# 2016 Youngstown State Penguins football team

The 2016 Youngstown State Penguins football team represented Youngstown State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Bo Pelini and played their home games at Stambaugh Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Youngstown State finished the season 12–4 overall with a 6–2 mark in MVFC play to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated Samford, Jacksonville State, Wofford, and Eastern Washington to advance to the National Championship Game, where they lost to James Madison.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:30 pm | Duquesne* | | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN3 | W 45–10 | 12,219 |
| September 10 | 2:00 pm | at West Virginia* | No. 20 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV | RTPT | L 21–38 | 56,261 |
| September 17 | 4:00 pm | Robert Morris* | No. 20 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN3 | W 38–6 | 19,033 |
| October 1 | 4:00 pm | South Dakota | No. 20 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN3 | W 30–20 | 15,151 |
| October 8 | 3:00 pm | at No. 23 Illinois State | No. 15 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | ESPN3 | W 20–6 | 12,570 |
| October 15 | 7:00 pm | No. 21 Northern Iowa | No. 14 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN3 | W 14–10 | 13,373 |
| October 22 | 3:00 pm | at No. 7 South Dakota State | No. 13 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | ESPN3 | L 10–24 | 17,730 |
| October 29 | 4:00 pm | Indiana State | No. 15 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN3 | W 13–10 | 15,082 |
| November 5 | 3:30 pm | at No. 4 North Dakota State | No. 15 | FargodomeFargo, ND | ESPN3 | L 3–24 | 18,332 |
| November 12 | 12:00 pm | Southern Illinois | No. 17 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN3 | W 21–14 | 11,262 |
| November 19 | 3:00 pm | at Missouri State | No. 15 | Robert W. Plaster StadiumSpringfield, MO | ESPN3 | W 65–20 | 5,070 |
| November 26 | 5:00 pm | No. 23 Samford* | No. 13 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH (FCS Playoffs First Round) | ESPN3 | W 38–24 | 5,322 |
| December 3 | 2:00 pm | at No. 2 Jacksonville State* | No. 13 | JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL (FCS Playoffs Second Round) | ESPN3 | W 40–24 | 18,838 |
| December 10 | 2:00 pm | No. 19 Wofford* | No. 13 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals) | ESPN3 | W 30–23 $^{2OT}$ | 8,066 |
| December 17 | 6:30 pm | at No. 3 Eastern Washington* | No. 13 | Roos FieldCheney, WA (FCS Playoffs Semifinals) | ESPNU | W 40–38 | 5,233 |
| January 7, 2017 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 5 James Madison* | No. 13 | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (FCS National Championship Game) | ESPN2 | L 14–28 | 14,423 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Duquesne

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dukes | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Penguins | 10 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 45 |

### At West Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #20 Penguins | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Mountaineers | 7 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 38 |

### Robert Morris

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonials | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| #20 Penguins | 14 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 38 |

### South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Coyotes | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
| #20 Penguins | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 30 |

### At Illinois State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #15 Penguins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 20 |
| #23 Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |

### Northern Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #21 Panthers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| #14 Penguins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |

### At South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Penguins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| #7 Jackrabbits | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |

### Indiana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sycamores | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| #15 Penguins | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |

### At North Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #15 Penguins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| #4 Bison | 17 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Salukis | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| #17 Penguins | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### At Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #15 Penguins | 14 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 65 |
| Bears | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |

## FCS Playoffs
### First Round–Samford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #23 Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 24 |
| #13 Penguins | 7 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 38 |

### Second Round–Jacksonville State

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

### Quarterfinals–Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| #19 Terriers | 9 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| #13 Penguins | 0 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 30 |

### Semifinals–Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Penguins | 7 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 40 |
| #3 Eagles | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

### Championship–James Madison

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Penguins | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| #5 Dukes | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | 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 | RV | 20 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 2 |
| Coaches | RV | 22 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 12–T | 2 |