2016 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

The 2016 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach John Grass and played their home games at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium. They were a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 10–2 overall and 7–0 in OVC play to win the conference championship. They received the OVC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the second round to Youngstown State.

2016 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football
Ohio Valley Conference champion
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 24–40 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 6
FCS Coaches	No. 6
2016 record	10–2 (7–0 OVC)
Head coach	John Grass (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	David Blackwell (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Brandon Hall (3rd season)
Home stadium	JSU Stadium (Capacity: 24,000)

2016 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Jacksonville State $^		7	–	0					10	–	2
UT Martin		6	–	2					7	–	5
Tennessee Tech		5	–	3					5	–	6
Tennessee State		4	–	3					7	–	4
Eastern Illinois		4	–	4					6	–	5
Murray State		4	–	4					4	–	7
SE Missouri State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Eastern Kentucky		2	–	6					3	–	8
Austin Peay		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 pm	No. 15 (D-II) North Alabama*	No. 3	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	WEAC TV-24 OVCDN	W 31–12	22,116
September 10	6:30 pm	at No. 21 (FBS) LSU*	No. 5	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPNU	L 13–34	98,389
September 17	1:00 pm	No. 17 Coastal Carolina*	No. 4	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	WEAC TV-24 OVCDN	W 27–26	14,265
September 24	6:00 pm	at Liberty*	No. 3	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	ESPN3	W 48–19	15,354
October 8	1:00 pm	Tennessee Tech	No. 3	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN3	W 40–21	16,092
October 15	1:00 pm	Austin Peay	No. 3	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	WEAC TV-24 OVCDN	W 34–14	14,455
October 22	2:00 pm	at Eastern Kentucky	No. 2	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	OVCDN	W 24–7	11,600
October 29	2:00 pm	No. 23 Eastern Illinois	No. 2	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN3	W 47–14	21,655
November 5	1:00 pm	at Southeast Missouri State	No. 2	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN3	W 17–10	6,839
November 12	1:00 pm	at Murray State	No. 2	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	OVCDN	W 33–15	3,220
November 19	1:00 pm	Tennessee–Martin	No. 2	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	WEAC TV-24 OVCDN	W 33–7	18,982
December 3	1:00 pm	No. 13 Youngstown State*	No. 2	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	L 24–40	18,838
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

North Alabama

North Alabama @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total #15 (D-II) Lions 0 6 3 3 12 • #3 Gamecocks 14 7 7 3 31 Date: September 1 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 22,116 Television network: WEAC TV-24

@ LSU

Jacksonville State @ LSU

1 2 3 4 Total #5 Gamecocks 0 10 0 3 13 • #21 (FBS) Tigers 0 27 7 0 34 Date: September 10 Location: Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA Game start: 6:30 PM CDT Game attendance: 98,389 Television network: ESPNU

Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total #17 Chanticleers 3 9 6 8 26 • #4 Gamecocks 7 6 7 7 27 Date: September 17 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 1:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 14,265 Television network: OVCDN

@ Liberty

Jacksonville State @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total • #3 Gamecocks 14 13 0 21 48 Flames 3 0 7 9 19 Date: September 24 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 15,354 Television network: ESPN3

Tennessee Tech

Tennessee Tech @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Eagles 0 7 7 7 21 • #3 Gamecocks 17 16 7 0 40 Date: October 8 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 1:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 16,092 Television network: ESPN3

Austin Peay

Austin Peay @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total Governors 0 7 0 7 14 • #3 Gamecocks 7 7 13 7 34 Date: October 15 Location: Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN Game start: 1:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 14,455 Television network: WEAC TV-24

@ Eastern Kentucky

Jacksonville State @ Eastern Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total • #2 Gamecocks 0 14 3 7 24 Colonels 0 0 7 0 7 Date: October 22 Location: Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY Game start: 2:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 11,600 Television network: OVCDN

Eastern Illinois

Eastern Illinois @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total #23 Panthers 0 7 0 7 14 • #2 Gamecocks 21 10 9 7 47 Date: October 29 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 2:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 21,655 Television network: ESPN3

@ Southeast Missouri State

Jacksonville State @ Southeast Missouri State

1 2 3 4 Total • #2 Gamecocks 7 10 0 0 17 Redhawks 0 0 7 3 10 Date: November 5 Location: Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO Game start: 1:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 6,839 Television network: ESPN3

@ Murray State

Jacksonville State @ Murray State

1 2 3 4 Total • #2 Gamecocks 0 7 6 20 33 Racers 0 3 0 12 15 Date: November 12 Location: Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY Game start: 1:00 PM CST Game attendance: 3,220 Television network: OVCDN

Tennessee–Martin

Tennessee–Martin @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total Skyhawks 0 0 7 0 7 • #2 Gamecocks 12 7 7 7 33 Date: November 19 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 1:00 PM CST Game attendance: 18,982 Television network: WEAC TV-24

FCS Playoffs

Second Round–Youngstown State

Youngstown State @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total • #13 Penguins 17 3 14 6 40 #2 Gamecocks 7 10 7 0 24 Date: December 3 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 1:00 PM CST Game attendance: 18,838 Television network: ESPN3

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	3 (4)	5 (1)	4	3	3	3	3	2 (19)	2 (16)	2 (15)	2 (19)	2 (18)	2 (15)	6
Coaches	3	5	6	4	4	4	4	2 (2)	2 (2)	2 (2)	2 (2)	2 (2)	2 (2)	6
FCS Playoffs	Not released									1	1	3	Not released

References