2016 James Madison Dukes football team

2016 James Madison Dukes football
2016 James Madison Dukes football
NCAA Division I champion; CAA champion
NCAA Division I Championship Game, W 28–14 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Ranking
STATS	No. 1
FCS Coaches	No. 1
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
	Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

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 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
v t e
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

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 (rivalry)	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

^[1]

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 and conditioning
Markus James
Assistant Director of strength and 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

Central Connecticut

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

At North Carolina

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

At Maine

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

Delaware

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

William & Mary

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

At New Hampshire

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

Rhode Island

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

At Richmond

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

At Villanova

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

Elon

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

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

Quarterfinals–Sam Houston State

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

Semifinals–North Dakota State

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

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

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = 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]

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