# 2016 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

The 2016 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Creighton. The Eagles played their home games at Rynearson Stadium and are members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. Coming off of a 1–11 season in 2015, the Eagles performed a remarkable turnaround and finished 7–6, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. They were invited to the 2016 Bahamas Bowl, just their second bowl game in school history. They also improved their home attendance by over 260% compared to 2015.
The Eagles compiled their first winning season since 1995, and their first bowl game since 1987, snapping the second longest bowl drought in the nation.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:00 pm | Mississippi Valley State* | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPN3 | W 61–14 | 14,221 |
| September 10 | 7:30 pm | at Missouri* | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN | L 21–61 | 51,192 |
| September 17 | 6:00 pm | at Charlotte* | Jerry Richardson StadiumCharlotte, NC | CUSA.tv | W 37–19 | 15,080 |
| September 24 | 7:30 pm | Wyoming* | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | CBSSN | W 27–24 | 17,012 |
| October 1 | 3:00 pm | at Bowling Green | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN3 | W 28–25 | 19,382 |
| October 8 | 3:00 pm | Toledo | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | BCSN | L 20–35 | 21,412 |
| October 15 | 2:00 pm | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN3 | W 27–20 | 23,566 |
| October 22 | 3:30 pm | at No. 20 Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy) | ASN/ESPN3 | L 31–45 | 23,721 |
| October 29 | 3:30 pm | Miami (OH) | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ASN/ESPN3 | L 15–28 | 16,481 |
| November 8 | 7:30 pm | at Ball State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | CBSSN | W 48–41 | 4,442 |
| November 16 | 8:00 pm | Northern Illinois | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPNU | L 24–31 $^{OT}$ | 15,603 |
| November 22 | 7:00 pm | Central Michigan | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy/rivalry) | ESPN3 | W 26–21 | 19,147 |
| December 23 | 1:00 pm | vs. Old Dominion* | Thomas Robinson StadiumNassau, Bahamas (Bahamas Bowl) | ESPN | L 20–24 | 13,422 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Mississippi Valley State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Delta Devils | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Eagles | 21 | 7 | 26 | 7 | 61 |

### At Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Tigers | 14 | 19 | 14 | 14 | 61 |

### At Charlotte

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 37 |
| 49ers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 19 |

### Wyoming

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Eagles | 3 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 27 |

### At Bowling Green

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Falcons | 7 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 25 |

### Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rockets | 0 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 35 |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 20 |

### At Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 3 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 27 |
| Bobcats | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 |

### At Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| #20 Broncos | 7 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

### Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| RedHawks | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 15 |

### At Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 3 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 48 |
| Cardinals | 21 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 41 |

### Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Eagles | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

### Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chippewas | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Eagles | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 26 |

### Vs. Old Dominion–Bahamas Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 20 |
| Monarchs | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

## After the season

The following Eagle was selected in the 2017 NFL draft after the season.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 7 | 250 | Pat O'Connor | Defensive end | Detroit Lions |