2016 James Madison Dukes football team

The 2016 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first year head coach Mike Houston and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium and Zane Showker Field. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 14–1 overall with an 8–0 mark in CAA play to win the conference title. They received the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated New Hampshire, Sam Houston State, and five-time defending champions North Dakota State to advance to the National Championship Game, where they defeated Youngstown State. This was their first national championship since 2004.

2016 James Madison Dukes football
NCAA Division I FCS national champion CAA champion
FCS Championship Game, W 28–14 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Ranking
STATS	No. 1
FCS Coaches	No. 1
2016 record	14–1 (8–0 CAA)
Head coach	Mike Houston (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Donnie Kirkpatrick (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Trott (1st season)
Home stadium	Bridgeforth Stadium (Capacity: 24,877)

2016 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
	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

Previous season

In 2015, the Dukes finished with a record of 9–3, 6–2 in CAA play, to finish in a first-place tie with Richmond and William & Mary. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs and hosted Colgate in the second round. The Dukes lost to the Raiders, 44–38, and were eliminated from the playoffs.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:00 PM	Morehead State*	No. 12	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	MadiZone	W 80–7	23,626
September 10	4:00 PM	Central Connecticut*	No. 12	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	MadiZone	W 56–21	20,636
September 17	3:30 PM	at North Carolina*	No. 11	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN/CSN	L 28–56	56,000
September 24	12:00 PM	at Maine	No. 11	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	ASN	W 31–20	8,786
October 1	1:30 PM	Delaware	No. 7	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (Rivalry)	MadiZone	W 43–20	25,236
October 8	3:30 PM	William & Mary	No. 7	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (Rivalry)	CSN	W 31–24	20,354
October 15	12:00 PM	at New Hampshire	No. 7	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	ASN	W 42–39	8,316
October 29	3:30 PM	Rhode Island	No. 8	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	MadiZone	W 84–7	23,841
November 5	3:30 PM	at No. 6 Richmond	No. 7	Robins Stadium Richmond, VA	CSN	W 47–43	8,700
November 12	1:00 PM	at No. 9 Villanova	No. 6	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	NNAA	W 20–7	6,109
November 19	1:30 PM	Elon	No. 6	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	MadiZone	W 63–14	16,184
December 3	2:00 PM	No. 22 New Hampshire*	No. 5	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	W 55–22	13,231
December 9	7:00 PM	No. 1 Sam Houston State*	No. 5	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)	ESPN2	W 65–7	15,646
December 16	7:00 PM	at No. 4 North Dakota State*	No. 5	Fargodome Fargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Semifinals)	ESPN2	W 27–17	18,282
January 7, 2017	12:00 PM	vs. No. 13 Youngstown State*	No. 5	Toyota Stadium Frisco, TX (FCS National Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 28–14	14,423
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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Roster

2016 James Madison Dukes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 32 Khalid Abdullah Sr WR 7 Terrence Alls  Jr OL 67 Zaire Bethea Fr OL 61 A.J. Bolden  Jr WR 12 Logan Boyd  Jr WR 5 Jake Brown Fr OL 58 Gerren Butler  Fr OL 68 Tyree Chavious  Fr WR 42 Skyler Clark Fr WR 40 Daniel Clements So TE 86 Mark Cullen  Fr WR 6 Rashard Davis Sr OL 55 Nick Edwards  Jr QB 18 Hunter Etheridge  So OL 75 Michael Faulkner Fr OL 64 Matt Frank  Sr OL 79 Raymond Gillespie Fr WR 13 Ishmael Hyman  Jr OL 60 Jahee Jackson  Fr RB 25 Cardon Johnson  Jr QB 12 Cole Johnson Fr RB 22 Eric Kirlew Fr OL 76 Mitchell Kirsch  Sr TE 88 Jonathan Kloosterman Jr WR 84 Ryan Kluck Fr WR 8 John Miller Jr QB 2 Connor Mitch  Jr WR 81 Cory Owen  Fr QB 16 Neeshant Parikh  So RB 34 Simba Parker  Jr OL 73 Mac Patrick Fr TE 82 Zach Polglase Fr WR 11 Brandon Ravenel Sr WR 85 Quintin Reynolds  So TE 98 Lawton Riggs Fr OL 62 Kyle Rigney  Sr OL 78 Zach Rugg  Sr TE 15 Daniel Schiele Sr QB 17 Bryan Schor Sr RB 1 Trai Sharp So OL 77 Robert Snead Fr WR 10 Riley Stapleton  Fr OL 70 Aaron Stinnie  Jr WR 3 Domo Taylor Sr OL 63 J.T. Timming Fr QB 19 Mack Waldman  So WR 39 Robbie Walker Jr WR 89 Braxton Westfield Fr RB 20 Taylor Woods Jr OL 71 Richard Xu  So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 27 D'Angelo Amos Fr LB 93 Andrew Ankrah  Jr DL 95 Adeeb Atariwa Fr LB 54 Kelvin Azanama Fr CB 34 Justin Bethea Jr S 21 Robert Branch So DL 53 Jordan Brooks  Fr DL 84 Brandon Brown  Jr S 44 Jordan Brown  Jr LB/LS 59 Daniel Caracciolo Fr DL 47 Darrious Carter  So CB 36 Robert Carter Jr.  So S 38 Mike Cobbs So S 48 Reggie Collins Fr DL 97 John Daka Fr LB 46 David Ezeagwu Jr S 5 Raven Greene  Jr LB 9 Kyre Hawkins  Jr LB 49 Brandon Hereford  Jr LB 2 Dimitri Holloway So S 40 Ryan Horner Fr S 35 Marcell Johnson Jr LB 27 Pat Kagel  So LB 16 John Kinney Fr DL 90 Rondre Knowles-Tener Fr LB 50 Christian Launius Fr DL 92 Mike Mabry Fr S 43 Bryce Maginley Fr LB 51 Devin Medley Fr LB 52 Nick Michalski  Jr CB 37 Jimmy Moreland  So CB 26 Curtis Oliver So LB 18 Tabb Patrick Fr CB 14 Taylor Reynolds  Sr DL 31 Kirk Robinette  Fr CB 22 Rashad Robinson So DL 74 Simeyon Robinson  Jr DL 65 Dorrius Rodgers Fr LB 10 Jacob Rosen Fr LB/LS 41 Brett Siegel  Jr S 30 Adam Smith Fr LB 33 Gage Steele  Sr DL 91 Martez Stone  Sr CB 23 Charles Tutt So DL 94 Cornell Urquhart Jr LB 24 Justin Wellons  Sr S 28 Grant Westbrook So DB 7 Trey Wilson Fr DL 72 Gary Wortham  Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K/P 42 Pat Frio Jr P 69 John Gardiner Fr K 45 Tyler Gray So P 99 Gunnar Kane  Sr K/P 57 Jeremiah McBride Fr K 91 Ethan Ratke Fr LS 56 Matt Wolcott  So	Head coach Mike Houston    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: Mars Hill Coordinators/assistant coaches Donnie Kirkpatrick    Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: Lenoir-Rhyne Bob Trott    Defensive Coordinator    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: North Carolina Bryan Stinespring    Tight Ends/Run-Game Coordinator    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: James Madison John Bowers    Outside Linebackers    3rd year at James Madison    Alma mater: James Madison Byron Thweatt    Inside Linebackers    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: Virginia Jamal Powell    Offensive Line    2nd year at James Madison    Alma mater: Texas Christian Jeff Hanson    Defensive Line    2nd year at James Madison    Alma mater: Richmond Tripp Weaver    Cornerbacks    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: East Carolina De'Rail Sims    Running Backs    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: Pikeville Drew Dudzik    Wide Receivers    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: James Madison Dale Steele    Director of Football Administration/Recruiting Coordinator    1st year at James Madison    Alma mater: South Carolina John Williams    Director of Strength & Conditioning Markus James    Assistant Director of Strength & Conditioning Pete Johnson    Football Equipment Manager Patty Dorfer    Administrative Assistant Scott Cook    Associate Athletic Trainer Cal Hall    Assistant Athletic Trainer Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: December 17, 2016

