Weber State football: Defense, late surge push WSU past No. 21 Idaho State
Train Bell Trophy Game: Weber State 27, Idaho State 20
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- Weber State lineman Brody Cutrer (66) lifts both arms as the Wildcats celebrate with the Train Bell Trophy, right, after beating Idaho State in a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State receiver Robert Young (0) finishes a 68-yard punt return touchdown during a Big Sky football game against Idaho State on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State tight end Ammon Munyer (85) signals a first down after a catch against Idaho State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State receiver Noah Kjar, left, hauls in a touchdown catch over Idaho State’s Kai Callen (26) during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State cornerbacks coach Kam Garrett leaps in celebration with linebacker Raimoana Tinirauarii (11) after winning a Big Sky football game against Idaho State on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
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- A Weber State defender tackles Idaho State’s Owen Tomich during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State defensive coordinator Gavin Fowler, center, and linebacker Will Cornelson (0) celebrate a stop against Idaho State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State head coach Eric Kjar, center right, speaks with coaches near tight end Kolby Howard (84) during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics)
OGDEN — Strong defense carried Weber State football for long stretches Saturday and, when the offense made plays, the Wildcats came out victors.
WSU made two fourth-down stops in the fourth quarter, Nate Dahle and company put together a touchdown drive with 1:11 left, and the Wildcats defeated No. 21 Idaho State 27-20 on Saturday at Stewart Stadium, giving WSU its 50th all-time win against the Bengals and winning the Train Bell Trophy for the first time since its 2024 reinstatement.
“I love how hard and tough our team’s playing,” WSU head coach Eric Kjar said. “They’re fighting, they’re battling, and they continue to get better at it week in, week out.
“They’re doing a really good job of staying in it and staying connected during the game, and fighting all the way to the end.”
Linebacker Teni Worthen said the team has come together as a unit since losing a six-turnover affair to Portland State and it’s helped the defense improve.
“We trust the offense … we trust Coach Kjar,” Worthen said. “We know they can do the job and we just have to do our part.
“We’ve got the O, the O’s got us, and that’s what’s helped. Just that belief.”
The first quarter was wild, to say the least. The frame featured three turnovers, a blocked field goal, a pick-six, a punt-return touchdown and a failed two-point conversion.
Idaho State (4-3, 1-3 Big Sky) led 7-6 after one on a Treshyn Fesili 55-yard interception return off a Dahle dump-down at the line of scrimmage.
For Weber State (5-3, 4-1), Robert Young tallied the program’s first punt-return touchdown in four years with a 68-yard score, making the first defender miss, fighting through two tackles, and finding blocks up the right side. Weber attempted a two-point rush with Mapa Vaenuku, which Idaho State stopped.
Either through knocks or ISU’s ineffectiveness — Weber State held ISU to two first downs on its first four possessions — Jordan Cooke sat in favor of Davis Harsin at quarterback in the second quarter. Weber got a 37-yard field on a dropped fake punt snap but did not score when Dahle threw incomplete on a fourth-and-3 at the ISU 18.
Soon, Harsin had the Bengals’ only explosive play of the game, lining a 32-yard fade route to Julian Mason to put Idaho State up 14-6 late in the second quarter, which was the halftime score.
Weber had just 141 yards of offense and Dahle was 8 of 21 for 44 yards.
What happened next was part attitude adjustment, part scheme.
“I probably didn’t call as good a game, especially in the first half, to put Nate in better situations. I’ve got to do a better job of that,” Eric Kjar said. “I challenged (Dahle) a little bit to just get his energy up. He’s a super competitive kid and I want him out there competing.”
“Just to change the mindset,” Dahle said about halftime conversations. “Just attack them and … just go out there and play, don’t overthink stuff.”
Dahle completed his first eight passes out of halftime. Spencer Ferguson, who finished with 133 yards on 16 carries, burst for runs of 22 and 25 yards to lead a 10-play, 91-yard touchdown drive, capped by Seth Rigtrup from 2 yards out to make it 14-12 early in the third.
