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Ogden • Weber State football is back in the FCS postseason picture for the first time since 2009, drawing a trip to Tennessee-Chattanooga in the first round at noon MST on Nov. 26.
The Wildcats (7-4) went 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference to place third after beating Idaho State 34-28 Saturday night.
"We're really excited to make the playoffs and have our season continue," Weber State coach Jay 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."
Weber State, ranked at No. 25 in this week's STATS FCS poll, opened the schedule with losses at Utah State and South Dakota (in double overtime), then reeled off five straight wins — including a rally from 22 points down in the fourth quarter for a 37-36 victory at Southern Utah on Oct. 22.
The Wildcats dropped their next two games before responding with a 22-15 win over fellow Big Sky playoff entrant Cal Poly and capping off the regular season with the defeat of Idaho State.
Chattanooga, 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Southern Conference, started its season with six straight wins before falling to No. 6 playoff seed Citadel. The team, ranked No. 11 in this week's FCS poll, finished the season on a two-game losing streak against fellow playoff entrant Wofford and No. 1-ranked FBS team Alabama.
The Weber State-Chattanooga winner advances to play No. 5 national seed Sam Houston State on Dec. 3.
Three other Big Sky teams qualified for the FCS Playoffs: No. 2 seed Eastern Washington, No. 7 seed North Dakota and at-large Cal Poly.