2016 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

2016 New Hampshire Wildcats football
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 22–55 vs. James Madison
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Ranking
STATS	No. 17
FCS Coaches	No. 17
Record	8–5 (6–2 CAA)
Head coach	Sean McDonnell (18th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ryan Carty (9th season)
Defensive coordinator	John Lyons (5th season)
Home stadium	Wildcat Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Colonial Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 James Madison $^		8	–	0					14	–	1
No. 11 Villanova ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 17 New Hampshire ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 8 Richmond ^		5	–	3					10	–	4
Maine		5	–	3					6	–	5
Albany		4	–	4					7	–	4
Stony Brook		4	–	4					5	–	6
William & Mary		3	–	5					5	–	6
Towson		3	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware		2	–	6					4	–	7
Elon		1	–	7					2	–	9
Rhode Island		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2016 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 18th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Wildcat Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in CAA play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Lehigh in the first round before losing in the second round to James Madison.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	8:30 pm	at San Diego State*	No. 22	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA		L 0–31	46,486
September 10	7:00 pm	Holy Cross*	No. 24	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	ASN	W 39–28	13,242
September 17	7:00 pm	at Dartmouth*	No. 22	Memorial Field Hanover, NH (rivalry)	FCS	L 21–22	8,296
September 24	1:00 pm	at Rhode Island		Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	A10 Network	W 39–17	3,626
October 1	3:30 pm	No. 19 William & Mary		Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	UNHAthletics	W 21–12	21,943
October 7	7:00 pm	at Elon		Rhodes Stadium Elon, NC	PAA	W 13–10	4,416
October 15	12:00 pm	No. 7 James Madison		Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	ASN	L 39–42	8,316
October 22	3:30 pm	at Towson		Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD	CSN	W 21–7	5,023
October 29	12:00 pm	No. 22 Stony Brook		Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	UNHAthletics	W 43–14	5,029
November 12	12:00 pm	Albany	No. 21	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	UNHAthletics	L 25–36	7,012
November 19	1:00 pm	at Maine		Alfond Stadium Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	MAA	W 24–21	6,401
November 26	2:00 pm	No. 18 Lehigh*	No. 22	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	W 64–21	2,240
December 3	2:00 pm	at No. 5 James Madison*	No. 22	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	L 22–55	13,231
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Wildcats	0	0	0	0	0
Aztecs	14	7	3	7	31

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	14	7	7	0	28
#24 Wildcats	6	7	19	7	39

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Wildcats	0	14	7	0	21
Big Green	7	0	0	15	22

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	8	7	17	39
Rams	7	0	3	7	17

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Tribe	6	0	0	6	12
Wildcats	0	7	0	14	21

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	0	0	6	13
Phoenix	0	3	7	0	10

	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Dukes	7	14	7	14	42
Wildcats	0	9	3	27	39

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	7	7	0	21
Tigers	0	7	0	0	7

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Seawolves	7	0	7	0	14
Wildcats	15	0	21	7	43

	1	2	3	4	Total
Great Danes	0	7	15	14	36
#21 Wildcats	8	14	3	0	25

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	0	7	10	24
Black Bears	7	7	0	7	21

	1	2	3	4	Total
#18 Mountain Hawks	0	14	7	0	21
#22 Wildcats	15	21	14	14	64

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Wildcats	7	0	8	7	22
#5 Dukes	3	28	21	3	55

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	22	24	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	21	RV	22	17
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	25	RV	RV	23	23	RV	21	17