2017 Wofford Terriers football team

The 2017 Wofford Terriers football team represented Wofford College in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 30th-year head coach Mike Ayers and played their home games at Gibbs Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 7–1 in SoCon play to win the SoCon championship. They received the SoCon's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Furman in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion North Dakota State.

2017 Wofford Terriers football

Southern Conference champion
FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals, L 10–42 vs. North Dakota State
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 6
FCS Coaches	No. 7
Record	10–3 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Mike Ayers (30th season)
Offensive coordinator	Wade Lang (30th season)
Defensive coordinator	Shiel Wood (9th season)
Home stadium	Gibbs Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
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 Poll

On December 13, head coach Mike Ayers announced his retirement. He finished at Wofford with a 30-year record of 207–139–1.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	Furman	No. 11	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC (rivalry)	ESPN3	W 24–23	7,237
September 9	4:00 p.m.	at Mercer	No. 10	Moye Complex Macon, GA	ESPN3	W 28–27	11,727
September 23	1:30 p.m.	Gardner–Webb*	No. 9	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN3	W 27–24	7,211
September 30	7:00 p.m.	at Presbyterian*	No. 7	Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC	BSN	W 31–7	2,862
October 7	1:30 p.m.	No. 22 Western Carolina	No. 5	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN3	W 35–28 ^OT	6,982
October 14	6:00 p.m.	at No. 23 The Citadel	No. 5	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC (rivalry)	ESPN3	W 20–16	8,543
October 21	1:30 p.m.	No. 16 Samford	No. 5	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN3	L 21–24	7,236
October 28	1:00 p.m.	at East Tennessee State	No. 8	William B. Greene Jr. Stadium Johnson City, TN	ESPN3	W 31–24	7,087
November 4	1:30 p.m.	Chattanooga	No. 8	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN3	W 24–21 ^2OT	5,012
November 11	1:30 p.m.	at VMI	No. 8	Alumni Memorial Stadium Lexington, VA	ESPN3	W 45–14	4,229
November 18	4:00 p.m.	at South Carolina*	No. 7	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	L 10–31	74,742
December 2	2:00 p.m.	No. 22 Furman*	No. 8	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC (NCAA Division I Second Round, rivalry)	ESPN3	W 28–10	5,153
December 9	12:00 p.m.	at No. 4 North Dakota State*	No. 8	Fargodome Fargo, ND (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN2	L 10–42	17,008
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Paladins	3	7	7	6	23
No. 11 Terriers	7	3	0	14	24

At Mercer

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Terriers	0	7	7	14	28
Bears	14	7	0	6	27

Gardner–Webb

	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs	0	10	7	7	24
No. 9 Terriers	3	14	10	0	27

At Presbyterian

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Terriers	14	0	3	14	31
Blue Hose	0	7	0	0	7

Western Carolina

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

At The Citadel

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Terriers	0	7	7	6	20
No. 23 Bulldogs	7	7	2	0	16

Samford

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Bulldogs	0	7	7	10	24
No. 5 Terriers	7	0	0	14	21

At East Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Terriers	3	14	7	7	31
Buccaneers	0	10	7	7	24

Chattanooga

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Mocs	3	3	0	8	7	0	21
No. 8 Terriers	7	0	0	7	7	3	24

At VMI

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Terriers	7	14	17	7	45
Keydets	0	7	0	7	14

At South Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Terriers	3	0	7	0	10
Gamecocks	0	14	7	10	31

FCS Playoffs

Furman–Second Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Paladins	0	10	0	0	10
No. 8 Terriers	7	7	7	7	28

At North Dakota State–Quarterfinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Terriers	3	7	0	0	10
No. 4 Bison	14	21	7	0	42

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	11	10	11	9	7	5	5	5	8	8	8	7	8	6
Coaches	11	10	9	9	7	5	5	5	10	9	8	7	9	7