Weber State’s defense then stopped ISU on a three-and-out for the fourth time, handing the ball back to the offense.
Dahle did much of the work on the next drive, a nine-play affair. He hit Tate Kjar for a 17-yarder sitting in a zone to get things moving, and threw a 14-yard corner fade to a one-handing Noah Kjar for a touchdown, putting Weber ahead 19-14 with 4:54 left in the third.
The Bengals got off the mat, offensively, with an answer. Using Harsin’s legs in designed runs, ISU drove to the Weber 18 on a Harsin 9-yarder. But his helmet came off at the end of the play, putting Cooke back on the field.
Idaho State was aggressive, unleashing Cooke’s arm with an 18-yard corner fade to Tommy Poe to put the visitors up 20-19 with 1:56 left in the third. (Cooke spiked a two-point pass short.)
As good as WSU’s offense looked to start the half, it punted twice on its next two possessions, setting up Idaho State to possibly put the game away after the Bengals embarked on an 18-play drive that ate 9:05 off the clock, picking up third down after third down. But at the WSU 15, the Wildcats stacked Harsin for a loss of 1, then Raimoana Tinirauarii crushed him from behind as he threw incomplete on third down.
On came Mason Lindberg, who has two 5-for-5 field goal games this season and is automatic from inside 50 — but he missed left from 33 yards with 4:01 left in the game.
Still, offensive struggles meant WSU quickly punted back to the Bengals. Using timeouts and the 2-minute warning, the Wildcat defense stacked up Harsin for just 1 yard on rushing attempts on third and fourth downs, turning the ball back to Weber State on downs.
WSU had the ball at its own 45 with 1:45 left, and would barely need any of it. Dahle ripped a 38-yard completion to Young up the seam on the first play. On third-and-8 from the ISU 15, the Bengals drew their first flag of the game: pass interference in the end zone on a ball to Noah Kjar, a play where three refs threw yellow on the turf.
Ferguson punched in the ensuing 2-yard rush, Dahle hit Tate Kjar across the field open for a two-point conversion, and WSU led 27-20 with 1:11 left.
It wasn’t over there. After three total flags in the first 58:49, Harsin drew pass interference penalties against WSU cornerbacks Bones Marks and Tre Turner on consecutive plays, both with questionable factors, to push the Bengals to the WSU 22 with 40 seconds left.
Worthen said it mirrored something defensive coordinator Gavin Fowler is known to do during practice — call penalties that favor the offense and see how his defense responds.
“It’s really just whether or not we want to (buck) up and whether or not we really want this game,” Worthen said.
As they had all game, WSU got pressure on Harsin to force a throwaway, and linebacker Da’Veon Ross batted a ball at the line of scrimmage on a blitz to set up fourth-and-4 at the 16. ISU sent Harsin right with a rolling pocket, but he slipped during WSU’s pursuit; he appeared to put his knee on the turf, the play continued, and Porter Small flattened him for a sack to end the game.
Dahle finished 18 of 33 for 173 yards. Noah Kjar caught four passes for 40 yards. Worthen led the defense with 12 tackles, and Ross and Jayden Mayberry each had 10. Tinirauarii picked off Cooke on the game’s first possession.
Harsin rushed 20 times for 83 yards and was 14 of 27 for 145 passing yards. Mason pulled down five catches for 82 yards.
CHASING POINTS
Eric Kjar said he thought his team had the right look to run a two-point conversion in the first quarter, and that his players are usually excited to run the play, but the execution was lacking enough that he wondered aloud if he’d call it again.
“I didn’t like chasing the points,” Eric Kjar said. “I wasn’t happy with how I coached the game from an offensive standpoint (in the first half).”
WHAT IFS
With a road trip to healthy Montana State next, there’s a reality about the upcoming three-game stretch. But WSU is, in one consideration, one play from being 5-0 in the Big Sky right now.
As is, a 5-3 overall record has eclipsed 4-8 marks from the last two seasons.
