No. 22 Weber State football affrights No. 20 UC Davis in dominant Halloween win
Weber State 38, UC Davis 14
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle (13) celebrates his rushing touchdown against UC Davis during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State running back Seth Rigtrup (32) fights a tackle attempt from UC Davis defender Brayden Rosa during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State defensive tackle Wyatt Ferguson, center left, reaches to tackle UC Davis running back Jordan Fisher during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State linebacker Teni Worthen (23) leans to tackle UC Davis receiver Sam Gbatu Jr. during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State receiver Tate Kjar reaches out to catch what became a 32-yard reception past UC Davis defender Drew Cofield (11) during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle (13) leaps to celebrate a touchdown with a teammate during a Big Sky football game against UC Davis on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State running back Seth Rigtrup (32) breaks a tackle from UC Davis defender Trent Carrade (90) during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State linebacker Will Cornelson (0) tackles UC Davis rusher Mason Walsh during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State kicker David Dellenbach puts through a 31-yard field goal against UC Davis during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle (13) lets a pass fly over UC Davis lineman Julius Ray (56) during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State running back Seth Rigtrup, center, outruns UC Davis defensive back Brayden Rosa (23) during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State’s defense piles up a UC Davis play near midfield during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State kicker David Dellenbach (99) watches his 21-yard field goal go through the uprights during a Big Sky football game against UC Davis on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
OGDEN — The only way in which Saturday’s Big Sky Halloween matinee was scary was if you were on the UC Davis sideline.
No. 22 Weber State controlled all facets, led from start to finish and spooked its way to a 38-14 victory over the No. 20 Aggies at Stewart Stadium, improving the Wildcats to a 5-2 mark in conference play.
“After last week, we had to get our ‘get back,'” linebacker Teni Worthen said. “So it was good to come back this week and play a clean game, play a fun game in all three phases.”
Though head coach Eric Kjar would have preferred touchdowns over field goals, Weber State (6-4, 5-2 Big Sky) used two David Dellenbach boots to go up 13-7 early in the second quarter. The rest of the frame basically decided the game.
WSU forced UC Davis (5-4, 3-3) into consecutive three-and-outs on third-down sacks from linebacker Da’Veon Ross and defensive end Mapa Vaenuku.
Nate Dahle hit Jasean Mayberry for a 23-yarder to set up the quarterback’s own 12-yard scrambling touchdown, Vaenuku rushed in a two-point conversion, and WSU led 21-7 with 4:32 left in the first half.
Davis then spent the entirety of that 4:32 on 13 plays. Even after the Aggies successfully handed to star back Jordan Fisher for a 3-yard run to the WSU 16 on fourth-and-1, the Wildcats held. As Weber State’s defense did many times Saturday, they dropped Fisher for a loss on first down, and forced QB Treynor Cleeland into short dump-downs.
The result was a no-timeouts, fourth-and-5 from the Weber 10 that saw Cleeland throw a long end-zone fade incomplete as time expired on the second quarter.
Weber State’s defense totaled six tackles for loss, including four sacks to bring its league-leading total to 23 sacks in 10 games. WSU defenders spent plenty of time hitting Cleeland as he threw, too, and made Fisher work for all 128 of his yards.
“Every time someone would hit him, make a tackle, you could hear him. He wasn’t wanting it anymore,” Worthen said about hitting hard, including against Fisher. “With offenses that have an identity, we want them to change their ways and think outside the box.”
Overall, UC Davis finished 9 of 26 on third and fourth downs. The Aggies were 3 of 8 on fourth down, making WSU’s defense stay on the field after getting down by two scores early. The Wildcats didn’t break; WSU eventually outgained UCD 500-386.
“Those first couple weeks, it was like, ‘OK, we’re going to have to have a shootout every game.’ Now they just continue to get better and you can see it in practice every day, just their work ethic,” Dahle said about WSU’s defense. “It’s amazing to see the growth they’ve made. We can rely on them on offense. We don’t want to, but we know we can; they have our backs.”
Kjar said he thought this was his defense’s best tackling game of the season.
