The 2017 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University during the

2017 NCAA Division II football season The 2017 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, began on August 31, 2017 and ended with the Division II champio ...

as a member of the

Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 12 schools, mo ...

(MEC). They were led by head coach

Monte Cater Monte Cater (born July 7, 1949) is a former American football coach. From 1987 to 2017, he was the head football coach at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. From 1981 to 1986, Cater was the head football coach at Lakeland Colle ...

, in his 31st and final season at Shepherd, and finished the season 10–1. With a conference record of 10–0, they were named MEC champions for the third straight year and advanced to the

Division II Playoffs Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

, losing in the first round to Findlay. The Rams played their home games at

Ram Stadium Ram Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. It is home to the Shepherd University Rams football and lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized ...

in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. This was also the final season for senior quarterback Connor Jessop, who briefly signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

practice squad during the

2018 NFL season The 2018 NFL season was the 99th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 53rd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 6, 2018, with the NFL Kickoff Game with defending Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia defeating At ...

Preseason

After finishing the 2016 season with a record of 13–1, with the only loss coming in the semifinals to North Alabama, the Rams were ranked #7 in the preseason poll.

Regular season

The 2017 regular season for the Rams consisted of 10 games against Mountain East Conference foes. The Rams went undefeated in the regular season and were given the second seed in Super Region I in the 2017 NCAA Division II football playoffs.

Playoffs

Despite going undefeated in the regular season and finishing #2 in the country, the Rams hosted a game in the first round of the playoffs, against seventh-seeded Findlay. This was Findlay's first ever postseason appearance (in the NCAA,) and they defeated Shepherd 29–17 in what was considered an upset.

Schedule

References

{{Shepherd Rams football navbox Shepherd Rams football seasons

Shepherd Rams football The Shepherd Rams are the athletic teams that represent Shepherd University (formerly Shepherd College), located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in NCAA Division II, Division II intercollegiate sports of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...