BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

For the third time in the last four seasons, Weber State football is playing for pride, and not the playoffs, to close a season.

It’s been some time since Idaho State has entered a rivalry matchup against WSU with a better record but the 3-6 Wildcats host the 4-5 Bengals for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Stewart Stadium.

Weber State has already seen its nine-season streak of winning records come to an end but, as low as any other season has been, the Wildcats almost always beat the Bengals. The series is 37-3 in the last 40 meetings, to be exact.

“It’s super important to all the guys,” junior defensive end Brayden Wilson said. “We take this one very seriously and we take a lot of pride in the fact that in this rivalry, we get to come out on top a lot.”

The longtime series between two charter members of the Big Sky Conference is reintroducing the Train Bell Trophy, last used in the 1970s. A defunct train bell was attached to a large wooden base because students from either school would ride a train to watch their team on the road. This year’s winner will secure the 86-pound trophy for the first time in nearly 50 years.

ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics

Idaho State (4-5, 2-3 Big Sky) has played four straight one-score games: four-point losses to Portland State and Northern Arizona bookended by three-point wins over Cal Poly and Sacramento State. ISU has been competitive.

So has Weber State, until last week. The Wildcats were 3-4 against FCS opponents with those four losses coming by a combined 10 points, while beating Montana in overtime and losing to Sac State in overtime, both on the road.

But last week, WSU (3-6, 2-3) failed to gain a yard before Northern Arizona took a 21-0 lead and the Wildcats didn’t ever get close to challenging what became a 27-6 defeat. And the last time out at home, Weber State lost to Northern Colorado — the Bears’ only win in the last two seasons.

“Went through adversity. We just want to show out, come out and show what we can actually do,” Wilson said about his team’s approach. “We’ve been far from putting together our best game yet and we just want to come out and show that we can.”

MEET THE BENGALS

Having already surpassed his win total from Year 1, Cody Hawkins has Idaho State thinking about its best overall record in the last 10 seasons and its first winning record since 2018.

He’s had the help of sixth-year quarterback Kobe Tracy. Tracy has played at Stewart Stadium before, throwing for 225 yards in a 2022 loss with Utah Tech. This season, Tracy (No. 16) has thrown for 234 yards per game on 58% completion, totaling 16 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games. Hunter Hays has also taken snaps.

Playmaking 6-foot-4 receiver Christian Fredericksen (No. 15) is still the big target in Pocatello. He leads the Bengals with 755 receiving yards (83.9 per game) with seven touchdowns. Jeff Weimer (No. 6), a 6-foot-2 UNLV transfer and former top junior college prospect, has six touchdowns and hauls in 81.8 yards per game.

The pass-first Bengals will hand the ball to Dason Brooks (No. 28) and Keoua Kauhi (No. 24) for an average of 11 rushes for 69 yards per game.

Linebacker Nathan Reynolds (No. 7, 64 tackles) and safety Mason Young (No. 22, 63) lead ISU in tackles. Defensive lineman Logan George (No. 46) is the disruptor, totaling 12.5 tackles for loss including 5.5 sacks. Cortland Horton (No. 25) has five sacks.

TEAM VS. TEAM METRICS

Through nine games, Weber State has scored 28.1 points per game, averaging 419 yards on 5.9 yards per play. Defensively, WSU has allowed an average of 27 points on 382 yards per game, with an average of 5.6 per play.

The Wildcats have eight defensive takeaways (three interceptions, five fumbles) and 12 offensive turnovers (five interceptions, seven fumbles) for a minus-four turnover margin.

In nine games for ISU, the Bengals average 31.4 points on 421 yards per game and 6 yards per play. Defensively, ISU has allowed 33.6 points on 442 yards per game, with an average of 6.3 yards per play.

The Bengals have a negative-five turnover margin. ISU has turned it over 15 times (11 interceptions, four fumbles) while forcing 10 turnovers (three interceptions, seven fumbles).

ODDS & PREDICTIONS

Jeff Sagarin ranks Weber State at No. 157 (down 10 from last week) in all of Division I (FBS and FCS, 263 total teams). Idaho State is No. 177. Accounting for home-field advantage, his formula favors Weber State by six points.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranks Weber State at No. 35 (down 11 from last week) in FCS (129 teams) and Idaho State at No. 64. His formula predicts a WSU victory of 32-21.

D Ratings gives Weber State an edge of 34-26 at 74% probability.

WEATHER

Saturday’s forecast is sunny with a high of 53 degrees. The temperature should be about 50 degrees at 1 p.m. kickoff and near the daily high by game’s end.

TV & RADIO

Tony Parks and Riley Jensen will call the video broadcast of the game set for the ESPN+ subscription service, available on the ESPN mobile/streaming app and WatchESPN.com. Carl Arky and Jerry Graybeal have the radio call on 103.1 FM in northern Utah and online at 1031thewave.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Weber State leads the all-time series 49-15, including 10 consecutive wins. WSU has won 19 straight in Ogden, where the Wildcats are 25-5 in the series and last lost in 1984.