2022 Weber State Wildcats football team

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 Weber State Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 9
FCS CoachesNo. 9
Record10–3 (6–2 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMickey Mental (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorGrant Duff (2nd season)
Co-defensive coordinatorJoe Dale (2nd season)
Home stadiumStewart Stadium
Seasons
← 2021
2023 →
2022 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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

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Polls

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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]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana 111 (3)
2 Sacramento State 110 (4)
3 Montana State 109 (5)
4 Weber State 84
5 UC Davis 82
6 Eastern Washington 76
7 Northern Arizona 62
8 Idaho 45
9 Portland State 42
10 Cal Poly 33
T-11 Idaho State 19
T-11 Northern Colorado 19
Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana 356 (14)
2 Montana State 352 (13)
3 Sacramento State 335 (4)
4 Weber State 261
5 UC Davis 255 (1)
6 Eastern Washington 236
7 Northern Arizona 191
8 Portland State 146
9 Idaho 142
10 Cal Poly 85
11 Northern Colorado 71
12 Idaho State 66

Preseason All–Big Sky team

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

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.Western Oregon*No. 20ESPN+W 41–56,522
September 104:00 p.m.at Utah State*No. 16MW NetworkW 35–717,781
September 176:00 p.m.Utah Tech*No. 12
  • Stewart Stadium
  • Ogden, UT
KJZZW 44–149,035
September 248:00 p.m.at UC DavisNo. 12ESPN+W 17–128,822
October 86:00 p.m.No. 24 Eastern Washington No. 7
  • Stewart Stadium
  • Ogden, UT
KJZZ/ESPN+W 45–2110,724
October 153:00 p.m.at Portland StateNo. 6ESPN+W 42–74,067
October 221:00 p.m.at No. 3 Montana StateNo. 5ESPN+L 38–4320,707
October 291:00 p.m.No. 11 MontanaNo. 5T
  • Stewart Stadium
  • Ogden, UT
ESPN+W 24–2111,722
November 51:00 p.m.No. 2 Sacramento StateNo. 5
  • Stewart Stadium
  • Ogden, UT
ESPN+L 30–337,152
November 121:00 p.m.Idaho StateNo. 7
  • Stewart Stadium
  • Ogden, UT
ESPN+W 45–77,756
November 191:00 p.m.at Northern ArizonaNo. 7ESPN+W 33–315,217
November 262:00 p.m.No. 20 North Dakota*No. 9
ESPN+W 38–314,495
December 31:00 p.m.at No. 3 Montana State*No. 9
  • Bobcat Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round)
ESPN+L 25–3316,397

[3]

Game summaries

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Western Oregon

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

At Utah State

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

Utah Tech

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

At UC Davis

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

No. 24 Eastern Washington

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

At Portland State

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

At No. 3 Montana State

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

No. 11 Montana

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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

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

Idaho State

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

At Northern Arizona

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

FCS Playoffs

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No. 20 North Dakota – first round

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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

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

References

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  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.