title by virtue of their head-to-head win over Weber State.
Weber State head coach Jay Hill is currently 44-29 (.603) in his sixth season at the helm of the program.
The Wildcats score 29.3 points per game which ranks them 54th nationally.
Junior signal-caller Jake Constantine completes 62.9 percent of his passes (149-237) for 1,444 yards, 9 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on the season for the Wildcats.
Sophomore tailback Josh Davis (143 car, 927 yards, 9 TD’s) averages 6.5 yards per rush, ranking him 10th nationally.
The Wildcats’ leading receivers on the season are sophomore wide-out Devon Cooley (46 rec, 509 yards, 2 TD’s) and fellow sophomore receiver Ty MacPherson (23 rec, 378 yards, 2 TD’s, a team-best 16.4 yards per reception).
Junior kicker Trey Tuttle has made 19 of his 23 field goal attempts and 33 of his 36 PAT attempts on the season.
Weber State surrenders 22 points per game, tying them for 25th in scoring defense with Cornell in national annals.
The Wildcats are tied for 22nd nationally with 29 sacks (McNeese, Montana, Richmond).
The star of the Weber State defense is redshirt sophomore defensive end George Tarlas (7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles) Jonah Williams (6.5 sacks, forced fumble) with senior defensive end also doing magnificent work.
Freshman cornerback Ja’Kobe Harris has a team-best three interceptions to pace the Wildcats’ secondary.
Idaho State head coach Rob Phenicie is 13-20 (.393) at the helm in his third season at Pocatello.
The Bengals rank 85th nationally in scoring offense (23.6 points per game), tying them with Richmond.
Junior quarterback Matt Struck completes 51.3 percent of his passes (157-306) for 2,286 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Senior tailback Ty Flanagan (173 car, 895 yards, 5 TD’s) and freshman running mate Malakai Rango (96 car, 508 yards, 3 TD’s) average 5.2 and 5.3 yards per carry respectively to bolster the Bengals’ running game.
Junior receiver Tanner Conner (47 rec, 792 yards, 8 TD’s) and senior wide-out Michael Dean (44 rec, 719 yards, 5 TD’s) each average over 16 yards a grab for Idaho State.
Senior wide-out Mitch Gueller (39 rec, 573 yards, 4 TD’s) averages 14.7 yards per grab for good measure for the Bengals.
Sophomore kicker Kevin Ryan has made 12 of his 15 field goal attempts and 26 of his 28 PAT attempts on the season.
Defensively, the Bengals give up 34.5 points per game, tying them for 99th nationally with Jacksonville.
Senior linebacker Luke Holloway (6.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles) leads Idaho State defensively on the season.
Senior linebacker Kody Graves and junior linebacker Oshea Trujillo have two interceptions apiece to lead the Bengals in this category.
The Wildcats lead the Bengals 43-14 all-time, including a 22-6 mark at Ogden.
