So far, so good for the Wildcats this season8212;but will it last through Saturday?
Weber State will go into Saturday’s game against the undefeated Utes with a 3-1 record, 1-0 in conference. While Weber’s overall record is a pretty good indicator of how well the regular season should go for Weber State, it doesn’t tell us much about this week’s contest. The only other FBS team the Wildcats have played is Hawaii, which was also their lone loss of the season. No other team on Weber’s schedule thus far has had talent anywhere close to Utah’s, but Hawaii was certainly the closest. Hawaii got off to a slow start against Weber before rallying in the second half to pull off the win, 36-17. Expect this week’s game to be more similar to the Hawaii contest rather than Weber’s other three games against Montana-Western, Dixie State and Sacramento State.
Weber’s main strength has been its passing attack. Sophomore quarterback Cameron Higgins is averaging 308 yards per contest and is completing more than 60 percent of his passes. His favorite target has been wideout Tim Toone. What Toone lacks in size he makes up for in big play ability. He is averaging 18.1 yards per catch, which is actually down from his average of last year, 21.8.
Cody Nakamura is the other wideout the Utes will need to keep tabs on. He’s found a home in the end zone these past two weeks, reaching paydirt a total of four times. If the wideouts are having a hard time getting open, Weber State can easily look to running back Trevyn Smith for help. He has shown he can be a reliable option catching the ball. Weber State has struggled in pass protection against Hawaii, allowing a lot of sacks. Weber’s wideouts might be able to hold their own, but pass protection might be another story.
The running game is much more of a question mark for the Wildcats. Smith is the Wildcats’ leading rusher and has put up solid numbers this season, averaging roughly 88 yards per game and 4.3 yards per rush. However, in the Wildcats’ only game against an FBS opponent, they finished with 20 yards and only got one first down on the ground. That doesn’t bode well against a team that held the No. 2 rushing team in the country to less than 60 yards rushing last week. If Weber State wants any chance of pulling it off against the Utes, it will have to do damage from the air. With defense, it’s the same story. Strong against the pass, mediocre against the run. Weber State is giving up an average of 120 yards per game on the ground. And the Wildcats haven’t seen a running back tandem anywhere close to Utah’s Darrell Mack and Matt Asiata. With Weber State having to focus a lot of attention on the running game, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Brian Johnson is able to rack up a ton of yards against a Weber State secondary that only has one interception on the year. It could be a “pick your poison” type of night as the Wildcats try to figure out the best way to stop the Ute attack.
As far as the rest of the season goes, Weber State should be a solid Big Sky team. But the Wildcats have not shown that they have the horsepower necessary to play with the big boys yet8212;let alone ranked teams.