# 2016 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

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 competed as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
The team's stadium went through major renovations during the offseason. Renamed as Wildcat Stadium, the facility hosted its first game under that name on September 10, with the Wildcats defeating Holy Cross.
The Wildcats finished their regular season with a record of 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.

## Schedule

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

## Game summaries
### At San Diego State

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

### Holy Cross

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

### At Dartmouth

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

### At Rhode Island

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

### William & Mary

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

### At Elon

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

### James Madison

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

### At Towson

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

### Stony Brook

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

### Albany

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

### At Maine

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

### Lehigh—NCAA Division I First Round

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

### James Madison–NCAA Division I Second Round

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

## Ranking movements

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