2018 Western Carolina Catamounts football team

The 2018 Western Carolina Catamounts football team represented Western Carolina University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They were led by seventh-year head coach Mark Speir and played their home games at Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium. They finished the season 3–8, 1–7 in SoCon play to finish in eighth place.

2018 Western Carolina Catamounts football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
2018 record3–8 (1–7 SoCon)
Head coachMark Speir (7th season)
Offensive coordinatorBrad Glenn (7th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorJohn Wiley (2nd season)
Base defense3-4
Home stadiumE.J. Whitmire Stadium
(Capacity: 13,742)
2018 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 13 Wofford +^  6 –2     9 –4  
No. 22 East Tennessee State +^  6 –2     8 –4  
Furman +  6 –2     6 –4  
Samford  5 –3     6 –5  
Chattanooga  4 –4     6 –5  
The Citadel  4 –4     5 –6  
Mercer  4 –4     5 –6  
Western Carolina  1 –7     3 –8  
VMI  0 –8     1 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2017 season 7–5, 5–3 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place.

Preseason

Award watch lists
Award Player Position Year
Walter Payton Award[1] Tyrie Adams QB JR
Buck Buchanan Award[2] Marvin Tillman S SR

Preseason media poll

The SoCon released their preseason media poll on July 25, 2018, with the Catamounts predicted to finish in fifth place.[3] The same day the coaches released their preseason poll with the Catamounts predicted to finish in fourth place.[4]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Samford204 (20)
2Furman174 (2)
3Wofford163 (1)
4Mercer133
5Western Carolina114
6Chattanooga88
7The Citadel83
8East Tennessee State53
9VMI23
Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Samford63 (7)
2Wofford53 (1)
3Furman52 (1)
4Western Carolina39
5Chattanooga34
6Mercer32
7The Citadel28
8East Tennessee State15
9VMI8

Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Catamounts placed six players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.Newberry*
ESPN+W 33–2612,111
September 14[lower-alpha 1]6:00 p.m.at Gardner–Webb*
ESPN+W 28–102,257
September 223:30 p.m.VMI
  • E.J. Whitmire Stadium
  • Cullowhee, NC
ESPN+W 52–5012,759
September 292:00 p.m.at Furman
ESPN+L 38–447,201
October 61:30 p.m.at Samford
ESPN3L 28–663,178
October 133:30 p.m.Chattanooga
  • E.J. Whitmire Stadium
  • Cullowhee, NC
ESPN+L 6–267,362
October 204:00 p.m.at Mercer
ESPN+L 46–598,230
October 273:30 p.m.at No. 25 East Tennessee State
ESPN+L 43–45 3OT7,121
November 33:30 p.m.The Citadel
  • E.J. Whitmire Stadium
  • Cullowhee, NC
ESPN+L 24–3810,499
November 103:30 p.m.No. 15 Wofford
  • E.J. Whitmire Stadium
  • Cullowhee, NC
ESPN3L 23–3810,169
November 1712:20 p.m.at North Carolina*
ACCN ExtraL 26–4941,151
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time
  1. This game was originally scheduled for September 15. It was moved up one day in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Game summaries

Newberry
1 2 3 4 Total
Wolves 7 10 3 6 26
Catamounts 3 16 0 14 33
Overall record Last meeting Result
10–4 1993 WCU, 56–10

at Gardner–Webb
1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 7 14 0 7 28
Runnin' Bulldogs 7 3 0 0 10
See also: 2018 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
5–2 2017 WCU, 42–27

VMI
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 14 10 13 13 50
Catamounts 14 7 21 10 52
See also: 2018 VMI Keydets football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
20–3 2017 WCU, 26–7

at Furman
1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 7 3 14 14 38
Paladins 14 17 7 6 44
See also: 2018 Furman Paladins football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
30–12–2 2017 FUR, 28–6

at Samford
1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 0 21 0 7 28
Bulldogs 35 7 14 10 66
See also: 2018 Samford Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–12 2017 WCU, 38–34

Chattanooga
1 2 3 4 Total
Mocs 9 10 7 0 26
Catamounts 0 3 0 3 6
See also: 2018 Chattanooga Mocs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
17–27 2017 WCU, 45–7

at Mercer
1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 7 20 6 13 46
Bears 0 28 17 14 59
See also: 2018 Mercer Bears football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–2 2017 MERC, 35–33

at East Tennessee State
1 2 3 4OT2OT3OT Total
Catamounts 0 13 10 7076 43
No. 25 Buccaneers 6 6 3 15078 45
See also: 2018 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
23–22–1 2017 WCU, 49–10

The Citadel
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 3 14 14 38
Catamounts 10 14 0 0 24
See also: 2018 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
16–24–1 2017 WCU, 31–19

Wofford
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 15 Terriers 7 7 14 10 38
Catamounts 10 10 0 3 23
See also: 2018 Wofford Terriers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
14–26 2017 WOF, 35–28

at North Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 7 9 3 7 26
Tar Heels 14 21 14 0 49
See also: 2018 North Carolina Tar Heels football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
0–1 2017 UNC, 65–10
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References
  1. "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  3. http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=21895&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211735859&DB_OEM_ID=4000
  4. http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=21895&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211735863&DB_OEM_ID=4000
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