Weber State is playoff bound. The Wildcats received an at-large bid into the 2016 NCAA FCS Playoffs on Sunday morning and will take on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the first round. Weber State and Chattanooga square off Saturday, Nov. 26, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. Kickoff time is 2 p.m. EST, and the game will be televised on ESPN3.
The winner of Saturday’s game will face Sam Houston State in the second round on Dec. 3. Sam Houston State is the No. 5 seed in the playoffs.
This will mark the fifth time Weber State has advanced to the FCS Playoffs and the first since 2009. Head coach Jay Hill’s Wildcats finished the 2016 regular season with a 7-4 overall record, their most wins since 2009. WSU also finished third in the Big Sky with a 6-2 conference record.
“We’re really excited to make the playoffs and have our season continue,” Hill said. “This team, especially the group of seniors, deserves this opportunity so we are excited to go play Chattanooga. We felt we deserved to get in the playoffs by finishing third in the Big Sky and we’ve accomplished a lot this season and glad to keep playing.”
The Wildcats are ranked 25th in this week’s STATS FCS poll, the first time they have been nationally ranked since 2010.
Chattanooga finished the regular season 8-3 overall and was 6-2 in the Southern Conference, finishing in a tie for second in the league standings. The Mocs lost to No. 1 Alabama, 31-3, on Saturday in their final game of the season. Head coach Russ Huesman is in his ninth season as head coach of the Mocs. Chattanooga is ranked 11th in this week’s national poll. This will be Chattanooga’s second-straight appearance in the FCS Playoffs.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools and the first game Weber State has ever played against a team in the Southern Conference.
Weber State was one of four Big Sky teams selected to the FCS Playoffs. Eastern Washington was selected as the No. 2 seed and North Dakota as the No. 7 seed. Both finished the Big Sky season a perfect 8-0. Cal Poly also received an at-large bid and will host San Diego in the first round.
WSU has competed in the FCS Playoffs four previous times, in 1987, 1991, 2008 and 2009. WSU is 2-2 in first round playoff games.
Paul Grua is the Director of Athletic Communications at Weber State University.