Weber State notebook: WSU football ranked for first time in 2 years
Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics
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)Weber State football’s three-game winning streak and position tied for first in the Big Sky Conference have lifted the Wildcats into the national rankings for the first time in two years.
WSU entered the STATS FCS Top 25 at No. 22, according to the latest poll released Monday. It’s the first time Weber State has been ranked since Oct. 7, 2024, when the Wildcats were 3-3 following a road win at No. 8 Montana.
WSU went 5-13 over the next 18 games, but is 5-3 this season and 4-1 in the Big Sky under first-year head coach Eric Kjar following a 27-20 win over then-No. 21 Idaho State.
The STATS poll is voted upon by media members and voters from conference offices from across the country.
This week’s ranking sets up a top-25 matchup as the Wildcats travel to No. 3 Montana State. WSU lost 66-14 last year in Bozeman.
Eight games into the action, this week’s poll saw a significant shakeup after then-No. 11 North Dakota defeated No. 1 South Dakota State. For the first time in a 122-year history, Tarleton State has a No. 1 ranking; the Texans joined Division I and FCS in 2020.
Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Northern Arizona rose to No. 7, tied for its highest ranking this century, after taking care of Portland State. Montana fell from No. 7 to No. 14 after losing at home to Idaho, and UC Davis dropped six spots to No. 20 after taking a 38-17 beating at Southern Utah.
YOUNG GETS WEEKLY HONOR
Weber State sophomore receiver Robert Young was named the Big Sky Conference special teams player of the week.
The Roy High alum returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday’s win over Idaho State, a score that kept the Wildcats afloat until the offense got going in the second half.
It was WSU’s first punt returned for a touchdown since Hudson Schenck’s 91-yard score at Montana State on Oct. 22, 2022.
SPARROW HONORED, TOO
Weber State volleyball middle blocker Sophia Sparrow was named the Big Sky’s co-defensive player of the week for her play in WSU’s two wins last week.
Sparrow recorded one solo block and 14 block assists in wins over Idaho State and Northern Colorado. She gave WSU consecutive such honors after sophomore middle blocker Ziya Munyer was the previous week’s defensive player of the week.
Riding a three-match winning streak, Weber State next hosts Montana State on Thursday night.
