Muñoz passing, Weber State defense squash Idaho State in 33-21 victory
-
- Weber State receiver Jacob Sharp (14) celebrates his touchdown reception against Idaho State with lineman Ethan Atagi on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Pocatello, Idaho.
-
- Weber State defenders Winston Reid, bottom left, and Montae Pate, right, take down Idaho State receiver Chedon James on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Pocatello, Idaho.
-
- Teammates congratulate Weber State linebacker Jack Kelly (17) after he recorded a sack and a safety against Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Pocatello, Idaho.
-
- Weber State receiver Jaden Thrower, front, celebrates his touchdown reception against Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Pocatello, Idaho.
-
- Weber State’s Clarence Butler, middle, rushes the ball against Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Pocatello, Idaho.
The final scoreboard and yardage totals belie what unfolded on the Holt Arena turf Saturday in Pocatello, Idaho.
Richie Muñoz threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter, Weber State’s defense racked up seven sacks, forced three turnovers and, in the second half, scored nine points as the Wildcats continued their domination over Idaho State with a 33-21 victory.
The win is WSU’s 10th straight in the series and the Wildcats are 37-3 in the last 40 contests against the Bengals. Weber State improves to 4-5 on the season and 2-4 in Big Sky play.
“Up front, they won,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said of his defense. “The backers, their blitz packages … coach (Joe) Dale and (Grant) Duff and the rest of the staff did a hell of a job.”
A 22-yard Kyle Thompson field goal gave Weber State a 33-13 lead with 7:42 left in the game. Idaho State gained 100 yards and scored eight points against WSU’s third- and fourth-string defensive players, including several walk-ons, to account for the final margin. WSU outgained ISU 397-228 when both sides had starters in the game.
Both sides of the football handled the Bengals (3-6, 3-3 Big Sky) from the jump as Weber State outgained Idaho State 267-62 in the first half.
WSU’s offense finally broke through by persisting through negative plays and penalties, taking an 11-play, 80-yard drive of 5:45 into the second quarter — capped when Muñoz spun a 23-yarder off his back foot to a streaking Jaden Thrower up the left sideline, making it 7-0 at the 10:55 mark of the second quarter.
Weber State’s defense forced a three-and-out, and a Muñoz 23-yard scramble on third down kept the next drive alive that he ended with a 19-yard touchdown rope to Jacob Sharp on a play-action slant, making it 14-0 at the 6:24 mark.
Feeling the momentum, assistant David Fiefia and Mental dialed up an onside kick. Sloan Calder softly topped the ball straight ahead and, with Idaho State’s front line bailing backward to block, Calder fell on the ball after it went 10 yards.
Five plays later, Muñoz tossed to tight end Hayden Meacham, whose delayed route found him open up the left sideline. Meacham dove backward and secured a 26-yard touchdown reception above his head, putting the Wildcats up 21-0, which would be the halftime score.
“Myself, Richie and Zach (Larson) spent the bye week working the fundamentals of his feet, closing off, staying closed,” Mental said about Muñoz. “And I give a lot of credit to our receivers and coach (Skyler) Ridley, getting open and making plays. And Richie obviously played really well today.”
In three starts, the true freshman Muñoz has passed 59 of 102 (57.8%) for 573 yards, four touchdowns and one interception — 100 more passing yards than WSU threw in the four games previous to his being named starter.
Weber State’s only turnover of the game came in the first quarter. Muñoz’s first career interception was not a conventional one; he was hit as he threw and the ball fluttered into the air, caught by Idaho State defensive lineman Nathan Reynolds who ran a short return to the Weber State 8-yard line.
An offensive pass interference flag on a pick play backed up the Bengals and, four plays after the Muñoz pick, WSU cornerback Jalon Rock stripped ISU receiver Aaron Blancas near the sideline during a tackle and recovered his own forced fumble to turn the home team away.
Idaho State didn’t cross 100 total offensive yards until the 6:18 mark of the third quarter, during a drive that ISU quarterback Hunter Hays ended with a 20-yard touchdown scramble up the middle of the field. The Bengals more than doubled their yardage on the six-play, 85-yard drive to make the score 21-7 with 5:11 left in the quarter.
Thompson missed a 35-yard field goal and Idaho State took the ball near midfield as the third-quarter clock expired.
WSU dialed up the heat on the first play of the fourth. Cornerback Maxwell Anderson smacked Hays on a blitz, jarring the ball loose for a fumble near the 45. The ball bounded backward where linebacker Garrett Beck scooped it up and ran 35 yards for a touchdown, making the score 28-7 with 14:51 left.
At one point in the game, Idaho State was 0 of 13 on third downs (the Bengals finished 1 of 15), but it was a fourth-and-9 from the Weber 35 that got ISU an answer when the other QB, Jordan Cooke, lined a ball to Cyrus Wallace on an out-and-in seam route. The extra-point kick clanged off the right upright, making it 28-13 with 13:33 left.
Weber State put the game out of question during the next sequence. Jack Burgess punted a ball 48 yards to a fair catch at the ISU 9. Three plays later, WSU linebacker Jack Kelly shot through the middle of the line and sacked Cooke in the end zone for a safety (30-13, 10:57 left).
WSU got the free kick at midfield and milked another 3:15 off the clock. Muñoz nearly had a fourth TD pass; Kris Jackson leaked open to the right corner of the end zone and the throw was there, but ISU defensive end Logan George extended to get a hand on the pass at the line of scrimmage. So Thompson booted the 22-yard field goal instead for a 33-13 lead.
“When we’re winning the turnover margin … we’re a tough team to beat. We’ve just got to continue that,” Mental said. “I love how our guys responded off the bye week and being mature about that with such a young group. Credit goes to the senior leadership, keeping this group intact.”
With lots of backups in, sophomore safety EJ Evett stopped Idaho State’s first foray into the WSU red zone by picking off Cooke in the end zone for a touchback, the Wildcats’ third forced turnover of the game (not counting the safety).
But ISU called a timeout with 39 seconds left to force WSU to punt, blocked it, and Cooke threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Alfred Jordan Jr. with 25 seconds left in the game. A successful two-point play made the final score 33-21.
Muñoz finished 26 of 41 for 222 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He added seven carries for 40 yards and was the leading rusher at halftime. Clarence Butler rushed 10 times for 57 yards and Jackson added seven carries for 44 yards.
Eight receivers caught passes for Weber State, all with at least two receptions. Sharp totaled six catches for 82 yards and Treyshun Hurry added six catches for 45 yards. Meacham caught three balls for 38 yards, Haze Hadley three for 17, and Thrower two for 28.
Cooke finished 23 of 45 for 277 yards, with 84 coming after the 33-13 margin. He and Hays (7 of 10, 77 yards) were sacked seven times for negative-60 yards. That gave Idaho State negative-30 rushing yards, with Aiden Taylor’s late 6-yard run accounting for the Bengals’ top individual rushing effort. Chedon James caught nine passes for 86 yards.
For Weber State’s defense, Winston Reid, Beck and Kelly each totaled six tackles. Reid totaled three pass breakups, and Beck and Kelly recorded the two scoring plays. Anderson had two sacks and Steven Bryant recorded 1 1/2 sacks.
Weber State next hosts No. 3 Idaho (7-2) on Nov. 11 for senior day.