By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
William & Mary was in a similar position heading into the final three weeks of the 2021 season. With six wins, it needed at least one and probably two more to make the FCS playoffs. Instead, the Tribe lost all three.
This time, W&M closed the regular season with seven consecutive wins for a school-record 10-1 finish. The reward came Sunday with a No. 5 seed, a first-round bye, and a
home game in the round of 16 against either Gardner-Webb or Eastern Kentucky.
The Tribe will be making its 11
th playoff appearance, its first since 2015. It was sealed by a 3-0 record in November.
"The way we went out last year with three losses in a row, and the last one to Richmond to keep us out of the playoffs, that kept a lot of guys awake at night," sixth-year senior tight end
Lachlan Pitts said. "That was the whole theme during summer workouts — to finish."
Another motivator was W&M's only loss of the season — 35-31 to Elon in week four.
"That lit a fire under our rear ends and showed us we're not unbreakable," running back
Bronson Yoder said. "We can be beaten if we're not at our best. Having that game under our belts definitely made us not take every game for granted and give it our all."
W&M began November with one of its less-impressive performances of the season in a 20-14 win at Hampton University. A week later came arguably its most-complete effort, a 45-12 win over Villanova, to all but clinch a playoff spot.
W&M needed to defeat Richmond Saturday to secure a top-eight seed and did with a 37-26 win. It's the first time the Tribe has been seeded since 2010 when it was No. 4.
The players watched ESPN's selection show in a suite at Zable Stadium. A big roar went up when the Tribe was announced.
"We're still coming down from the win yesterday, and seeing 'William & Mary Tribe' there on ESPN, it's a dream come true," right tackle
Colby Sorsdal said. "It's new ground for all of us."
There was also cheers of approval when ESPN's Rene Ingoglia said W&M should have been seeded No. 4.
William & Mary was joined by New Hampshire, Elon, Richmond and Delaware from the Colonial Athletic Association in the 24-team field. Each will play in the first round on Saturday with the Wildcats, Spiders and Blue Hens hosting and the Phoenix on the road.
The Tribe will go into the playoffs riding its longest winning streak since 1993. Its opponent will be either Big South champion Gardner-Webb (6-5) or ASUN winner Eastern Kentucky (7-4). That game will be played Saturday at 5 p.m. in Richmond, Ky.
"It's a sense of semi-relief that you know who you may play now," said Tribe coach
Mike London, who gave an interview on the selection show. "And they're going to play here at our place."
The Tribe is 7-10 in playoff games, 6-3 at home.
"I wasn't expecting number five (seed), but it's well deserved," Yoder said. "We've shown we're a dominant team. When we're firing on all cylinders like against Villanova, that kind of play can definitely result in us going to (the championship game in) Frisco."
