As Lil Wayne once said, “I’m back, 3-Peat,” and the Weber State University football team did just that. For the third year in a row, the Wildcats are Big Sky Champions, and, for the fourth consecutive year, the ’Cats are back into the FCS Playoffs.
On the Nov. 24 Sunday Selection Show on ESPNU, Weber State was announced as the third seed just behind North Dakota State, the number-one seed, and James Madison the number-two seed.
“That’s where we’d hoped we’d end up,” head coach Jay Hill said. “Nobody was going to overtake James Madison or North Dakota State.”
With the third seed, the Wildcats are guaranteed at least two home games through the quarterfinals. The ’Cats will take on the winner of Wofford and Kennesaw State in the second round on Dec. 7 at Stewart Stadium, with kickoff at 1 p.m.
If Weber State were to advance to the quarterfinals, they could take on the University of Montana at Stewart Stadium.
“We got the matchups the way we wanted,” Hill said. “We have a very good opponent here in the second round (Wofford/Kennesaw State).”
Weber State could also have another rematch in the semifinals. James Madison beat the ’Cats in Virginia in the 2017 FCS Quarterfinals.
The Wildcats have made it to the FCS Playoffs eight times in their history; four have been under Hill for four straight years. However, Weber State has yet to make it past the quarterfinals.
The Wofford Terriers play in the Southern Conference, where last year they finished top of their conference with an 8-3 record. Wofford College is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The Kennesaw State Owls finished 10-2 and second in the Big South Conference. KSU is located in Kennesaw, Georgia.
“We don’t know much about them right now,” Hill said on Wofford and Kennesaw. “We will watch a lot of film and take advantage of the bye week.”
The ’Cats will look to welcome a warm-weather team into Ogden and continue to be the bad-weather team they pride themselves on.
“I’m stocked. The bracket is just how we wanted it,” senior defensive end Jonah Williams said. “We’ve been here two years in a row now and we’re ready to make it past the quarterfinals. That’s our goal. We’re trying to win this thing.”