With all other goals left by the wayside, both three-win teams will be playing to send their seniors out with a victory.

Cal Poly (3-7, 2-5 Big Sky) arrives for its first road game in more than a month. The Mustangs lost a close game at Idaho on Oct. 19, had a bye week, then played three straight home games. The most recent got Cal Poly back into the win column, a 26-23 win over Sacramento State that gave CP its first win in that rivalry since 2018.

Weber State (3-8, 2-5) played its worst football of the season in that stretch, consistently losing turnover battles and struggling to stop opposing offenses — until last week when WSU pressured the quarterback, won the turnover battle and pushed No. 7 Idaho in a 31-24 loss.

The Wildcats are also playing to avoid a one-win home performance; a 1-4 home record in 2021 is the only such instance in the last 10 seasons.

WSU SENIORS

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

Weber State will honor seven seniors before the game (five defense, two special teams, one offense).

Garrett Beck: The Idaho native and linebacker has totaled 50 or more tackles in three straight seasons, entering Saturday with 51 this year despite missing several games with a leg injury. He has 5.5 career sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and three recovered.

Zeke Birch: Birch, an Idaho native, finishes his WSU defensive tackle career that began in 2019. He has 86 career tackles and one blocked kick playing on the interior of the line that was largely stout against the run during his time.

Steven Bryant: From South Carolina, Bryant came to WSU via a California junior college. He tallied three sacks against Montana in a 2022 win and has played 23 games at defensive tackle, totaling 39 tackles and one blocked kick.

Kemari Munier-Bailey: An England native who prepped in Utah, Munier-Bailey came to WSU for his final season at defensive end after playing at Idaho and Fresno State. He has 46 tackles with 7.5 sacks, tied for second in the Big Sky, with six QB hurries this season.

Grant Sands: From Arizona, Sands will finish with 47 career games as Weber State’s long snapper. He’s recorded two career tackles.

Jacob Sharp: Sharp, a California native, has been at WSU since 2019 and changed from defensive back to receiver to become a deep threat. Entering Saturday, he has 112 receptions for 1,723 yards (20th in program history) and 17 touchdowns (tied for seventh) on 15.4 yards per reception.

Kyle Thompson: From American Fork, Utah, the kicker became WSU’s all-time scoring leader this season (354 points), sitting at No. 1 in made PATs (168), No. 2 in made field goals (62, five behind Scott Shields at 67), and No. 3 in field-goal percentage (71.3%).

MEET THE MUSTANGS

Cal Poly has turned to 6-foot-2 sophomore Jackson Akins (No. 12) at quarterback down the final stretch. As signal caller in the last two games (against Northern Arizona and Sac State), Akins was 61 of 86 (70.9%) for 293 yards per game, throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Through eight games, the Mustangs ran the ball, attempts-wise, more than they passed, but was more efficient through the air. In the last two weeks, however, Cal Poly has attempted 88 passes and 47 rushes.

Giancarlo Woods (No. 2) is the top receiving target. He has two 100-yard games this season, averaging a team-high five catches per game for 64.5 yards. Logan Booher (No. 0) has become a top pass-catcher in the last month; in the last four games, he averaged nearly six catches for 67 yards per game. Michael Briscoe (No. 10) is the big-play threat; he also has two 100-yard receiving games, averages a team-high 19.3 yards per catch, and has three games with longs of 50-plus yards, including a 95-yard reception.

Cal Poly’s run game has not been efficient and, in the last two weeks with Akins at QB, has averaged just 61.5 yards per game. Aiden Ramos (No. 5) will get the bulk of the called handoffs, with Zion Hall (No. 19) getting a handful more. Over the season, the two average a combined 69 yards per game. Briscoe is occasionally a threat in receiever sweeps.

Defensively, senior defensive lineman Elijah Ponder (No. 14) is Cal Poly’s main disruptor. He has 10.5 tackles for loss, with six sacks and 14 QB hurries in 10 games. Senior Ethan Rodriguez (No. 60) teams with Ponder for 9.5 TFLs (three sacks) of his own. Safety Mason Rivera (No. 32) is the team’s top tackler (75, with six for loss), adding an interception and three forced fumbles.

TEAM VS. TEAM METRICS

Through 11 games, Weber State has scored 28.4 points per game, averaging 415.5 yards on 5.9 yards per play. Defensively, WSU has allowed an average of 28.8 points on 395 yards per game, with an average of 5.8 per play.

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

In 10 games for Cal Poly, the Mustangs average 21.1 points on 349 yards per game and 5.4 yards per play. Defensively, CP has allowed 31.6 points on 420 yards per game, with an average of 6.3 yards per play.

The Mustangs also have a minus-three turnover margin. Cal Poly has turned it over 16 times (12 interceptions, four fumbles) while forcing 13 turnovers (five interceptions, eight fumbles).

ODDS & PREDICTIONS

Jeff Sagarin ranks Weber State at No. 173 (static from last week) in all of Division I (FBS and FCS, 263 total teams). Cal Poly is No. 213. Accounting for home-field advantage, his formula favors Weber State by 11 points.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranks Weber State at No. 49 in FCS (129 teams) and Cal Poly at No. 102. His formula predicts a Weber State victory of 33-19.

D Ratings gives Weber State a 34-22 victory at 82% probability.

WEATHER

Saturday’s forecast calls for a high of 54 degrees — a cooler, cloudy day just ahead of an incoming rain/snow storm. That’s about where temperatures will sit for the 1 p.m. kickoff, dropping to around 50 degrees by the game’s end, with winds 7-10 mph from varying directions.

TV & RADIO

Video production of Saturday’s game will stream on the ESPN+ subscription service, available on ESPN mobile/streaming apps or at WatchESPN.com, with Tony Parks and Riley Jensen on the call. Carl Arky and Jerry Graybeal have Weber State’s radio call on 103.1 FM in northern Utah and online at 1031thewave.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Weber State leads the all-time series 11-6, including six consecutive wins, with a 5-3 mark in Ogden. Cal Poly has played in Ogden only once in the last seven seasons, a 41-24 WSU victory in 2019.