# 2016 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

The 2016 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Jerry Mack, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 8–0, winning the MEAC title. North Carolina Central earned a berth in the Celebration Bowl, where the Eagles lost to Grambling State. The team played home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 6:00 pm | at Duke* | | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC (Bull City Gridiron Classic) | ESPN3 | L 6–49 | 35,049 |
| September 10 | 7:00 pm | at Western Michigan* | | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPN3 | L 21–70 | 23,727 |
| September 17 | 6:00 pm | Saint Augustine's* | | O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC | NSN | W 65–7 | 4,016 |
| September 24 | 2:00 pm | at Norfolk State | | William "Dick" Price StadiumNorfolk, VA | SSC | W 34–31 | 8,296 |
| October 1 | 4:00 pm | at Bethune–Cookman | | Municipal StadiumDaytona Beach, FL | CEN | W 31–14 | 4,216 |
| October 8 | 4:00 pm | Florida A&M | | O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC | NSN | W 17–13 | 617 |
| October 15 | 2:00 pm | Savannah State | | O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC | NSN | W 33–3 | 12,966 |
| October 22 | 1:00 pm | at Morgan State | | Hughes StadiumBaltimore, MD | | W 21–17 | 8,534 |
| November 5 | 2:00 pm | at Delaware State | | Alumni StadiumDover, DE | WDSU-TV | W 38–19 | 1,597 |
| November 12 | 2:00 pm | Howard | | O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC | NSN | W 30–21 | 6,897 |
| November 19 | 2:00 pm | No. 9 North Carolina A&T | No. 24 | O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC (rivalry) | ESPN3, ESPNU (tape delay) | W 42–21 | 15,715 |
| December 17 | 3:00 pm | vs. No. 16 Grambling State* | No. 20 | Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA (Celebration Bowl) | ABC | L 9–10 | 31,096 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Blue Devils | 21 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 49 |

### At Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Broncos | 28 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 70 |

### Saint Augustine's

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Eagles | 21 | 20 | 7 | 17 | 65 |

### At Norfolk State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
| Spartans | 0 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 31 |

### At Bethune–Cookman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 31 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Florida A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rattlers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |

### Savannah State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Eagles | 3 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 33 |

### At Morgan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Bears | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### At Delaware State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 9 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 38 |
| Hornets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 19 |

### Howard

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Eagles | 6 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 30 |

### North Carolina A&T

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Aggies | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| #24 Eagles | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 |

### Celebration Bowl–Grambling State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #16 Tigers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| #20 Eagles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 |

## Ranking movements

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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 20 | 22 |
| Coaches | RV | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 20 | 18 | 20 |