Weber State football: Wildcats break into FCS top 25

Weber State pulled off one rare feat when it beat Montana on Saturday. On Monday, the Wildcats added another.

Weber State cracked the The Sports Network's NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision top 25 for the first time since 2000. The Wildcats enter the rankings at No. 22.

"Sweet, top 25," was fullback Marcus Mailei's reaction when he was told Weber State cracked the top 25. "It feels great. Weber's doing big things this year. I'm glad."

The Wildcats earned their national ranking by handily beating Montana 45-28 on Saturday. It was the first time in 10 years that they defeated the Grizzlies. Last week, the Wildcats were in The Sports Network's "others receiving votes" category and were unofficially ranked 34th in the Division I FCS.

"That's good," coach Ron McBride said of his team's ranking. "I hope we can just keep winning so we can keep moving up a little bit."

Montana dropped from No. 3 to No. 12 after the loss. Two other Big Sky teams are in the top 25, as Northern Arizona is No. 18 and Eastern Washington is No. 23.

The last time Weber State finished a season ranked in the top 25 was in 2000. It closed that season as the 18th ranked team in the nation. The last time it reached the top 10 was in 1998.

The Sports Network is the oldest poll in NCAA Division I FCS. Some of the nation's FCS sports writers and sports information directors vote in the poll.

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