2017 Western Carolina Catamounts football team

The 2017 Western Carolina Catamounts football team represented Western Carolina University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southern Conference. They were led by sixth-year head coach Mark Speir and played their home games at Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium. They finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place.

2017 Western Carolina Catamounts football
Conference	Southern Conference
2017 record	7–5 (5–3 SoCon)
Head coach	Mark Speir (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Glenn (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	John Wiley (1st season)
Base defense	3-4
Home stadium	E.J. Whitmire Stadium (Capacity: 13,742)

2017 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Wofford $^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 18 Samford ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 19 Furman ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
Western Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	5
Mercer		4	–	4					5	–	6
The Citadel		3	–	5					5	–	6
Chattanooga		3	–	5					3	–	8
East Tennessee State		2	–	6					4	–	7
VMI		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	12:00 a.m.	at Hawaii*		Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	SPEC	L 18–41	25,472
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Davidson*		E.J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN3	W 63–17	11,763
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Gardner–Webb*		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	WMYA	W 42–27	6,152
September 23	3:30 p.m.	No. 18 Samford		E.J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN3	W 38–34	12,018
September 30	6:00 p.m.	at Chattanooga		Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN3	W 45–7	10,101
October 7	1:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Wofford	No. 22	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN3	L 28–35 ^OT	6,982
October 14	3:30 p.m.	East Tennessee State	No. 21	E.J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN3	W 49–10	8,300
October 21	1:30 p.m.	at VMI	No. 19	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN3	W 26–7	4,119
October 28	3:30 p.m.	Furman	No. 18	E.J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN3	L 6–28	9,973
November 4	2:00 p.m.	at The Citadel	No. 24	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN3	W 31–19	7,384
November 11	2:00 p.m.	Mercer	No. 22	E.J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN3	L 33–35	10,681
November 18	3:00 p.m.	at North Carolina*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN Extra	L 10–65	43,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

at Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	0	10	8	0	18
Rainbow Warriors	7	14	13	7	41

Davidson

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	14	0	3	17
Catamounts	28	21	7	7	63

at Gardner–Webb

	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	7	14	14	7	42
Runnin' Bulldogs	0	13	0	14	27

Samford

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Bulldogs	7	7	13	7	34
Catamounts	10	7	7	14	38

at Chattanooga

	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	10	14	14	7	45
Mocs	0	0	0	7	7

at Wofford

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 22 Catamounts	7	7	7	7	0	28
No. 5 Terriers	3	10	8	7	7	35

East Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	3	0	0	7	10
No. 21 Catamounts	0	7	21	21	49

at VMI

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Catamounts	0	13	3	10	26
Keydets	7	0	0	0	7

Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Paladins	0	7	14	7	28
No. 18 Catamounts	0	0	0	6	6

at The Citadel

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Catamounts	7	10	7	7	31
Bulldogs	0	10	9	0	19

Mercer

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	14	14	0	7	35
Catamounts	7	13	3	10	33

at North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	7	0	0	3	10
Tar Heels	7	35	10	13	65

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	21	19	18	24	22	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	25	21	20	RV	25	RV	RV	RV

References