2016 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 2016 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mountaineers played as members of the Big 12 Conference (Big 12) and were led by head coach Dana Holgorsen, in his sixth year. West Virginia played its home games at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. 2016 was the 125th season of West Virginia football. They finished the season 10–3, 7–2 in Big 12 play to finished in a tie for second place. They received an invitation to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they lost to Miami.[1]

2016 West Virginia Mountaineers football
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 18
Record10–3 (7–2 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorTony Gibson (3rd season)
Base defense3–3–5
Home stadiumMountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
Seasons
← 2015
2017 →
2016 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Oklahoma $   9 0     11 2  
No. 11 Oklahoma State   7 2     10 3  
No. 18 West Virginia   7 2     10 3  
Kansas State   6 3     9 4  
TCU   4 5     6 7  
Baylor   3 6     7 6  
Texas   3 6     5 7  
Texas Tech   3 6     5 7  
Iowa State   2 7     3 9  
Kansas   1 8     2 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

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Big 12 media poll

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The 2016 Big 12 media days were held July 18–19, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. In the Big 12 preseason media poll, West Virginia was predicted to finish seventh in the standings.[2]

Big 12 media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Oklahoma 258 (24)
2 TCU 222 (2)
3 Oklahoma State 202
4 Baylor 156
5 Texas 151
6 Texas Tech 141
7 West Virginia 126
8 Kansas State 88
9 Iowa State 59
10 Kansas 27

Schedule

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West Virginia announced its 2016 football schedule on November 24, 2015. The 2016 schedule consists of 7 home, 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Mountaineers will host Big 12 foes Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and TCU, and will travel to Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech.[3]

The team will play three non–conference games, two home games against the Missouri Tigers from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Youngstown State Penguins from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and one neutral site game which is against the BYU Cougars at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 3NoonMissouri*FS1W 26–1160,125
September 102:00 p.m.No. 20 (FCS) Youngstown State*
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
RTPTW 38–2156,261
September 243:30 p.m.vs. BYU*ESPN2W 35–3238,207
October 13:30 p.m.Kansas State 
ESPNUW 17–1661,701
October 15Noonat Texas TechNo. 20FS1W 48–1754,111
October 223:30 p.m.TCUNo. 12
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
ABCW 34–1061,780
October 29Noonat Oklahoma StateNo. 10FOXL 20–3759,584
November 57:00 p.m.KansasNo. 20
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
ESPN2W 48–2156,343
November 12Noonat TexasNo. 16FS1W 24–2096,367
November 198:00 p.m.No. 9 OklahomaNo. 14
ABCL 28–5657,645
November 263:30 p.m.at Iowa StateNo. 18FS1W 49–1951,365
December 33:30 p.m.BaylorNo. 16
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, WV
FS1W 24–2149,229
December 285:30 p.m.vs. Miami (FL)*No. 16ESPNL 14–3148,625
Schedule Source:[4]

Game summaries

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Missouri

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1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 3 0 8 11
Mountaineers 10 3 10 3 26

Youngstown State

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1 2 3 4 Total
#20 (FCS) Penguins 0 14 0 7 21
Mountaineers 7 7 17 7 38

Vs. BYU

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 7 6 6 13 32
Mountaineers 7 14 7 7 35

Kansas State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 6 3 0 16
Mountaineers 0 0 3 14 17

At Texas Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
#20 Mountaineers 10 14 3 21 48
Red Raiders 7 0 3 7 17
1 2 3 4 Total
Horned Frogs 3 7 0 0 10
#12 Mountaineers 14 7 10 3 34

At Oklahoma State

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1 2 3 4 Total
#10 Mountaineers 3 7 0 10 20
Cowboys 6 14 7 10 37

Kansas

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1 2 3 4 Total
Jayhawks 0 0 14 7 21
#14 Mountaineers 10 21 14 3 48

At Texas

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1 2 3 4 Total
#11 Mountaineers 10 7 7 0 24
Longhorns 3 10 7 0 20

Oklahoma

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1 2 3 4 Total
#8 Sooners 21 13 7 15 56
#10 Mountaineers 0 7 7 14 28

At Iowa State

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1 2 3 4 Total
#19 Mountaineers 14 7 14 14 49
Cyclones 13 3 3 0 19

Baylor

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 14 0 7 21
#14 Mountaineers 3 7 7 7 24

Miami (FL) – Russell Athletic Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
#14 Mountaineers 7 0 7 0 14
Hurricanes 0 21 10 0 31

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRVRV2220121014111019141418
CoachesRVRVRVRV20181391510917131217
CFPNot released201614181616Not released

References

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  1. ^ "West Virginia vs. Miami - Game Recap - December 28, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  2. ^ "Oklahoma Tops Big 12 Media Preseason Football Poll". big12sports.com. Big 12 Conference. July 14, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. ^ "2016 Football Schedule Released" (Press release). University of West Virginia Department of Athletics. July 11, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  4. ^ "2016 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved December 22, 2015.