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<\/p>\nThe 2026 season marks the first in FCS after the subdivision voted to adopt a 12-game schedule every year (not just based on when the calendar provided the right framework to add a game).<\/p>\n
So for Weber State and everyone else, that means August season openers will be standard as FCS schools start playing on what has been called \u201cWeek 0\u201d nationally.<\/p>\n
In the immediate future, that means most Big Sky schools are playing conference games to begin the 2026 season. That\u2019s because with the regular-season expansion and growing from 12 to 13 teams, the league voted to expand the conference schedule to nine games.<\/p>\n
Since FCS added a week to the schedule, Big Sky teams needed to add a game late in the process, so the easiest solution was to put the ninth conference contest at the front.<\/p>\n
So, Eric Kjar opens his tenure with a 2026 schedule that looks nearly opposite of last season with a game Aug. 28 at Northern Colorado.<\/p>\n
WSU begins with three straight road games just like in 2025, but those trips go to Greeley, Colorado, Cedar City, Utah, and Boulder, Colorado \u2014 much different than opening with trips to Virginia, Arizona and Louisiana.<\/p>\n
And whereas last year, WSU was the only team in either Division I subdivision to play its first four road games in each of the continental United States\u2019 four time zones, the 2026 Wildcats play just one game outside the geographical Mountain Time Zone (a midseason trip to Cal Poly).<\/p>\n
Last year also saw the Wildcats play two FBS opponents, while 2026 has one.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s team played both Montana and Montana State in consecutive weeks, losing by a combined tally of 104-31, which led to the dismissal of third-year head coach Mickey Mental. WSU does trip to defending national champion Montana State again this year, but the Griz are not on the league schedule.<\/p>\n
If Kjar and company can be more disciplined and capable on both sides of the ball, even smaller improvements could be magnified by a much more favorable schedule.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at each of WSU\u2019s opponents for the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
AUG. 28: at NORTHERN COLORADO<\/p>\n
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2025 record: 4-8 (2-6 Big Sky)<\/p>\n
Predicted conf. finish: 10th\/11th<\/p>\n
All-time: WSU 11-2<\/p>\n
Last: NoCo 21-17 (2024)<\/p>\n
Weber State football\u2019s recent decline can mostly be measured against Northern Colorado.<\/p>\n
In the midst of a NoCo two-year losing streak, the Wildcats escaped a horrifying road loss in 2023 only because future NFL linebacker Winston Reid cashed in a late pick-six to help save the ordeal. In 2024, the Wildcats lost just three turnovers in six games and outgunned Montana on the road for a historic win, only to return home and commit five turnovers and allow the Bears their first win in ages.<\/p>\n
While the Wildcats had the Bears off the schedule last year, NoCo looked a lot better. The Greeley-based squad went 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the Big Sky, just like WSU, but that included a four-point loss at Colorado State, an overtime loss at ranked South Dakota, and a 40-35 loss at Sacramento State in which the Hornets rallied in the final moments.<\/p>\n
Former SUU head coach and BYU associate HC Ed Lamb now enters his fourth season leading the Bears. He\u2019ll welcome former high school legend Eric Kjar to town on a familiar Friday night; Northern Colorado moved the game up a day so the school can debut its new lights at Nottingham Field.<\/p>\n
Northern Colorado returns zero quarterbacks who took snaps in 2025. Among several new senior transfers, mostly from junior college, it\u2019s Colorado native Keegan Patterson who has an apparent upper hand as the starter at Indiana State last year. Three of the team\u2019s top four rushers from last year are back, but its top three receivers are gone. The team lists four FBS transfer receivers on the roster.<\/p>\n
SEPT. 5: at SOUTHERN UTAH<\/p>\n
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2025 record: 7-5 (6-2 WAC\/UAC)<\/p>\n
Predicted conference finish: 6th\/7th<\/p>\n
All-time: WSU 21-8<\/p>\n
Last: WSU 62-0 (2021)<\/p>\n
