Weber State football: 6 turnovers doom explosive offensive night in loss to Portland State
Portland State 44, Weber State 41
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- Weber State receiver Marvin Session (18) grabs a touchdown pass against Portland State’s Sanborne Melson during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle, right, tries to leap past Portland State’s Gio Kafentzis during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State defensive tackle Kevin Johnson, center, wraps up Portland State running back Delon Thompson, right, during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle (13) uncorks what became an 80-yard touchdown pass, with lineman Brody Cutrer (66) blocking, during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State receiver Marvin Session hauls in what became an 80-yard touchdown reception against Portland State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State and Portland State linemen tangle during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State receiver Marvin Session, left, finishes a touchdown reception against Portland State’s Sanborne Melson during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State running back Seth Rigtrup (32) outpaces Portland State’s Isaac Redford (4) for a touchdown during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State running back Seth Rigtrup (32) celebrates a touchdown with a teammate during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State quarterback Devin Brown (33) pulls back to pass against Portland State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State receiver Noah Kjar (8) runs with a catch against Portland State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State running back Omar Shah carries the football against Portland State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle, left, tries to break a Portland State tackle during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State defensive tackles Kevin Johnson (44) and Zion Finau (90) celebrate after Finau forced a Portland State fumble during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State defensive tackle Zion Finau (90) gestures after forcing a Portland State fumble during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State defensive tackle Zion Finau (90) gestures after forcing a Portland State fumble during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State linebacker Raimoana Tinirauarii celebrates recovering a Portland State fumble during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State running back Omar Shah, center right, rushes the football as Portland State’s Jaxton Helmstetler (6) arrives during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State quarterback Devin Brown looks upfield during a run against Portland State in a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State quarterback Devin Brown looks to pass against Portland State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State defensive ends coach James Cowser, center, pumps his fist during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State quarterback Devin Brown carries the football against Portland State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
OGDEN — It was fitting that the trivia question Saturday night at Stewart Stadium asked how many combined points Weber State and Portland State scored in their 2007 contest that’s the highest-scoring game in Division I football history. (Answer: 141, a 73-68 final).
Saturday’s game felt like it was on track for that, and that it was decided multiple times, with perceived momentum shifting from one sideline to the other like a metronome trying to click out the tempo to a thrash metal song.
But Weber State and Portland State ultimately came down to three plays.
Tied 41-41, WSU was at the PSU 40 with 27 seconds left, trying to get in field goal range and come through on a comeback in front of 7,478 fans at Stewart Stadium.
But on a night full of poor ball security and bad decisions from its QBs, it was protection that failed the Wildcats on this one.
Play 1: WSU quarterback Nate Dahle is hit as he tries to deliver a sideline ball and PSU safety Terahiti Wolfe picks it off, crucially returning it about 20 yards across midfield and giving the Vikings the ball at the WSU 45.
Play 2: With one timeout and time for one more setup play, a sprint handoff breaks like it had earlier in the game, with PSU’s Delon Thompson capping his 213-yard rushing night with an 11-yard dash to the sideline. He smartly steps out of bounds at the WSU 24 with 2 seconds left.
Play 3: Joshua Hossmann Lees boots through a low-lining, 41-yard field goal as time expires.
Portland State 44, Weber State 41.
The Wildcats (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky) racked up an incredible 703 yards of offense. Dahle threw 15 of 27 for 338 yards and five touchdowns in just 2.5 quarters, taking over again for a returning Devin Brown. WSU had two 100-yard receivers (Marvin Session 175, Noah Kjar 137) and Portland State (1-4, 1-1 Big Sky) had its 200-plus-yard rusher.
But Weber State coughed up a whopping six turnovers. The Wildcats punted only once, and seemed to stop themselves more than the Vikings did.
“Turnovers killed us,” WSU head coach Eric Kjar said. “First focus as a coach is making sure we fix those things.
“Our kids are playing hard. … they’re pushing themselves. We’ve just got to do a better job preparing them and … getting them locked in on their assignments.”
Eric Kjar said offensively, he’ll continue to look at plays where easier decisions, or completing easier passes, help his QBs be more efficient and complement the big-play lean the offense has built. He also wanted players to be more prepared to start the game.
“Our urgency and the ability to fix those needs to speed up. We’ve got to take care of business quicker … we’re not doing that right now, and that’s on us as coaches, especially myself as the head coach. We’ve got to fix things and fix them faster.”
