Butler (2-1), an FCS program in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League, returns to facing a fellow FCS foe after two weeks against non-DI opponents.

Butler is in its first year under Kevin Lynch as head coach, unofficially making a trade with fellow Hoosiers at Ball State after the Cardinals hired away the Bulldogs’ Mike Uremovich; Lynch was offensive coordinator at Ball State. He’s only the 10th head coach in the last 90 years at Butler.

The Bulldogs lost 38-14 at Northern Iowa to open the season. In Butler’s only home game, the Bulldogs hosted Division II Truman State and claimed a 37-27 victory. Butler led 28-27 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter in that game.

Then, Butler took a 2-hour bus trip to southeastern Indiana for a road game against Division III Hanover College, a 16-7 win that required the Bulldogs to return the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown to get a two-score lead.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

It would seem Weber State (1-2) should fare favorably with a clean effort. But football coaches don’t think like that.

“I know coach Lynch very well, being an East Coast guy,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said. “He’s a D3 guy, he was the OC at Ball State; they do a good job being physical offensively and defensively. The defensive coordinator (Jordan Belfori) is from Colgate, so he’s played in big-time games.”

Either way, the well-traveled Wildcats are happy to be home.

“This is why you do it, right? Home games in college, night, first time for some of these guys in front of the Wildcat fans,” Mental said. “That’s why you want to play football, and we’re really excited about finally getting home.”

INJURY NOTES

Sophomore receiver Noah Kjar is out for the season, taking a good receiving and return option off the field for Weber State. Kjar tore his ACL and suffered other potential ligament injuries in the second half at McNeese.

MEET THE BULLDOGS

Redshirt junior Reagan Andrew (No. 13) is listed on Butler’s depth chart as the starting quarterback, though he did not play in last week’s game. The 5-foot-7 Andrew has thrown for 345 yards (172.5 per game) on 68% completion with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Sophomore Jarin Alley (No. 12), standing 6-foot-2, started last week after the pair split reps in Week 2. He’s thrown for 240 yards (12o per game) on 76% completion with zero touchdowns and one interception.

Despite his absence last week, Andrew is still the team’s net-yardage rushing leader with 109 yards in two games and has three of Butler’s four rushing touchdowns. Griffin Caldwell (No. 27) and Charlie Spegal (No. 36) each have 97 rushing yards in three games.

The player to watch with the ball in his hands is junior Ethan Loss (No. 19). The wide receiver leads FCS in all-purpose yards per game at 170.7. His 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was key both to last week’s narrow win and to his all-purpose total. At receiver, he has 255 yards on 20 receptions (85 yards per game) with a long of 34 and 12.75 yards per catch.

Last week’s sackfest at Hanover (seven sacks) helped boost Butler to 23 tackles for loss (7.7 per game) and eight total sacks. Senior linebacker Jeremiah Jackson (No. 10, 15 tackles), senior defensive back Will Mason (No. 1, 14 tackles) and senior linebacker Brayton Spetter (No. 42, 14 tackles) lead the defense. Sophomore linebacker Jackson Stratton (No. 5) has three sacks on the season.

TEAM VS. TEAM METRICS

Sample size remains relevant in Week 4 as Weber State has played two FBS opponents while Butler has played two non-DI foes. But the season’s raw averages are below.

Weber State has scored 18.3 points on 260 yards per game, including a 4.3 yards-per-play average. Defensively, the Wildcats give up 44.7 points per game on 517 yards and 7.4 yards per play.

Weber State remains minus-three in the turnover margin. WSU has lost seven turnovers; quarterback Jackson Gilkey’s interception total has grown to seven while the Wildcats are yet to fumble this season. Defensively, Weber has gained four takeaways (three interceptions, one fumble).

WSU averages five penalties for 49 yards per game.

For Butler, its offense averages 22.3 points per game on 362.3 yards and 5.2 per play. Defensively, the Bulldogs allow 24 points on 319 yards per game, with a per-play average of 5.7.

Butler has yet to record a defensive takeaway this season; the Bulldogs are minus-six in turnover margin, having thrown three interceptions and lost three fumbles.

The Bulldogs are penalized an average of three times and 33 yards per game.

ODDS & PREDICTIONS

Jeff Sagarin ranks Weber State at No. 165 in all of Division I (FBS and FCS, 265 total teams). Butler is at No. 241. Including home-field advantage, his formula favors Weber State by 14.5 points.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranks Weber State at No. 81 in FCS (129 teams) and Butler at 77. His formula predicts a narrow Weber State victory of 30-28.

D Ratings predicts a Weber State win of 32-22 at 78% probability.

HOME SWEET HOME/LIGHT THE W

Weber State says this is the first season in the program’s history that the football team has started a season with three road games and that Sept. 20 is the latest home opener since 2007. WSU is 9-1 in its last 10 home openers.

Game time was moved from its original 6 p.m. time to 7 p.m., facilitating the university’s first presentation to “Light the W” on the hillside after completing construction of a permanent fixture above Stewart Stadium. A solar-panel-clad letter outlined with LEDs makes the shape of the university’s academic-based logo often called the “Flaming W.”

WEATHER

In the tail-end of summer’s heat, Saturday actually brings a more mild day with a high of 77 degrees and occasional clouds.

The game’s rescheduled kickoff of 7 p.m. will make for a cooler evening. The forecast calls for 74 degrees at kickoff with the sun setting at 7:27 p.m. Temperatures fall to about 70 at halftime and 67 by game’s end, with a slight, shifting breeze present through the game.

TV & RADIO

The game broadcast streams on the ESPN+ subscription service, available on the ESPN app or plus.espn.com. Mike Folta, who is the Utah Mammoth’s radio play-by-play voice, will be on the mic with Riley Jensen on color commentary. Weber State’s radio call, with Carl Arky and Jerry Graybeal, airs in Utah on 103.1 FM and online at 1031thewave.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES

This is the first all-time meeting between the two teams.

It’s only the second time Butler has played a Big Sky opponent; the other was in 2023, a 35-20 loss at Montana. Butler’s only game in the state of Utah was in 2001, a 49-24 loss at Southern Utah.