While Southern Utah has returned to the Big Sky, this game is still a nonconference affair because the two schools had a six-year series slated to begin in 2026, and the aforementioned schedule changes on short notice meant keeping this as a nonconference game was the most viable option for both schools.<\/p>\n
But the rivalry is renewed, and the Thunderbirds enter expected to compete in the middle third of the league. Fifth-year head coach DeLane Fitzgerald said at the Big Sky Kickoff that he\u2019s never been to Montana, Washington or Oregon, but fans and boosters are beyond excited to be back in the conference.<\/p>\n
On the field, Fitzgerald has\u00a0produced the nation\u2019s best FCS running back in two straight seasons \u2014 Targhee Lambson\u2019s 160.1 yards per game in 2024 and Joshua Dye\u2019s 152.7 in 2025 (Dye is gone, however, transferred to Mississippi) \u2014 and SUU was just a few points from making the playoffs last season.<\/p>\n
Former WSU quarterback Bronson Barron finished his college career last year at SUU; Will Burns, the backup QB, had the team\u2019s second-most rushing yards and is the only QB to return. The T-Birds brought in UTSA transfer Noah Lugo, and Utah freshmen Jackson Rasmussen (Union) and Jackson Stevens (Skyridge and Davis) to compete for the job.<\/p>\n
SUU has 30 Utahns listed on its roster, including former Davis High players Stevens and David Spjut, Syracuse\u2019s Wyatt Humphrey and Northridge\u2019s Joshua Acord.<\/p>\n
SEPT. 12: at COLORADO<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
2025 record: 3-9 (1-8 Big 12)<\/p>\n
Predicted conf. finish: 15th (unofficial media poll<\/a>)<\/p>\n All-time: First meeting<\/p>\n Will Isaac Wilson, Eric Kjar\u2019s former quarterback, win the starting job and be playing against the Wildcats?<\/p>\n While Deion Sanders could be coaching for his job, he\u2019s brought in Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion, who bailed on the Hornets\u2019 FBS transition, to run Colorado\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n What else to know about this matchup:<\/p>\n Colorado is not expected to be good this year, at least by Power 4 FBS standards. And, Colorado is paying Weber State $700,000 for this game.<\/p>\n If this were, say, the 2019 or 2022 Weber State teams, maybe we\u2019d be talking about a prime upset opportunity. There\u2019s just so much not known about the Wildcats this year, though, that such talk would be premature. No matter how bad a power team is expected to be in the context of its own conference, the caliber of athlete and the amount of money flowing through the program make such upsets unlikely.<\/p>\n SEPT. 19: NORTHWESTERN STATE<\/p>\n 2025 record: 1-11 (0-8 Southland)<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 10th (unofficial media poll<\/a>)<\/p>\n All-time: WSU 1-0<\/p>\n Last: WSU 39-0 (2024)<\/p>\n The first shot at a home game comes in the fourth game with a night contest against the Demons of Northwestern State, returning WSU\u2019s trip to Louisiana from 2024.<\/p>\n Northwestern State is 1-29 in the last three seasons, grabbing a season-opening win against Alcorn State last year as the only victory. Third-year head coach Blaine McCorkle is still trying to get a program off the ground, one he inherited after the university canceled the 2023 season six games in due to the shooting death of safety Ronnie Caldwell and resignation of head coach Brad Laird.<\/p>\n The Demons have 18 FBS transfers and five more FCS transfers on the roster in the next attempt to turn things around. Starting quarterback Abram Johnston (102.5 ypg, 7 TD, 9 INT) returns as a sophomore, likely competing with Charlotte fifth-year transfer Zack Wilke. Leading rusher and fifth-year senior Myion Hicks (311 yards) also returns.<\/p>\n SEPT. 26: PORTLAND STATE<\/p>\n 2025 record: 1-11 (1-7 Big Sky)<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 12th<\/p>\n All-time: WSU 25-15<\/p>\n Last: WSU 43-27 (2025)<\/p>\n A program starved for some momentum couldn\u2019t do better than to open the home schedule with two teams that went a combined 2-22 last year.<\/p>\n But Portland State wants better things, too, and the cash-strapped school playing at a city park made the decision to end the Bruce Barnum era and brought in Chris Fisk to head the Vikings. He went 48-22 in seven seasons leading Division II Central Washington, who went 9-0 in conference play last season.