# 2016 Villanova Wildcats football team

The 2016 Villanova Wildcats football team represented Villanova University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 32nd-year head coach Andy Talley and played their home games at Villanova Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 9–4, 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 St. Francis (PA) in the first round before losing in the second round to South Dakota State. The 2016 season is Talley's final season as the Wildcats' head coach.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 1:30 pm | at Pittsburgh* | No. 23 | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ESPN3 | L 7–28 | 50,149 |
| September 10 | 6:00 pm | Lehigh* | No. 22 | Villanova StadiumVillanova, PA | NNAA | W 26–21 | 6,419 |
| September 17 | 3:30 pm | Towson | No. 21 | Villanova StadiumVillanova, PA | CSN | W 40–21 | 9,025 |
| September 24 | 6:00 pm | at Lafayette* | No. 19 | Fisher StadiumEaston, PA | WBPH-TV | W 31–14 | 7,441 |
| October 1 | 3:30 pm | at Elon | No. 17 | Rhodes StadiumElon, NC | NNAA | W 42–7 | 10,424 |
| October 8 | 12:00 pm | Rhode Island | No. 14 | Villanova StadiumVillanova, PA | ASN | W 35–0 | 4,105 |
| October 15 | 3:30 pm | at No. 6 Richmond | No. 13 | E. Claiborne Robins StadiumRichmond, VA | CSN | L 0–23 | 8,700 |
| October 22 | 3:30 pm | No. 23 Albany | No. 16 | Villanova StadiumVillanova, PA | NNAA | W 24–13 | 5,109 |
| November 5 | 12:00 pm | at Maine | No. 10 | Alfond StadiumOrono, ME | FCS | W 26–7 | 6,790 |
| November 12 | 1:00 pm | No. 6 James Madison | No. 9 | Villanova StadiumVillanova, PA | NNAA | L 7–20 | 6,109 |
| November 19 | 3:30 pm | at Delaware | No. 13 | Delaware StadiumNewark, DE (Battle of the Blue) | CSN | W 41–10 | 15,987 |
| November 26 | 2:00 pm | St. Francis (PA)* | No. 9 | Villanova StadiumVillanova, PA (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | W 31–21 | 2,059 |
| December 3 | 3:00 pm | at No. 7 South Dakota State* | No. 9 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN3 | L 7–10 | 6,154 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #23 Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Panthers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Lehigh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mountain Hawks | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| #22 Wildcats | 6 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 26 |

### Towson

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| #21 Wildcats | 7 | 19 | 0 | 14 | 40 |

### At Lafayette

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #19 Wildcats | 7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
| Leopards | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### At Elon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #17 Wildcats | 14 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
| Phoenix | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

### Rhode Island

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #14 Wildcats | 21 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 35 |

### At Richmond

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #6 Spiders | 7 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 23 |

### Albany

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #23 Great Danes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| #16 Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |

### At Maine

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #10 Wildcats | 0 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 26 |
| Black Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### James Madison

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

### At Delaware

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Wildcats | 7 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
| Fightin' Blue Hens | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

## FCS Playoffs
### First Round–Saint Francis (PA)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Red Flash | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| #9 Wildcats | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 31 |

### Second Round–South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| #7 Jackrabbits | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 11 |
| Coaches | 22 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 13 |