# 2016 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 2016 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by ninth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference, and were second year members of the conference. They finished the season 9–5 overall and 7–1 in American Athletic play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in The American Athletic Championship Game where they lost to Temple. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech.

## Before the season
### Spring practices

Navy held spring practices during March and April 2016.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 12:00 p.m. | Fordham* | | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | W 52–16 | 28,238 |
| September 10 | 3:30 p.m. | UConn | | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | W 28–24 | 31,501 |
| September 17 | 7:00 p.m. | at Tulane | | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ASN | W 21–14 | 21,503 |
| October 1 | 3:30 p.m. | at Air Force* | | Falcon StadiumColorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) | CBSSN | L 14–28 | 43,063 |
| October 8 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 6 Houston | | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | W 46–40 | 34,531 |
| October 22 | 3:30 p.m. | Memphis | No. 24 | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | W 42–28 | 35,943 |
| October 28 | 7:00 p.m. | at South Florida | No. 22 | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN2 | L 45–52 | 31,824 |
| November 5 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. Notre Dame* | | EverBank FieldJacksonville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | W 28–27 | 62,246 |
| November 12 | 12:00 p.m. | Tulsa | | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | W 42–40 | 36,397 |
| November 19‡ | 4:00 p.m. | at East Carolina | | Dowdy–Ficklen StadiumGreenville, NC | ESPNews | W 66–31 | 39,480 |
| November 26 | 3:30 p.m. | at SMU | No. 25 | Gerald J. Ford StadiumDallas, TX (Gansz Trophy) | ESPNU | W 75–31 | 21,283 |
| December 3 | 12:00 p.m. | Temple | No. 19 | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD (The American Championship) | ABC | L 10–34 | 22,815 |
| December 10 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. Army* | No. 25 | M&T Bank StadiumBaltimore, MD (Army–Navy Game), College GameDay) | CBS | L 17–21 | 71,600 |
| December 23 | 4:30 p.m. | vs. Louisiana Tech* | No. 25 | Amon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TX (Armed Forces Bowl) | ESPN | L 45–48 | 40,542 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
Note: ‡ Game at East Carolina was originally scheduled for Thursday, October 13, but was postponed due to flooding from Hurricane Matthew; it was rescheduled to Saturday, November 19.

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Seasons at Navy | Alma mater |
| Ken Niumatalolo | Head coach | 18 | Hawaii (1989) |
| Ivin Jasper | Offensive Coordinator / quarterbacks coach | 17 | Hawaii (1994) |
| Dale Pehrson | Defensive Coordinator / defensive line coach | 21 | Utah (1976) |
| Chris Culton | Offensive Line coach | 14 | Georgia Southern (2011) |
| Justin Davis | Outside Linebackers coach | 10 | Maine (2001) |
| Lt. Col. Robert Green, USMC | Outside Linebackers coach | 4 | Navy (1998) |
| Ashley Ingram | Running Game Coordinator / offensive line coach | 9 | North Alabama (1996) |
| Steve Johns | Inside Linebackers | 9 | Occidental College (1991) |
| Dan O'Brien | Secondary coach | 3 | Boston College (2005) |
| Mike Judge | Fullbacks coach | 9 | Springfield College (2005) |
| Shaun Nua | Defensive Line coach | 5 | BYU (2005) |
| Danny O'Rourke | Special Teams Coordinator / Slotbacks coach | 15 | West Georgia (2000) |
| Napoleon Sykes | Defensive Line coach | 3 | Wake Forest (2006) |
| Mick Yokitis | Wide Receivers coach | 6 | Hawaii (2006) |

### Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Daiquan Thomasson
* Khaylan Williams
* Kyle Battle
| WLB | ILB | ILB | SLB |
| D.J. Palmore | Daniel Gonzales | Micah Thomas | Josiah Powell |
| Ted Colburn | Winn Howard | Mike Kelly | Brandon Jones |
| Monte Armstrong | Taylor Heflin | Hudson Sullivan | Justin Norton |
* SS
* Sean Williams
* Alohi Gilman
* Jerry Thompson
* CB
* Elijah Merchant
* Jarid Ryan
* Cameron Bryant
| DE | NT | DE |
| Amos Mason | Patrick Forrestal | Jarvis Polu |
| Nnamdi Uzoma | Jackson Pittman | Tyler Sayles |
| Anthony Villalobos | Rob Dusz | Nizaire Cromartie |
* CB
* Tyris Wooten
* Noruwa Obanor
* Juan Hailey
Offense :
* WR
* Jamir Tillman
* Brandon Colon
* Terrence Laster
* SB
* Dishan Romine
* Tre Walker
* Joshua Walker
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Blake Copeland | Adam West | Maurice Morris | Evan Martin | Andrew Wood |
| Adam Amosa-Tagovailo | Laurent Njiki | Parker Wade | Laurent Njiki | Jake Hawk |
| Michael Raiford | Jeremiah Robbins | David Forney | Steve Satchell | Seth White |
* SB
* Toneo Gulley
* Calvin Cass Jr.
* Darry Bonner
* WR
* Craig Scott
* Tyler Carmona
* Taylor Jackson
* QB
* Will Worth
* Zach Abey
* Malcolm Perry
* Key reserves
* FB
* Chris High
* Myles Swain
* Shawn White
* Special teams
* PK Bennett Moehring
* P Alex Barta
* KR Dishan Romine & Tre Walker
* PR Craig Scott & Calvin Cass Jr.
* LS Josh Antol
* H Will Worth
Depth Chart 2016 True Freshman Double Position : *

## Rankings

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 | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | 25 | 24 | 22 | — | RV | RV | RV | 20 | RV | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | 25 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 20 | RV | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | 25 | 19 | 25 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Fordham

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fordham | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| • Navy | 21 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 52 |

### UConn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UConn | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
| • Navy | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

### At Tulane

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Navy | 0 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| Tulane | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### At Air Force

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Navy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| • Air Force | 0 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 28 |

### Houston

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #6 Houston | 10 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 40 |
| • Navy | 10 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 46 |
This game marked Navy Midshipmen's biggest upset victory facing a top-10 ranked opponent in 32 years. (Since 1984 as they won against #2 ranked South Carolina) The game marked Ken Niumatalolo's 4th win over a ranked team.

### Memphis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Memphis | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| • #24 Navy | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
With this victory, Navy has 14th straight home wins, making it the 3rd longest active streak in FBS history. Also their longest at Navy-Marine Stadium since it opened in 1959. Personal player highlights include: wide receiver Jamir Tillman became the 2nd all-time receiver in Naval Academy history with 1,281 career receiving yards, passing Phil McConkey. And quarterback Will Worth had career highs with 201 rushing yards (286 total yards) and 5 touchdowns.

### At South Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #22 Navy | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 | 45 |
| • South Florida | 28 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 52 |

### Vs. Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Notre Dame | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| • Navy | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
With this rare victory, Navy beat Notre Dame for only the 4th time in 52 years (1963) in the nation's longest-running intersectional rivalry since 1926 (the 90th year). The Fighting Irish previously won five in a row against the Midshipmen. Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo got this 3rd win over Notre Dame, tying former Navy coach Wayne Hardin from the 1960s, and handing the Fighting Irish their 14th losing season ever. Navy quarterback Will Worth ran for 175 yards with two touchdowns, making it his 9th consecutive game with a rushing score. Worth finished with his 4th straight 100-yard rushing performance (his 5th of the season).

### Tulsa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tulsa | 10 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 40 |
| • Navy | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 42 |
After this win, Navy has 15 straight home victories, making it the second longest winning streak in the FBS. Navy also has the winningest Senior Class in Naval Academy history with 36–13, tying the all-time program record with the class of 1909 (36–7–5) and the class of 2016 (36–16). And 14 straight Senior Day victories. The Midshipmen stand alone in the Western Division in the American Conference. Personal highlights include Navy wide receiver Jamir Tillman who moved to second place on Navy's career receiving yards leaders list with 1,454 catches, passing Phil McConkey with 1,278 catches.

### At East Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Navy | 7 | 24 | 21 | 14 | 66 |
| East Carolina | 14 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
With this win, Navy clinched the AAC West division title, and will move on to the AAC championship game in only their second year in the conference. They also set some school record season highs; highest point total (66), most rushing touchdowns (9), and rushing yards (456). Personal highlights include Navy quarterback Will Worth becoming just the 5th player in school history with 1,000+ rushing and passing yards in a season. And six straight 100 yard games, ten with a rushing touchdown, which is the longest active streak in the FBS. Worth is tied with Jeremy McNichols from Boise State with 22 rushing touchdowns.

### At SMU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Navy | 14 | 14 | 28 | 19 | 75 |
| SMU | 7 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 31 |

### Temple

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Temple | 14 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 34 |
| #20 Navy | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
This game marked the first game, after 136 years of being independent, that Navy was in a conference championship.

### Vs. Army

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Army | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Navy | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 17 |

### Louisiana Tech (Armed Forces Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • LA Tech | 17 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 48 |
| Navy | 7 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 45 |