2022 Weber State Wildcats football team

2022 Weber State Wildcats football
2022 Weber State Wildcats football
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 25–33 vs. Montana State
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 9
FCS Coaches	No. 9
Record	10–3 (6–2 Big Sky)
Head coach	Jay Hill (9th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mickey Mental (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Power spread
Co-defensive coordinators	Grant Duff (2nd season); Joe Dale (2nd season);
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Stewart Stadium
	Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

The 2022 Weber State Wildcats football team represented Weber State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by ninth-year head coach Jay Hill and played their games at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats began the regular season ranked number 20 in the FCS rankings. On September 10, the Wildcats defeated the Utah State Aggies, their first win against the Aggies since 1978, and their first win against an FBS opponent since their victory against Nevada in 1993. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a record of 9–2, good enough to qualify for the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs, their fifth appearance under Jay Hill. The Wildcats defeated North Dakota in the opening round, but were defeated by Montana State the following round. After the season, head coach Jay Hill announced he would step down as Weber State head coach to accept the Defensive Coordinator position at BYU. Offensive coordinator Mickey Mental was announced as Hill's successor.

2022 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Montana State +^	8	–	0	12	–	2
No. 5 Sacramento State +^	8	–	0	12	–	1
No. 9 Weber State ^	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 18 Idaho ^	6	–	2	7	–	5
No. 25 UC Davis	5	–	3	6	–	5
No. 14 Montana ^	4	–	4	8	–	5
Portland State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Eastern Washington	2	–	6	3	–	8
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	3	–	8
Northern Arizona	2	–	6	3	–	8
Idaho State	1	–	7	1	–	10
Cal Poly	1	–	7	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

Polls

On July 25, 2022, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Wildcats were predicted to finish fourth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.^[1]

Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Wildcats had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.^[2]

Offense

Noah Atagi – OL

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	Western Oregon*	No. 20	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	ESPN+	W 41–5	6,522
September 10	4:00 p.m.	at Utah State*	No. 16	Maverik Stadium Logan, UT	MW Network	W 35–7	17,781
September 17	6:00 p.m.	Utah Tech*	No. 12	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	KJZZ	W 44–14	9,035
September 24	8:00 p.m.	at UC Davis	No. 12	UC Davis Health Stadium Davis, CA	ESPN+	W 17–12	8,822
October 8	6:00 p.m.	No. 24 Eastern Washington	No. 7	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	KJZZ/ESPN+	W 45–21	10,724
October 15	3:00 p.m.	at Portland State	No. 6	Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR	ESPN+	W 42–7	4,067
October 22	1:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Montana State	No. 5	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	L 38–43	20,707
October 29	1:00 p.m.	No. 11 Montana	No. 5T	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	ESPN+	W 24–21	11,722
November 5	1:00 p.m.	No. 2 Sacramento State	No. 5	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	ESPN+	L 30–33	7,152
November 12	1:00 p.m.	Idaho State	No. 7	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	ESPN+	W 45–7	7,756
November 19	1:00 p.m.	at Northern Arizona	No. 7	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	W 33–31	5,217
November 26	2:00 p.m.	No. 20 North Dakota*	No. 9	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN+	W 38–31	4,495
December 3	1:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Montana State*	No. 9	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN+	L 25–33	16,397
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[3]

Game summaries

Western Oregon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolves	2	0	3	0	5
No. 20 Wildcats	14	10	7	10	41

At Utah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Wildcats	13	0	15	7	35
Aggies	7	0	0	0	7

Utah Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trailblazers	7	7	0	0	14
No. 12 Wildcats	21	3	13	7	44

At UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Wildcats	7	7	3	0	17
Aggies	3	3	6	0	12

No. 24 Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Eagles	7	7	7	0	21
No. 7 Wildcats	14	7	10	14	45

At Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Wildcats	14	7	14	7	42
Vikings	0	0	0	7	7

At No. 3 Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Wildcats	17	7	8	6	38
No. 3 Bobcats	9	18	16	0	43

No. 11 Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Grizzles	3	7	3	8	21
No. 5T Wildcats	7	3	7	7	24

No. 2 Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Hornets	7	9	7	10	33
No. 5 Wildcats	7	0	7	16	30

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	7	0	0	7
No. 7 Wildcats	7	14	10	14	45

At Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Wildcats	14	7	6	6	33
Lumberjacks	0	21	0	10	31

FCS Playoffs

No. 20 North Dakota – first round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Fighting Hawks	0	14	3	14	31
No. 9 Wildcats	7	24	7	0	38

At No. 3 Montana State – second round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Wildcats	3	7	0	15	25
No. 3 Bobcats	7	9	10	7	33

References

↑ "Montana Tabbed Big Sky Preseason Favorites by Coaches & Media". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
↑ "Wildcat football picked fourth in Big Sky preseason polls". weberstatesports.com. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
↑ "2022 Weber State Football Schedule". weberstatesports.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.

[1] "Montana Tabbed Big Sky Preseason Favorites by Coaches & Media". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

[2] "Wildcat football picked fourth in Big Sky preseason polls". weberstatesports.com. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.

[3] "2022 Weber State Football Schedule". weberstatesports.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.

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