# 2016 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

The 2016 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach John Grass, the Gamecocks compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, winning the OVC title for the third consecutive season. Jacksonville State received the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Gamecocks lost in the second round to the eventual national runner-up, Youngstown State. The team played home games at Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama. The team played home games at Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.

## Schedule

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

## Game summaries
### North Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #15 (D-II) Lions | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| • #3 Gamecocks | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 31 |

### @ LSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #5 Gamecocks | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| • #21 (FBS) Tigers | 0 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 34 |

### Coastal Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #17 Chanticleers | 3 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 26 |
| • #4 Gamecocks | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |

### @ Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #3 Gamecocks | 14 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 48 |
| Flames | 3 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 19 |

### Tennessee Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • #3 Gamecocks | 17 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 40 |

### Austin Peay

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Governors | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • #3 Gamecocks | 7 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 34 |

### @ Eastern Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #2 Gamecocks | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| Colonels | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #23 Panthers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • #2 Gamecocks | 21 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 47 |

### @ Southeast Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #2 Gamecocks | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Redhawks | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |

### @ Murray State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #2 Gamecocks | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 33 |
| Racers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 15 |

### UT Martin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Skyhawks | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • #2 Gamecocks | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 33 |

### Youngstown State—NCAA Division I Second Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #13 Penguins | 17 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 40 |
| #2 Gamecocks | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place 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 | 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 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 1 | 1 | 3 | Not released | Not released |