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll have his top two quarterbacks returning in third-year John-Keawe Sagapolutele (147.5 ypg, 4 TD, 16 INT) and second-year Tyrese Smith (46 ypg, 33.8 rushing ypg), plus leading running back in junior Delon Thompson (60 ypg) and leading receiver in senior Terence Loville (51.7 ypg).<\/p>\n They\u2019ll have to lead PSU in scoring more than 16 points per game this go-around for the Vikings to look better.<\/p>\n OCT. 3: at CAL POLY<\/p>\n 2025 record: 4-8 (2-6 Big Sky)<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 9th\/11th<\/p>\n All-time: WSU 12-6<\/p>\n Last: WSU 28-17 (2024)<\/p>\n A second straight game against another team with a new head coach takes WSU to beautiful San Luis Obispo to face Cal Poly, a team the Wildcats have defeated seven straight times.<\/p>\n The Mustangs were competitive almost every week last year but it still markedx the end of Paul Wulff\u2019s three seasons. Long gone are the days of the Tim Walsh option attack, and next up is Tim Skipper who was functionally a sitting Power 4 head coach. UCLA fired former head coach DeShaun Foster after an 0-3 start and Skipper was appointed interim leader, getting the Bruins to 3-6 the rest of the way.<\/p>\n A linebackers coach by trade, Skipper was also interim head coach at Fresno State in 2024, going 6-7. The former Florida State linebacker was Sacramento State\u2019s defensive coordinator from 2003-05.<\/p>\n Cal Poly had four quarterbacks throw at least 42 passes last season; two are back in fifth-year seniors Bo Kelly (706 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT) and Anthony Grigsby Jr. (774 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT).<\/p>\n The Mustangs open the season with four of six games at home, capped with WSU\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n OCT. 10: IDAHO<\/p>\n 2025 record: 4-8 (2-6 Big Sky)<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 6th\/7th<\/p>\n All-time: Idaho 19-15<\/p>\n Last: Idaho 31-24 (2024)<\/p>\n Idaho\u2019s perpetual expectations of possibly winning the conference appear to be over after being one of the many Big Sky teams to go 4-8 overall and 2-6 in league play.<\/p>\n After his first disappointing season at the helm (the Vandals lost at home by two touchdowns to Northern Colorado, for example), Thomas Ford Jr. changed both coordinators.<\/p>\n Ian Shoemaker, former OC at Eastern Washington, is now running the offense; he was also a former Central Washington head coach and was Mickey Mental\u2019s offensive coordinator in 2006 when Mental was a senior at Baldwin Wallace. Lee Stalker is the new defensive coordinator after spending three years as an assistant position coach at Iowa State.<\/p>\n Ford, Shoemaker and company get back senior quarterback Joshua Wood, who led Idaho in passing (189.9 ypg, 14 TD, 5 INT) and rushing (58.9 ypg, 7 TD).<\/p>\n OCT. 17: IDAHO STATE<\/p>\n 2025 record: 6-6 (5-3 Big Sky)<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 4th\/5th<\/p>\n All-time: WSU 49-17<\/p>\n Last: ISU 31-3 (2025)<\/p>\n For the first time since 1984, Idaho State holds a two-game win streak in this longstanding rivalry series. WSU took interim head coach Brent Myers to Pocatello but lost expected starter Kingston Tisdell during warmups, and couldn\u2019t muster much as a result.<\/p>\n So, since the rebirth of the Train Bell Trophy, the Bengals are 2-0. Not only that, but a 6-6 season was enough to extend head coach Cody Hawkins through 2031 and have both coaches and media vote ISU as a playoff contender.<\/p>\n A lot of that has to do with fifth-year senior quarterback Jordan Cooke returning (277.5 ypg, 16 TD, 9 INT), though both of his top targets from last season are gone.<\/p>\n Former WSU coach Grant Duff leads ISU\u2019s defense for the second year. He\u2019ll again have Weber State transfer brothers Bronson and Jagger Childs, but also has former WSU cornerback Tre Parks-Vinson in the fold. Joining Weber High alum and preseason All-American Stryker Rashid on the offensive line is WSU transfer Zoom Esplin.<\/p>\n OCT. 24: at MONTANA STATE<\/p>\n 2025 record: 14-2 (8-0 Big Sky), national champions<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 1st<\/p>\n All-time: MSU 35-23-1<\/p>\n Last: MSU 66-14 (2025)<\/p>\n While Weber State was going 4-8 in the last two seasons, Montana State went 29-3 and went to the national championship game twice, winning in 2025. MSU put an end to WSU\u2019s Mickey Mental era last year in a 66-14 decision, the fifth-most points Weber State has ever allowed against an FCS opponent, and the worst loss to an FCS opponent since 1993 (the fourth-largest margin of defeat against an FCS opponent).