They Wildcats finished the 2017 season 9–5, 5–3 in CAA play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Central Connecticut and Central Arkansas before losing in the quarterfinals to South Dakota State.
Preseason[]
CAA Poll[]
In the CAA preseason poll released on July 24, 2018, the Wildcats were predicted to finish in second place.[1]
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
James Madison
241 (21)
2
New Hampshire
206 (2)
3
Delaware
182
4
Stony Brook
169
5
Elon
168 (1)
6
Villanova
164
7
Richmond
127
8
Maine
81
9
Albany
78
10
Towson
74
11
William & Mary
55
12
Rhode Island
39
Preseason All-CAA Team[]
The Wildcats had three players selected to the preseason all-CAA team including quarterback Trevor Knight being selected as offensive player of the year.
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.