- Weber State's 2026 schedule has two in-state opponents. The September 5 trip to Southern Utah is a non-conference game in Cedar City. The November 21 Utah Tech finale in Ogden is the one that counts in the Big Sky standings.
- Weber State Football connect back to Weber State University and the wider football picture.
- The story is backed by 4 sources and a visible last-verified date.
September 8, 2026
September 8, 2026
4 min / 902 words
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Weber State football has two Utah opponents on its 2026 schedule, and they work very differently. The Wildcats lost 47-42 at Southern Utah on September 5 in a game that does not count in the Big Sky standings, and they host Utah Tech at Stewart Stadium on November 21 for a conference game that does.
The distinction matters because both opponents are now Big Sky members. Southern Utah and Utah Tech joined the league for 2026, and the reshaped Utah FCS map is covered in our Big Sky explainer. Only one of Weber State's two in-state games carries conference weight.
Why the Southern Utah game does not count
Weber State and Southern Utah had already scheduled a six-game series before Southern Utah joined the Big Sky. Rather than tear up the contract, the first two games of that series stayed on the schedule as non-conference matchups.
The Big Sky's own math made room for that. The league moved to nine conference games annually beginning in 2026, but with 13 schools an odd number of teams means one program plays eight conference games instead of nine each year. Southern Utah drew that assignment in 2026, which is what allows the September 5 meeting in Cedar City to sit outside the standings.
That game kicked off at 6 p.m. MT at Eccles Coliseum and finished 47-42 to the Thunderbirds. It was a road game, not an Ogden home date — the Wildcats do not play their first home game until September 19.
A 12-game calendar that opens with three straight road games
Weber State opened Friday, August 28 at Northern Colorado and won 30-29 on a blocked extra point with three seconds left, giving Eric Kjar a victory in his first game as a college head coach. That was a Big Sky game; the league scheduled conference matchups into Week 0 partly to create the flexibility for teams to honor existing non-conference contracts.
From there the Wildcats stayed on the road: the September 5 loss at Southern Utah, then Colorado of the Big 12 on September 12, a 1:30 p.m. MT kickoff at Folsom Field streaming on ESPN+. The home opener finally arrives September 19 against Northwestern State, followed by Portland State on September 26.
October runs Cal Poly on the road October 3, Idaho at home October 10, Idaho State at home for Homecoming October 17, Montana State on the road October 24, and UC Davis at home October 31. November brings a trip to Northern Arizona on the 14th before the Utah Tech finale on the 21st, which doubles as Senior Day.
That opening three-week stretch is the hardest structural feature of the calendar. Weber State plays its first three games in Greeley, Cedar City and Boulder before a home crowd sees the team at all, and the Colorado trip on September 12 is the only game on the schedule against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. Everything else is FCS competition, and nine of those games carry Big Sky standings weight.
The Utah Tech finale carries a second layer beyond the conference points. Both programs are new to this arrangement in different ways: Utah Tech arrived in the Big Sky for 2026 alongside Southern Utah, and November 21 is the first time the Trailblazers visit Ogden as a Big Sky opponent.
The home and road split
Weber State plays six games at Stewart Stadium and six away from Ogden.
The six home games are Northwestern State, Portland State, Idaho, Idaho State, UC Davis and Utah Tech. The six road games are Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Colorado, Cal Poly, Montana State and Northern Arizona.
Nine of the 12 are Big Sky conference games. The three non-conference dates are Southern Utah, Colorado and Northwestern State. Only Utah Tech appears on both the in-state list and the conference list, which makes the November 21 finale the single Utah game on the schedule with standings implications.
For fans tracking the wider picture, Weber State Football is the Ogden stop among the three Utah programs now sharing the conference, and our preview of the Southern Utah trip covers how both teams arrived at the September 5 meeting.
Key facts: Weber State's 2026 schedule
- Utah opponents: at Southern Utah, September 5 — lost 47-42, non-conference; vs Utah Tech, November 21 (Big Sky, Stewart Stadium, Senior Day)
- Record: 1-1 overall but 1-0 in the Big Sky, because the Southern Utah loss carries no conference weight
- Season opener: won 30-29 at Northern Colorado, August 28 — a Big Sky game and Eric Kjar's first win as a college head coach
- Home games (6): Northwestern State, Portland State, Idaho, Idaho State, UC Davis, Utah Tech
- Road games (6): Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Colorado, Cal Poly, Montana State, Northern Arizona
- Conference games: 9 of 12; the Big Sky moved to nine conference games in 2026
- Non-conference games (3): Southern Utah, Colorado, Northwestern State
- Home opener: September 19 vs Northwestern State
What's next
The Wildcats finish their opening road stretch at Colorado on September 12, a 1:30 p.m. MT kickoff on ESPN+, before Stewart Stadium hosts football for the first time this season on September 19 against Northwestern State.
Kickoff times and broadcast selections can still move, particularly for games later in the fall that television has not yet claimed. Weber State Athletics publishes the current times on its official schedule, and that page is the source of record for any game-day post.