<\/p>\n A return trip to Bozeman in consecutive years is a tough draw for a rebuilding team like WSU. But off the Wildcats must go.<\/p>\n Montana State returns 2025 defensive player of the year in defensive back Caden Dowler (91 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 6 INT, 2 forced fumbles) and has the 2026 preseason offensive MVP in quarterback Justin Lamson (198.3 ypg, 26 TD, 3 INT with 734 rushing ypg and 16 TD) along with running back stalwart Adam Jones (1,093 rushing yards, 15 TD).<\/p>\n OCT. 31: UC DAVIS<\/p>\n 2025 record: 9-4 (6-2 Big Sky), FCS quarterfinals<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 3rd<\/p>\n All-time: WSU 7-5<\/p>\n Last: UCD 34-12 (2025)<\/p>\n Weber State\u2019s schedule is favorable, or at least much more so than last season, in many ways. Playing 10 straight weeks before a bye, and capping that stretch with playoff locks MSU and UC Davis, is not one of them.<\/p>\n This Halloween matinee brings third-year UC Davis head coach Tim Plough to Ogden for the first time. He\u2019s 20-7 in his two seasons with two top-five finishes and consecutive trips to the FCS quarterfinals.<\/p>\n Fifth-year senior safety Rex Connors, from Pleasant Grove, is back on a medical hardship waiver after his 2025 season ended in a Week 4 win over Weber State. His 313 total career tackles and 74 solo tackles in 2024 are both school records.<\/p>\n Freshman phenom quarterback Caden Pinnick (267 ypg, 32 TD, 10 INT) is gone, however, transferred to Washington State.<\/p>\n NOV. 14: at NORTHERN ARIZONA<\/p>\n 2025 record: 7-5 (4-4 Big Sky)<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 4th\/5th<\/p>\n All-time: Tied 29-29<\/p>\n Last: WSU 48-28 (2025)<\/p>\n Weber State denied NAU a playoff berth in the 2025 season finale, a stellar sendoff for the Jay Hill-era veteran coaches, including interim head coach Brent Myers, and senior players in a blowout win at Stewart Stadium.<\/p>\n That continued the back-and-forth in one of the nation\u2019s best rivalries in terms of on-field competition, evening the all-time series that\u2019s been played almost yearly since 1964 \u2014 and it helped WSU get back its other rivalry trophy, the Red Rock Rivalry mini obelisk. So that\u2019s up for grabs in this late-season meet-up inside the Walkup Skydome, where wacky things can be expected.<\/p>\n Brian Wright is back for his third year as head coach, with the services of now-senior quarterback Ty Pennington (259.7 ypg, 19 TD, 4 INT) but without his top two targets (Kolbe Katsis, Isaiah Eastman) or leading rusher Seth Cromwell.<\/p>\n NOV. 21: UTAH TECH<\/p>\n 2025 record: 2-10 (1-7 WAC\/UAC)<\/p>\n Predicted conf. finish: 13th<\/p>\n All-time: WSU 3-0<\/p>\n Last: WSU 44-14 (2022)<\/p>\n A possibly budding rivalry caps the 2026 campaign when Utah Tech returns to Ogden as a conference game. WSU faithful might hope it\u2019s a good ease-up from the MSU-UCD-NAU stretch that precedes it, but the Trailblazers won\u2019t be keen to stay down long.<\/p>\n Among 32 Utahns listed on the roster are four Northern Utahns in offensive lineman Cade Draper (Roy), tight end Kaden Eggett (Davis), kicker Dax Iverson (Fremont) and receiver Zay Morris (Roy). WSU had 32 Utahns rostered last year but enter 2026 with 57.<\/p>\n Former Morgan High and Fremont High head coach legend Blaine Monkres, a Clearfield native and Weber State graduate, is Utah Tech\u2019s running backs coach.<\/p>\n Ace Chatman returns as last year\u2019s leading rusher (536 yards, 5 TD).<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t
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<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2026 Ogden Newspapers of Utah, LLC | www.standard.net | 332 Standard Way, Ogden, UT 84404 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 season marks the first in FCS after the subdivision voted to adopt a 12-game schedule every…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,451,3,452,453],"class_list":["post-825491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/04-Northwestern-State-logo-1.png\"\/){kind=logo}
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