2017 Weber State Wildcats football team
The 2017 Weber State Wildcats football team represented Weber State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by fourth-year head coach Jay Hill and played their games at Stewart Stadium as members of the Big Sky Conference.[1] They finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for the Big Sky championship with Southern Utah. Due to their head-to-head loss to Southern Utah in the regular season, they did not receive the Big Sky's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, but did receive an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, their second straight trip to the playoffs.[2][3] In the first round, they defeated Western Illinois.[4][5][6] In the second round, they avenged their regular season loss to Southern Utah.[7][8] In the quarterfinals, they lost to eventual national runner-up, James Madison.[9][10]
| 2017 Weber State Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
 | |
Big Sky co-champion | |
FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals, L 28–31 vs. James Madison | |
| Conference | Big Sky Conference |
| Ranking | |
| STATS | No. 5 |
| FCS Coaches | No. 5 |
| 2017 record | 11–3 (7–1 Big Sky) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Fesi Sitake (2nd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Jason Kaufusi (2nd season) |
| Home stadium | Stewart Stadium (Capacity: 17,312) |
| 2017 Big Sky Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Southern Utah +^ | 7 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Weber State +^ | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Arizona ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Eastern Washington | 6 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacramento State | 6 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana | 5 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana State | 5 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Davis | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho State | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Colorado | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Dakota | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal Poly | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland State | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The Wildcats finished the 2016 season 7–5, 6–2 in Big Sky play to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, their first trip to the playoffs since 2009,[11][12] where they lost to Chattanooga in the first round.[13][14]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Montana Western* | Pluto TV | W 76–0 | 8,882 | ||
| September 9 | 3:00 p.m. | at California* | No. 25 | P12N | L 20–33 | 36,209 | |
| September 16 | 7:00 p.m. | at Sacramento State* | Pluto TV | W 31–24 | 8,365 | ||
| September 23 | 5:00 p.m. | UC Davis | No. 23 |
| KJZZ | W 41–3 | 9,450 |
| September 30 | 1:30 p.m. | at Montana State | No. 20 | ATTRM[15] | W 25–17 | 19,557 | |
| October 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Southern Utah | No. 18 |
| ELVN | L 16–32 | 9,135 |
| October 21 | 1:30 p.m. | at Cal Poly | No. 23 | Pluto TV | W 17–3 | 9,234 | |
| October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 24 Montana |
| KJZZ | W 41–27 | 8,912 | |
| November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 11 Eastern Washington | No. 19 | Pluto TV | W 28–20 | 9,451 | |
| November 11 | 3:00 p.m. | at Portland State | No. 14 | Pluto TV | W 63–17 | 3,792 | |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | Idaho State | No. 12 |
| Pluto TV | W 35–7 | 9,539 |
| November 25 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 9 Western Illinois* | No. 11 |
| ESPN3 | W 21–19 | 16,876 |
| December 2 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 12 Southern Utah* | No. 11 |
| ESPN3 | W 30–13 | 11,811 |
| December 8 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 1 James Madison* | No. 11 |
| ESPN2 | L 28–31 | 13,497 |
| |||||||
Despite also being a member of the Big Sky Conference, the game with Sacramento State on September 16 was considered a non-conference game.
Game summaries
Montana Western
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wildcats | 20 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 76 |
at California
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 25 Wildcats | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 33 |
at Sacramento State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcats | 16 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| Hornets | 0 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
UC Davis
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggies | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 23 Wildcats | 17 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 41 |
at Montana State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Wildcats | 0 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 25 |
| Bobcats | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Southern Utah
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 32 |
| No. 18 Wildcats | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
at Cal Poly
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 23 Wildcats | 8 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 17 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Montana
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 24 Grizzlies | 0 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 27 |
| Wildcats | 10 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 41 |
at Eastern Washington
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 19 Wildcats | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| No. 11 Eagles | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
at Portland State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 14 Wildcats | 14 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 63 |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
Idaho State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 12 Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
FCS Playoffs
Western Illinois–First Round
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Leathernecks | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| No. 11 Wildcats | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Southern Utah–Second Round
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Wildcats | 0 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 30 |
| No. 12 Thunderbirds | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
at James Madison–Quarterfinals
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| No. 1 Dukes | 7 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 31 |
Ranking movements
| Week | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final | |||||||
| STATS FCS | RV | 25 | RV | 23 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 23 | RV | 19 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 5 | |||||||
| Coaches | 22 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 23 | 22 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 5 | |||||||
References
- "Weber State to play at Cal, host five in 2017". STATS FCS Football. January 26, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- "Hosting a football playoff game is historic, but Weber State wants to do more". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- Wood, Trent (2017-11-19). "Weber State football: Wildcats awarded at large bid and first round match up with Western Illinois". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Western Illinois vs. Weber State - Game Recap - November 25, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Leathernecks' season ends with 21-19 playoff loss". Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Weber State fends off Western Illinois in FCS playoffs". FOX Sports. 2017-11-25. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Weber State vs. Southern Utah - Game Recap - December 2, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Weber State beats Southern Utah 30-13 to advance to FCS quarterfinals". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- Standard-Examiner. "Weber State loses heartbreaker at No. 1 James Madison on last-second field goal". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "No. 1 James Madison survives Weber State upset bid in FCS quarterfinal". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Weber State football: Wildcats receive at-large bid to FCS playoffs". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Weber State to make first FCS playoff bid since 2009 with trip to Chattanooga | KSL.com". Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Weber State vs. Chattanooga - Game Recap - November 26, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "Chattanooga rolls past Weber State in playoffs". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- "BIG SKY, ROOT SPORTS ANNOUNCE CONTRACT EXTENSION, 2017 SCHEDULE". Big Sky Conference. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
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