“They especially have become more comfortable with the defense, so they’re playing faster. I think that’s where a lot of the especially disruptive plays … come about, because they’re playing faster,” Kjar said. “Guys are stepping up and playing at a higher level than they were before. A lot of it, I think, is urgency, but they’re more familiar with that they’re trying to do.”
That game-winning sequence concluded when Weber State got the kickoff to start the third quarter. A 16-yard pass to Robert Young set up a third-and-short float screen to Seth Rigtrup. Rigtrup picked up the first down at the sideline and no Davis defender stopped him.
Rigtrup kept his feet, stayed inbounds (at least not reversed by replay review) and raced 52 yards for a touchdown. That put Weber State up 28-7 and there was not a ton of drama left in the contest from there, even after Davis answered with a 12-play TD drive.
“Really proud of the way our guys played all the way around, in special teams, defense, offense. I thought they did a great job and probably played our most complete game,” Kjar said. “Defensively, had a tall task; they had some big-time weapons and I thought we really held those guys in check.”
In the fourth quarter, Davis used a 47-yard Fisher run on fourth down to extend a drive, only for Cleeland to throw four straight incomplete passes from Weber State’s 18-yard line to turn it over on downs.
Dahle hit Young for 21 yards and Mayberry for 31 on consecutive passes to spark an 82-yard drive, capped with a 6-yard TD toss to Noah Kjar, putting WSU ahead 35-14.
UC Davis took its next drive to the Weber State 14 where Worthen picked off Cleeland and returned it 60 yards the Davis 24. There, Dellenbach put through a 42-yard field goal for the final margin.
Befitting the game’s arc, UC Davis took 3 1/2 minutes driving to the Weber 36 only for a fourth-and-6 pass to go 5 yards for another turnover on downs, allowing Weber State to run out the clock.
Even with Dahle misfires early in the game, the lefty finished 21 of 40 for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 79 yards on seven carries.
“One thing about this boy, too: freshman. He’s a freshman making plays,” Worthen said about Dahle. “He’s going to have mistakes, obviously. This is his first year of college football. He’s a dog, too; he’s going to make plays. He shows that. Every game he shows that.”
Rigtrup, who started for an injured Spencer Ferguson, added 74 yards on 16 carries. Young caught four passes for 72 yards and Noah Kjar had seven catches for 67 yards. Noah Kjar’s TD gives him 11 for the season, which would be No. 1 nationally in FCS but for Montana’s Brooks Davis hauling in 3 TDs Saturday to beat Eastern Washington, giving him 12.
Mayberry finished with three catches for 63 yards, and Tate Kjar added 42 yards on three catches. WSU averaged 7.2 yards per play.
Ross led WSU’s defense with nine tackles and two sacks. Worthen had seven tackles.
For UC Davis, Cleeland threw 23 of 38 for 265 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Jones caught four balls for 76 yards. Fisher racked up 128 rushing yards but needed 27 carries as the Aggies averaged 4.9 yards per play.
Weber State’s defense opened the game forcing two UC Davis punts.
WSU’s first drive went to the UCD 4 but the Wildcats had Dellenbach kick a 21-yard field goal to get on the board. Weber’s second possession went 68 yards for a touchdown when freshman La’akea Kalama took a third-down inside screen and broke a tackle near the 5 and finished for a 12-yard touchdown reception, making it 10-0.
Davis cut that to 10-7 with a Cleeland jump-ball throw to Zach Jones, who won the battle over defensive back Bones Marks for a 38-yard touchdown reception with 1:04 left in the first quarter. That was as close as it got.
NOTES
After games in 10 straight weeks, Weber State has reached its bye week. The Wildcats rest before finishing the season with a rivalry trip to top-10-ranked Northern Arizona on Nov. 14, then host Utah Tech on Nov. 21.
Wins in four of the last five games, with a made-them-work loss to No. 3 Montana State the only defeat, mean the playoffs are still a possibility for the upstart Wildcats.
With six overall wins and five Big Sky victories, Weber State has already posted the program’s best season since Jay Hill left following the 2022 season. Mickey Mental’s best team went 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big Sky in 2023.
