2017 Grambling State Tigers football team

The 2017 Grambling State Tigers football team represented Grambling State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by fourth-year head coach Broderick Fobbs and played their home games at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The Tigers finished the season 11–2, 7–0 in SWAC play to win the West Division. They defeated Alcorn State in the SWAC Championship Game, receiving the conference's bid to the Celebration Bowl where they lost to North Carolina A&T.

2017 Grambling State Tigers football
SWAC champion SWAC West Division champion
SWAC Championship Game, W 40–32 vs. Alcorn State
Celebration Bowl, L 14–21 vs. North Carolina A&T
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Division	West Division
Ranking
STATS	No. 16
FCS Coaches	No. 14
Record	11–2 (7–0 SWAC)
Head coach	Broderick Fobbs (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Dooley (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Everett Todd (4th season)
Home stadium	Eddie Robinson Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Alcorn State xy		5	–	2					7	–	5
Alabama State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Alabama A&M		3	–	4					4	–	7
Jackson State		3	–	4					3	–	8
Mississippi Valley State		1	–	6					2	–	9
West Division
No. 16 Grambling State xy$		7	–	0					11	–	2
Southern		5	–	2					7	–	4
Prairie View A&M		4	–	3					6	–	5
Texas Southern		2	–	5					2	–	9
Arkansas–Pine Bluff		1	–	6					2	–	9
Championship: Grambling State 40, Alcorn State 32
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

The Tigers were picked to finish first in the West Division.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	7:00 p.m.	at Tulane*	No. 21	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPN3	L 14–43	15,940
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Northwestern State*	No. 24	Eddie Robinson Stadium Grambling, LA		W 23–10	12,689
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Jackson State*	No. 24	Eddie Robinson Stadium Grambling, LA	ESPN3	W 36–21	16,513
September 23	6:00 p.m.	at Mississippi Valley State	No. 22	Rice–Totten Stadium Itta Bena, MS		W 38–6	2,374
September 30	3:30 p.m.	vs. Clark Atlanta*	No. 21	Soldier Field Chicago, IL (Chicago Football Classic)		W 31–20	16,429	[2]
October 7	4:00 p.m.	vs. Prairie View A&M	No. 21	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (State Fair Classic)		W 34–21	55,231
October 21	2:00 p.m.	Alcorn State	No. 17	Eddie Robinson Stadium Grambling, LA	SWAC DN	W 41–14	12,147
October 28	2:00 p.m.	Texas Southern	No. 15	Eddie Robinson Stadium Grambling, LA (Red River Classic)		W 50–24	18,350	[3]
November 4	2:30 p.m.	at Arkansas–Pine Bluff	No. 13	Golden Lion Stadium Pine Bluff, AR		W 31–26	4,007
November 11	2:00 p.m.	at Alabama State	No. 13	New ASU Stadium Montgomery, AL	SWAC DN	W 24–7	9,872
November 25	4:00 p.m.	vs. Southern	No. 13	Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA (Bayou Classic)	NBCSN	W 30–21	66,650
December 2	3:30 p.m.	vs. Alcorn State	No. 13	NRG Stadium Houston, TX (SWAC Championship Game)	ESPNU	W 40–32	24,610
December 16	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 7 North Carolina A&T*	No. 13	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA (Celebration Bowl)	ABC	L 14–21	25,873
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4][5]

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	21	24	24	22	21	21	20	17	15	13	13	13	13	16
Coaches	21	23	25	22	19	19	19	17	13	12	11	11	12	14