Brown, the fifth-year QB, got the start in a return from the hand injury suffered one month ago in the season opener. Weber State’s first drives went like this: missed field goal, touchdown, fumble, turnover on downs at the PSU 3, turnover on downs at the PSU 2.
“The analytical piece, both of those were that,” Eric Kjar said about going for it twice inside the PSU 5 when field goals, in hindsight, would have made a big difference. “I think (analytics) are really good for you and your program … I’ve got to get used to it and get a better feel, use my own judgment more — which is on me, too, to be better there and make better decisions.”
The Vikings, meanwhile, punched WSU’s defense in the mouth with a four-play touchdown drive, Zui Shelton returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, and the fumble was Brown’s, getting his arm hit as he pulled back to pass; that gave PSU an 18-yard field and an eventual touchdown.
As in both games Brown has played, he threw for exactly 150 yards in the first half Saturday but his night ended ignominiously. Wolfe picked off Brown for his first INT of the night, but WSU got the ball back when Zion Finau strip-sacked PSU quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele and Raimoana Tinirauarii recovered at the WSU 38.
Two plays later, Brown twisted his right ankle on a scramble into the scrum, threw incomplete on third down, and WSU had its only punt of the game.
Sagapolutele soon bombed a 58-yard touchdown pass to Terence Loville behind the WSU defense and Portland State led 28-7 with 5:33 left in the first half.
Eric Kjar said it was both injury and performance that led to Brown leaving the game.
“It was a little bit of both. He had the ankle on the one run, and also hit his finger on one earlier,” the head coach said. “You could tell he wasn’t throwing it … like we’ve seen him throw it.”
With Dahle again in from the bullpen, WSU seemed to find new life. He directed an 11-play answer, capped when Marvin Session snagged a good-hands catch at the front pylon for a 21-yard touchdown.
WSU got a stop and with 19 seconds left, Dahle hit Session in stride for an 80-yard touchdown up the right sideline.
Despite it all, PSU led just 28-21 at halftime. Session finally had his breakout game in his fifth year.
“Just making plays when we need it. Due to the fact Noah did start off strong, it led to more opportunities for me. Just got to step up for my guys, at the end of the day,” Session said. “But execution-wise, taking care of the ball. We’ve got to be better as an offense.
“Just winning your one-on-ones. Just 10 guys can’t win, it’s got to be all 11 … (PSU) played harder when it counted.”
PSU opened the second half driving to the WSU 25 but the Wildcats stood there, and Hossmann Lees made a 42-yard field goal to put the score at 31-21.
Dahle threw an interception on the next play, with a long return from Marcellous Ryan to the WSU 33. Thompson scored on a 33-yard touchdown run and just like that, it was 38-21 just four minutes into the third quarter.
It wasn’t over yet. Dahle led another 11-play drive, but it required a fourth-down conversion that he patiently cashed. Instead of scrambling to an open field to his right, Dahle waited for Session coming across the field and hit him in stride, which Session finished for a 27-yard touchdown reception.
WSU forced a three-and-out, and Dahle hit Session on a sensational one-handed grab for a 33-yard completion (at that point, Session had four catches for 171 yards and three TDs). Noah Kjar capped the drive soon thereafter with a 16-yard touchdown catch.
WSU crossed 500 yards of offense and now trailed 38-34 with 5:19 left in the third.
In the fourth, WSU forced a punt before a long drive took the Wildcats to the PSU 24. That’s where Dahle fumbled, hit from behind on a scramble. Thompson then dashed for a 57-yard rush to the WSU 17, but the Wildcats held there and forced a 31-yard field goal from Hossmann Lees to make it 41-34.
Two plays later, Dahle hit Noah Kjar on a 74-yard touchdown pass, but it was called back on a blindside block flagged against Robert Young. WSU ran the same play and Kjar ran for a 35-yard completion, then hauled in a far-side pylon throw from Dahle for a 30-yard touchdown catch. It was 41-41 with 1:53 left.
PSU threw incomplete three times and WSU got the ball back having used no timeouts, but that’s when Dahle was hit as he threw and picked off after getting WSU across midfield, setting up PSU’s game-winning plays.
“Some of it’s on our quarterbacks, some of it’s not. We can definitely do some things, protection-wise, to be a little bit better,” Eric Kjar said about the turnovers. “And even some of our schemes … we can take care of (the quarterbacks) a little more.”
Weber State next regroups for a trip to Cal Poly.
