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OGDEN — Three years ago, Jay Hill and his Wildcats found themselves one win away from making it to the FCS national championship for the first time in program history.
They faced a tough challenge in James Madison — who recently just celebrated their first win as an FBS team against Middle Tennessee State — and fell short of their goal in a 30-14 loss.
After two up-and-down seasons since then, the Wildcats have their sights set on returning to the playoffs and making some noise while they're at it. They were ranked No. 20 in both the preseason FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform Top 25; and after a first week victory over Division II Western Oregon, Hill's team is moving up. Weber State moved up to No. 17 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 16 in the Stats Perform Top 25.
The offense is working with a new offensive coordinator in Mickey Mental, who joined the Wildcats from Division II Notre Dame College. His offense will be led by returning third-year sophomore Bronson Barron, who had a successful first game but left plenty to the imagination of what he and the offense can accomplish.
Barron was 16-of-28 passing with no interceptions and a passer rating of 102.7. For reference, any passer rating above 100 is considered excellent, and the average typically sits around 70.
Granted, the Wildcats were facing a Division II opponent and the rest of the schedule will not be as easy, but there's lots of potential for greatness within the offense, and a trip to the playoffs is not out of reach.
It's hard to find anything to complain about following such a dominating season-opening win, but Hill and his staff know that both sides of the ball have plenty to work on.
"We've still got to get better throwing the ball," Hill said following the win on Thursday. "We can be a little bit more efficient running it, but for the most part, very good win."
While Barron and the offense shined in Mental's system, the defense may be the biggest difference maker in the Wildcats' path to the playoffs this year. Weber State tallied three interceptions against the Wolves on Thursday, two by junior cornerback Maxwell Anderson; and the offense was able to convert each one into points.
On the night, Weber State allowed only 95 yards of total offense and had a school-record -34 rushing yards allowed. While that number may have been affected by the Wolves' penalty yards and other factors, the record still stands.
"No matter how you chalk that one up, (school records) are hard to get," Hill said.
As the season gets underway and the Wildcats set out on their course back to the playoffs, they'll face one of their toughest challenges this coming weekend against in-state school Utah State.
The Aggies return from a trip against the No. 1 ranked team in the country in Alabama; and while the results didn't end in their favor, they're expected to be fired up and ready to get back in the win column. Hill, his staff and team will have their work cut out for them this week, but a win would do wonders for their confidence and preparation for the rest of the schedule.