Game summaries

Morehead State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	0	0	7
#12 Dukes	28	24	21	7	80

See also: 2016 Morehead State Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
6–2	2015	W 56–7

Central Connecticut

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	0	7	14	0	21
#12 Dukes	21	14	7	14	56

See also: 2016 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–0	2013	W 38–14

at North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Dukes	21	0	7	0	28
Tar Heels	14	21	14	7	56

See also: 2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–2	2011	L 10–42

at Maine

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Dukes	7	3	7	14	31
Black Bears	0	13	7	0	20

See also: 2016 Maine Black Bears football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–5	2012	W 31–7

Delaware

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fightin' Blue Hens	0	7	0	13	20
#7 Dukes	7	19	7	10	43

See also: 2016 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team and Delaware–James Madison football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–14	2015	W 24–21

William & Mary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tribe	3	7	0	14	24
#7 Dukes	10	0	7	14	31

See also: 2016 William & Mary Tribe football team and James Madison–William & Mary football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
21–17	2015	L 41–44

at New Hampshire

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

See also: 2016 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
7–8	2013	L 17–33

Rhode Island

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	7	0	0	7
#8 Dukes	28	21	21	14	84

See also: 2016 Rhode Island Rams football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–3	2012	W 32–7

at Richmond

	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Dukes	14	10	6	17	47
#6 Spiders	10	14	7	12	43

See also: 2016 Richmond Spiders football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
15–18	2015	L 49–59

at Villanova

	1	2	3	4	Total
#6 Dukes	7	0	3	10	20
#9 Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7

See also: 2016 Villanova Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
12–12	2015	W 38–29

Elon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Phoenix	0	7	7	0	14
#6 Dukes	17	10	15	21	63

See also: 2016 Elon Phoenix football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–0	2015	W 51–0

FCS Playoffs

Second Round–New Hampshire

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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–8	10/15/16	W 42–39

Quarterfinals–Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Bearkats	0	0	0	7	7
#5 Dukes	21	21	23	0	65

See also: 2016 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Semifinals–North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#5 Dukes	7	10	0	10	27
#4 Bison	0	7	10	0	17

See also: 2016 North Dakota State Bison football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2011 FCS Playoffs	L 14–26

It was this game that ended NDSU's streak of five consecutive FCS titles.

Championship–Youngstown State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Penguins	0	7	0	7	14
#5 Dukes	14	7	7	0	28

See also: 2016 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–3	2006 FCS Playoffs	L 31–35

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	12	12	11	11	7	7	7	8	8	7	6	6	5 (1)	1 (154)
Coaches	11	11	8	7	6	6	6	5 (1)	5	5	5	5 (1)	5	1 (26)
FCS Playoffs	Not released									5	4	4	Not released

References

1. "2016 James Madison Dukes Football Schedule". James Madison University Department of Athletics. Retrieved December 8, 2015.