2017 Weber State Wildcats football team

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Ranking
STATS	No. 5
FCS Coaches	No. 5

2017 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
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

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

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]

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 and results

|- !colspan=9 style=background-color:#492365;color:#FFFFFF;| Non-conference regular season

September 26:00 p.m.Montana Western*

Pluto TVW 76–08,882 September 93:00 p.m.at California*No. 25

P12NL 20–3336,209 September 167:00 p.m.at Sacramento State*

Pluto TVW 31–248,365

|- !colspan=9 style=background-color:#492365;color:#FFFFFF;| Big Sky regular season

September 235:00 p.m.UC DavisNo. 23

Stewart Stadium
Ogden, UT

KJZZW 41–39,450 September 301:30 p.m.at Montana StateNo. 20

ATTRM^[15]W 25–1719,557 October 146:00 p.m.Southern UtahNo. 18

Stewart Stadium
Ogden, UT (Beehive Bowl)

ELVNL 16–329,135 October 211:30 p.m.at Cal PolyNo. 23

Pluto TVW 17–39,234 October 282:00 p.m.No. 24 Montana

Stewart Stadium
Ogden, UT

KJZZW 41–278,912 November 42:00 p.m.at No. 11 Eastern WashingtonNo. 19

Pluto TVW 28–209,451 November 113:00 p.m.at Portland StateNo. 14

Pluto TVW 63–173,792 November 182:00 p.m.Idaho StateNo. 12

Stewart Stadium
Ogden, UT

Pluto TVW 35–79,539

|- !colspan=9 style=background-color:#492365;color:#FFFFFF;|FCS Playoffs

November 252:00 p.m.No. 9 Western Illinois*No. 11

Stewart Stadium
Ogden, UT (First Round)

ESPN3W 21–1916,876 December 26:00 p.m.at No. 12 Southern Utah*No. 11

ESPN3W 30–1311,811 December 85:00 p.m.at No. 1 James Madison*No. 11

ESPN2L 28–3113,497

Template:CFB Schedule End

Despite also being a member of the Big Sky Conference, the game with Sacramento State on September 16 is 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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2008	WEB, 62–6

at California

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Wildcats	10	10	0	0	20
Golden Bears	7	10	0	16	33

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	16	8	0	7	31
Hornets	0	14	7	3	24

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
13–8	2016	WEB, 14–7

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	3	0	0	0	3
No. 23 Wildcats	17	14	10	0	41

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–2	2016	WEB, 38–35

at Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Wildcats	0	9	13	3	25
Bobcats	3	7	0	7	17

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
21–30–1	2016	WEB, 45–27

Southern Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thunderbirds	7	13	9	3	32
No. 18 Wildcats	3	10	3	0	16

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
16–7	2016	WEB, 37–36

at Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Wildcats	8	0	3	6	17
Mustangs	0	3	0	0	3

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
7–6	2016	WEB, 22–15

Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Grizzlies	0	6	7	14	27
Wildcats	10	24	0	7	41

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
14–40	2015	WEB, 24–21

at Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Wildcats	0	14	7	7	28
No. 11 Eagles	7	7	0	6	20

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–30	2015	EWU, 14–13

at Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Wildcats	14	35	7	7	63
Vikings	3	0	7	7	17

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
21–14	2016	WEB, 14–10

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	7	0	0	0	7
No. 12 Wildcats	7	14	7	7	35

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
41–15	2016	WEB, 34–28

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–2	1976	WIU, 21–19

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
16–8	10/14/17	SUU, 32–16

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

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 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. 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. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
^ "BIG SKY, ROOT SPORTS ANNOUNCE CONTRACT EXTENSION, 2017 SCHEDULE". Big Sky Conference. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.

[1] "Weber State to play at Cal, host five in 2017". STATS FCS Football. January 26, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.

[2] "Hosting a football playoff game is historic, but Weber State wants to do more". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[3] 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.

[4] "Western Illinois vs. Weber State - Game Recap - November 25, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[5] "Leathernecks' season ends with 21-19 playoff loss". Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[6] "Weber State fends off Western Illinois in FCS playoffs". FOX Sports. 2017-11-25. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[7] "Weber State vs. Southern Utah - Game Recap - December 2, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[8] "Weber State beats Southern Utah 30-13 to advance to FCS quarterfinals". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[9] Standard-Examiner. "Weber State loses heartbreaker at No. 1 James Madison on last-second field goal". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[10] "No. 1 James Madison survives Weber State upset bid in FCS quarterfinal". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[11] "Weber State football: Wildcats receive at-large bid to FCS playoffs". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[12] "Weber State to make first FCS playoff bid since 2009 with trip to Chattanooga | KSL.com". Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[13] "Weber State vs. Chattanooga - Game Recap - November 26, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[14] "Chattanooga rolls past Weber State in playoffs". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

[15] "BIG SKY, ROOT SPORTS ANNOUNCE CONTRACT EXTENSION, 2017 SCHEDULE". Big Sky Conference. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.

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v t e Weber State Wildcats football
Venues	Stewart Stadium (1966–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Southern Utah: Beehive Bowl
Culture & lore	Waldo the Wildcat Highest scoring NCAA football game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Big Sky Conference football champions
College Division / Division II	Idaho State (1963) Montana State (1964) Weber State & Idaho (1965) Montana State (1966) Montana State (1967) Idaho, Montana State, & Weber State (1968) Montana (1969) Montana (1970) Idaho (1971) Montana State (1972) Boise State (1973) Boise State (1974) Boise State (1975) Montana State (1976) Boise State (1977)
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 & Weber State (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)
National championships in bold