Weber State football upsets No. 4 Idaho 31-29, shakes up Big Sky race
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- Weber State’s Adrian Cormier scores a touchdown against Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Easton Payne (53) rushes Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy (4) on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Jacob Sharp (14) hauls in a touchdown pass in front of Idaho’s Marcus Harris (2) on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Maxwell Anderson (3), Winston Reid (6) and Garrett Beck (13) celebrate a play against Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State quarterback Richie Muñoz throws the football against Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Garrett Beck (13) looks into the Idaho backfield before a snap on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
OGDEN — Weber State football may not be in the playoff race, but that doesn’t mean the Wildcats won’t have a hand in the postseason or Big Sky title picture.
Cashing in third-quarter touchdowns on a forced turnover and a big punt return, Weber State held on to upset No. 4 Idaho 31-29 on Saturday at Stewart Stadium.
“We played a complete game,” WSU senior running back Kris Jackson said. “They’d go down and score on offense, we go down and score right back, or special teams would bail us out.
“Last time playing on this field, last time coming out of that locker room and for us to do it the right way, it meant everything to me.”
The result eliminates Idaho from conference title contention and instead sets up a final-week, winner-takes-all matchup in Missoula where the winner of Montana and Montana State wins the Big Sky outright and possibly a No. 2 playoff seed with it.
With a 14-13 lead at halftime, Weber State (5-5, 3-4 Big Sky) flipped the tenor of the game early in the third quarter when Easton Payne stripped Idaho running back Nick Romano during a run up the middle. On a replay review reversal, Jack Kelly’s recovery of the fumble awarded the ball to WSU.
Freshman quarterback Richie Muñoz threw a 39-yard sideline fade to Treyshun Hurry on the next play. Three plays later, with a man in his face, Muñoz connected with Jacob Sharp on a wide-side, end-zone fade for a 21-13 lead.
Idaho (7-3, 5-2) coolly answered with an eight-play, 75-yard march that featured Gevani McCoy hooking up on a 26-yarder to star receiver Hayden Hatten on third down. Hatten finished with 14 catches for 175 yards, his 14th career 100-yard game.
Romano punched in a 4-yard TD rush, and a successful two-point play tied the game 21-21 with 6:03 left in the third quarter.
But Weber State had a counterpunch in Haze Hadley and the punt-return game.
Idaho came into Saturday having allowed zero net punt-return yards all season. But Ricardo Chavez launched his punt out of the reach of Idaho’s coverage team, giving Hadley space to pick up steam. Hadley burst forward, angled right, then dashed up the sideline for a 71-yard return to the Idaho 12.
“That just shows we have good hold-up on punt return and Haze does his thing when he gets the ball in his hands,” WSU senior linebacker Winston Reid said.
“And,” Jackson added, “to see Haze come back after his injury last year and do something like that, I think it warmed everyone’s heart on the sideline to see him make a play like that.”
Three plays later, redshirt freshman Adrian Cormier bounced a run to the right, kept his feet through contact at the 5 and punched in a 13-yard touchdown rush to put WSU back in front 28-21 with 46 seconds left in the quarter.
Weber State won the turnover battle, committing zero and forcing another in the fourth quarter. With 9:21 left and Idaho seemingly marching, Reid tripped up Jermaine Jackson after he caught an 8-yard pass. Jermaine Jackson coughed up the ball as he stumbled to regain balance, and Alema Tupuola recovered for WSU.
Reid finished with a career-high 17 tackles, including 11 through the first 17 minutes of the game.
“Playing complementary with our defense is huge, putting them in good situations to be aggressive, and those guys are coming through and getting the ball,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said. “When you don’t turn the ball over, you give yourself a chance to win each and every game, especially with the defense and our special teams here.”
More special teams play helped seal the deal. Punter Jack Burgess boomed a high punt from the Weber 45 to the Idaho 5. Abraham Williams was there to tap the ball away from the end zone, and Noah Nahas fell on it at the Idaho 2.
Despite the Vandals picking up a first down, Weber State’s defense then forced four straight incomplete passes and Idaho turned the ball over on downs at its own 15-yard line with 3:22 left.
One minute later, Kyle Thompson booted through a 27-yard, game-winning field goal for a 31-21 margin.
When it got the ball back, Idaho needed 12 plays to go 75 yards and ate up most of the clock in the process, especially thanks to a Steven Bryant sack of McCoy at the WSU 29. Hatten ended the drive with a 3-yard touchdown catch and a successful two-point play made it 31-29 with 12 seconds left.
Weber State senior Maxwell Anderson recovered the ensuing onside kick to end the game.
“Proud of our guys to come out and play for our 11 seniors who have devoted a lot to this program, have had a lot of success,” Mental said. “To come out with a win against a very good team like Idaho today is big time.”
For Weber State, Muñoz threw 10 of 18 for 152 yards and a touchdown. Sharp finished with three catches for 28 yards, Hurry with two for 46 and Jaden Thrower with one for 37.
“All this isn’t by mistake,” Mental said of Muñoz’s progress. “He puts in work … he’s a student of the game. He’s very hard on himself and is an extremely competitive person, but he’s even-keel. I’m proud of him. This is a big-time win for a quarterback.”
Kris Jackson rushed 16 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns, and Cormier added 47 yards on 12 carries with his big, third-quarter score.
Kelly and Garrett Beck each had seven tackles to add to Reid’s 17 for WSU’s defense, with Kelly recording two sacks. Freshman BJ Carey added six tackles from the safety spot as Weber often played with five defensive backs against Idaho’s pass-heavy attack.
McCoy threw 33 of 51 for 346 yards to lead the Vandals. Romano rushed 22 times for 84 yards.
Idaho opened the game with a scoring drive that Weber State held to a field goal by, after the Vandals got to the Weber 10, forcing a McCoy throwaway and dropping Jermaine Jackson for a loss. Chavez kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 tally.
The Vandals used a double pass on a 62-yard drive and made it 10-0 on a Romano 1-yard scoring run at the 10:08 mark of the second quarter.
WSU answered on the legs of Kris Jackson, who gobbled up 25 and 21 yards on consecutive, identical run plays to help his team to the Idaho 9. His 1-yard TD run got WSU on the board at 10-7 with 6:19 to go before halftime.
Chavez hammered through a career-high, 53-yard field goal to make it 13-7 for Idaho with 2:35 left in the quarter.
Muñoz had Weber’s answer with a 37-yarder down the middle to Thrower, then got 27 more on a dump-off screen to Cormier to the Idaho 16. Two more Cormier runs set up Kris Jackson for a 3-yard touchdown, giving Weber State a 14-13 lead at halftime.
Weber State finishes the regular season with a trip to Cal Poly.
BIG SKY SCORES
Weber State 31, No. 4 Idaho 29
No. 3 Montana 34, Portland State 10
No. 5 Montana State 57, E. Washington 14
No. 9 Sacramento State 41, Cal Poly 30
UC Davis 21, Idaho State 14