# 2022 Weber State Wildcats football team

The 2022 Weber State Wildcats football team represented Weber State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by ninth-year head coach Jay Hill and played their games at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats began the regular season ranked number 20 in the FCS rankings. On September 10, the Wildcats defeated the Utah State Aggies, their first win against the Aggies since 1978, and their first win against an FBS opponent since their victory against Nevada in 1993. The Wildcats finished the regular season with a record of 9–2, good enough to qualify for the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs, their fifth appearance under Jay Hill. The Wildcats defeated North Dakota in the opening round, but were defeated by Montana State the following round. After the season, head coach Jay Hill announced he would step down as Weber State head coach to accept the Defensive Coordinator position at BYU. Offensive coordinator Mickey Mental was announced as Hill's successor.

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 25, 2022, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Wildcats were predicted to finish fourth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Montana | 111 (3) |
| 2 | Sacramento State | 110 (4) |
| 3 | Montana State | 109 (5) |
| 4 | Weber State | 84 |
| 5 | UC Davis | 82 |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 76 |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | 62 |
| 8 | Idaho | 45 |
| 9 | Portland State | 42 |
| 10 | Cal Poly | 33 |
| T-11 | Idaho State | 19 |
| T-11 | Northern Colorado | 19 |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Montana | 356 (14) |
| 2 | Montana State | 352 (13) |
| 3 | Sacramento State | 335 (4) |
| 4 | Weber State | 261 |
| 5 | UC Davis | 255 (1) |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 236 |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | 191 |
| 8 | Portland State | 146 |
| 9 | Idaho | 142 |
| 10 | Cal Poly | 85 |
| 11 | Northern Colorado | 71 |
| 12 | Idaho State | 66 |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Wildcats had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Western Oregon* | No. 20 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | ESPN+ | W 41–5 | 6,522 |
| September 10 | 4:00 p.m. | at Utah State* | No. 16 | Maverik StadiumLogan, UT | MW Network | W 35–7 | 17,781 |
| September 17 | 6:00 p.m. | Utah Tech* | No. 12 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | KJZZ | W 44–14 | 9,035 |
| September 24 | 8:00 p.m. | at UC Davis | No. 12 | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | W 17–12 | 8,822 |
| October 8 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 24 Eastern Washington | No. 7 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | KJZZ/ESPN+ | W 45–21 | 10,724 |
| October 15 | 3:00 p.m. | at Portland State | No. 6 | Hillsboro StadiumHillsboro, OR | ESPN+ | W 42–7 | 4,067 |
| October 22 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Montana State | No. 5 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ | L 38–43 | 20,707 |
| October 29 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 11 Montana | No. 5T | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | ESPN+ | W 24–21 | 11,722 |
| November 5 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 2 Sacramento State | No. 5 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | ESPN+ | L 30–33 | 7,152 |
| November 12 | 1:00 p.m. | Idaho State | No. 7 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | ESPN+ | W 45–7 | 7,756 |
| November 19 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | No. 7 | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | ESPN+ | W 33–31 | 5,217 |
| November 26 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 20 North Dakota* | No. 9 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN+ | W 38–31 | 4,495 |
| December 3 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Montana State* | No. 9 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 25–33 | 16,397 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Western Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolves | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| No. 20 Wildcats | 14 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 |

### At Utah State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Wildcats | 13 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 35 |
| Aggies | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Utah Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trailblazers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 12 Wildcats | 21 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 44 |

### At UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| Aggies | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 12 |

### No. 24 Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Eagles | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 7 Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 45 |

### At Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| Vikings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

### At No. 3 Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Wildcats | 17 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 38 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 9 | 18 | 16 | 0 | 43 |

### No. 11 Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Grizzles | 3 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 21 |
| No. 5T Wildcats | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### No. 2 Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 2 Hornets | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 33 |
| No. 5 Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 30 |

### Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 7 Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 45 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 7 Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 33 |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 31 |

## FCS Playoffs
### No. 20 North Dakota – first round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Fighting Hawks | 0 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
| No. 9 Wildcats | 7 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 38 |

### At No. 3 Montana State – second round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Wildcats | 3 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 25 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 33 |