American college football season
The 2016 Youngstown State Penguins football team represented Youngstown State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Bo Pelini and played their home games at Stambaugh Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Youngstown State finished the season 12–4 overall with a 6–2 mark in MVFC play to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated Samford, Jacksonville State, Wofford, and Eastern Washington to advance to the National Championship Game, where they lost to James Madison.
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
| 7:30 pm | Duquesne* | | | ESPN3 | W 45–10 | 12,219 |
September 10 | 2:00 pm | at West Virginia* | No. 20 | | RTPT | L 21–38 | 56,261 |
September 17 | 4:00 pm | Robert Morris* | No. 20 | - Stambaugh Stadium
- Youngstown, OH
| ESPN3 | W 38–6 | 19,033 |
October 1 | 4:00 pm | South Dakota | No. 20 | - Stambaugh Stadium
- Youngstown, OH
| ESPN3 | W 30–20 | 15,151 |
October 8 | 3:00 pm | at No. 23 Illinois State | No. 15 | | ESPN3 | W 20–6 | 12,570 |
October 15 | 7:00 pm | No. 21 Northern Iowa | No. 14 | - Stambaugh Stadium
- Youngstown, OH
| ESPN3 | W 14–10 | 13,373 |
October 22 | 3:00 pm | at No. 7 South Dakota State | No. 13 | | ESPN3 | L 10–24 | 17,730 |
October 29 | 4:00 pm | Indiana State | No. 15 | - Stambaugh Stadium
- Youngstown, OH
| ESPN3 | W 13–10 | 15,082 |
November 5 | 3:30 pm | at No. 4 North Dakota State | No. 15 | | ESPN3 | L 3–24 | 18,332 |
November 12 | 12:00 pm | Southern Illinois | No. 17 | - Stambaugh Stadium
- Youngstown, OH
| ESPN3 | W 21–14 | 11,262 |
November 19 | 3:00 pm | at Missouri State | No. 15 | | ESPN3 | W 65–20 | 5,070 |
November 26 | 5:00 pm | No. 23 Samford* | No. 13 | | ESPN3 | W 38–24 | 5,322 |
December 3 | 2:00 pm | at No. 2 Jacksonville State* | No. 13 | | ESPN3 | W 40–24 | 18,838 |
December 10 | 2:00 pm | No. 19 Wofford* | No. 13 | | ESPN3 | W 30–23 2OT | 8,066 |
December 17 | 6:30 pm | at No. 3 Eastern Washington* | No. 13 | | ESPNU | W 40–38 | 5,233 |
January 7, 2017 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 5 James Madison* | No. 13 | | ESPN2 | L 14–28 | 14,423 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Eastern time
|
Roster
Game summaries
Duquesne
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Dukes
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
Penguins
|
10
|
14
|
7
|
14 |
45 |
At West Virginia
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#20 Penguins
|
0
|
14
|
0
|
7 |
21 |
Mountaineers
|
7
|
7
|
17
|
7 |
38 |
Robert Morris
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Colonials
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0 |
6 |
#20 Penguins
|
14
|
3
|
14
|
7 |
38 |
South Dakota
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Coyotes
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
14 |
20 |
#20 Penguins
|
10
|
10
|
0
|
10 |
30 |
At Illinois State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#15 Penguins
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
17 |
20 |
#23 Redbirds
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0 |
6 |
Northern Iowa
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#21 Panthers
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
#14 Penguins
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
14 |
14 |
At South Dakota State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#13 Penguins
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
10 |
#7 Jackrabbits
|
14
|
3
|
7
|
0 |
24 |
Indiana State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Sycamores
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
#15 Penguins
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
7 |
13 |
At North Dakota State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#15 Penguins
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0 |
3 |
#4 Bison
|
17
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
24 |
Southern Illinois
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Salukis
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
7 |
14 |
#17 Penguins
|
7
|
7
|
0
|
7 |
21 |
At Missouri State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#15 Penguins
|
14
|
20
|
17
|
14 |
65 |
Bears
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
10 |
20 |
FCS Playoffs
First Round–Samford
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#23 Bulldogs
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
17 |
24 |
#13 Penguins
|
7
|
3
|
14
|
14 |
38 |
Second Round–Jacksonville State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#13 Penguins
|
17
|
3
|
14
|
6 |
40 |
#2 Gamecocks
|
7
|
10
|
7
|
0 |
24 |
Quarterfinals–Wofford
|
|
|
|
| | |
Total |
#19 Terriers
|
9
|
0
|
7
|
7 | 0 | 0 |
23 |
#13 Penguins
|
0
|
13
|
7
|
3 | 0 | 7 |
30 |
Semifinals–Eastern Washington
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#13 Penguins
|
7
|
10
|
3
|
20 |
40 |
#3 Eagles
|
10
|
14
|
7
|
7 |
38 |
Championship–James Madison
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
#13 Penguins
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
7 |
14 |
#5 Dukes
|
14
|
7
|
7
|
0 |
28 |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below | Week |
---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
---|
STATS FCS | RV | 20 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 2 |
---|
Coaches | RV | 22 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 12–T | 2 |
---|
References
|
---|
Venues | |
---|
Bowls & rivalries | |
---|
Culture & lore | |
---|
People | |
---|
Seasons | |
---|
National championship seasons in bold |