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]
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[11] | 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 |
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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
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Bulldogs
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
0 |
| Wildcats
|
20
|
28
|
14
|
14 |
76 |
At California
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 25 Wildcats
|
10
|
10
|
0
|
0 |
20 |
| Golden Bears
|
7
|
10
|
0
|
16 |
33 |
At Sacramento State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Wildcats
|
16
|
8
|
0
|
7 |
31 |
| Hornets
|
0
|
14
|
7
|
3 |
24 |
UC Davis
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Aggies
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
3 |
| No. 23 Wildcats
|
17
|
14
|
10
|
0 |
41 |
At Montana State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 20 Wildcats
|
0
|
9
|
13
|
3 |
25 |
| Bobcats
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
7 |
17 |
Southern Utah
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Thunderbirds
|
7
|
13
|
9
|
3 |
32 |
| No. 18 Wildcats
|
3
|
10
|
3
|
0 |
16 |
At Cal Poly
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 23 Wildcats
|
8
|
0
|
3
|
6 |
17 |
| Mustangs
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0 |
3 |
Montana
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 24 Grizzlies
|
0
|
6
|
7
|
14 |
27 |
| Wildcats
|
10
|
24
|
0
|
7 |
41 |
At Eastern Washington
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 19 Wildcats
|
0
|
14
|
7
|
7 |
28 |
| No. 11 Eagles
|
7
|
7
|
0
|
6 |
20 |
At Portland State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 14 Wildcats
|
14
|
35
|
7
|
7 |
63 |
| Vikings
|
3
|
0
|
7
|
7 |
17 |
Idaho State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Bengals
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
7 |
| No. 12 Wildcats
|
7
|
14
|
7
|
7 |
35 |
FCS Playoffs
Western Illinois–First Round
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 9 Leathernecks
|
3
|
3
|
6
|
7 |
19 |
| No. 11 Wildcats
|
0
|
14
|
0
|
7 |
21 |
At Southern Utah–Second Round
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 11 Wildcats
|
0
|
13
|
14
|
3 |
30 |
| No. 12 Thunderbirds
|
10
|
3
|
0
|
0 |
13 |
At James Madison–Quarterfinals
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| No. 11 Wildcats
|
7
|
0
|
7
|
14 |
28 |
| No. 1 Dukes
|
7
|
3
|
0
|
21 |
31 |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes | 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 January 18, 2018.
- ^ Wood, Trent (November 19, 2017). "Weber State football: Wildcats awarded at large bid and first round match up with Western Illinois". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Western Illinois vs. Weber State - Game Recap - November 25, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Leathernecks' season ends with 21-19 playoff loss". Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Weber State fends off Western Illinois in FCS playoffs". FOX Sports. November 25, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Weber State vs. Southern Utah - Game Recap - December 2, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Weber State beats Southern Utah 30-13 to advance to FCS quarterfinals". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ Standard-Examiner. "Weber State loses heartbreaker at No. 1 James Madison on last-second field goal". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "No. 1 James Madison survives Weber State upset bid in FCS quarterfinal". SBNation.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "BIG SKY, ROOT SPORTS ANNOUNCE CONTRACT EXTENSION, 2017 SCHEDULE". Big Sky Conference. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
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| Venues | |
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| Bowls & rivalries | |
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| Culture & lore | |
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| People | |
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| Seasons | |
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| College Division / Division II | |
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| I-AA/FCS |
- Northern Arizona (1978)
- Montana State (1979)
- Boise State (1980)
- Idaho State (1981)
- Montana, Idaho, & Montana State (1982)
- Nevada (1983)
- Montana State (1984)
- Idaho (1985)
- Nevada (1986)
- Idaho (1987)
- Idaho (1988)
- Idaho (1989)
- Nevada (1990)
- Nevada (1991)
- Idaho & Eastern Washington (1992)
- Montana (1993)
- Boise State (1994)
- Montana (1995)
- Montana (1996)
- Eastern Washington (1997)
- Montana (1998)
- Montana (1999)
- Montana (2000)
- Montana (2001)
- Montana, Montana State, & Idaho State (2002)
- Montana State, Montana, & Northern Arizona (2003)
- Montana & Eastern Washington (2004)
- Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Montana (2005)
- Montana (2006)
- Montana (2007)
- Weber State & Montana (2008)
- Montana (2009)
- Montana State & Eastern Washington (2010)
- Montana State & Montana (2011)
- Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Cal Poly (2012)
- Eastern Washington (2013)
- Eastern Washington (2014)
- Southern Utah (2015)
- Eastern Washington & North Dakota (2016)
- Southern Utah & (2017)
- Eastern Washington, UC Davis, & Weber State (2018)
- Sacramento State & Weber State (2019)
- Weber State (2020)
- Sacramento State (2021)
- Montana State & Sacramento State (2022)
- Montana (2023)
- Montana State (2024)
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National championships in bold |