2016 Shepherd Rams football
MEC champion
ConferenceMountain East Conference
Ranking
AFCANo. 3
Record13–1 (10–0 MEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorErnie McCook (7th season)
Defensive coordinatorJosh Kline (8th season)
Home stadiumRam Stadium
2016 Mountain East Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 Shepherd $^  10 –0   13 –1  
No. 23 Fairmont State ^  9 –1   10 –2  
Notre Dame (OH)  8 –2   9 –2  
Virginia–Wise  5 –5   6 –5  
Glenville State  5 –5   5 –6  
West Liberty  4 –6   4 –7  
West Virginia Wesleyan  4 –6   4 –7  
Charleston (WV)  3 –7   3 –8  
West Virginia State  3 –7   3 –8  
Urbana  2 –8   3 –8  
Concord  2 –8   2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AFCA poll

The 2016 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University during the 2016 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Mountain East Conference (MEC). They were led by head coach Monte Cater, in his 30th season at Shepherd, and finished the season 13–1. With a conference record of 10–0, they were named MEC champions and advanced to the Division II Playoffs, losing in the semifinals to North Alabama. The Rams played their home games at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Preseason

After finishing the 2015 season with a record of 13–1, with the only loss coming in the national championship game to Northwest Missouri State, the Rams were ranked #4 in the preseason poll.[1]

Regular season

The 2016 regular season for the Rams consisted of 10 games against Mountain East Conference foes. The Rams went undefeated in the regular season and were given the third seed in Super Region I in the 2016 NCAA Division II football playoffs.[2]

Playoffs

Despite going undefeated and being ranked #3 in the nation, the Rams had to play in an opening round game of the playoffs. The Rams defeated #25 Assumption College in the game, 48–31, to advance to the Round of 16.[3]

The Rams then went on the road and were able to defeat LIU Post, 40–21, to improve to 12–0 and continue their playoff run.[4]

In the national quarterfinals the following week, the Rams again went on the road. This time, the Rams were able to defeat California (Pa.), 41–30.[5]

The Rams hosted a national semifinal game for the second consecutive year, losing to North Alabama, 23–13.[6]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 312:00 p.mWest Virginia WesleyanNo. 4
W 27–124,987
September 87:30 p.m.at Charleston (WV)No. 4
W 38–221,111
September 1712:00 p.m.Virginia–WiseNo. 4
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
W 64–134,472
September 2412:00 p.m.at Notre Dame (OH)No. 4
W 38–171,080
October 812:00 p.m.Glenville StateNo. 3
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
ESPN3W 38–74,189
October 151:00 p.m.at West Virginia StateNo. 3
W 70–24311
October 2212:00 p.m.ConcorddaggerNo. 3
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
W 21–75,211
October 2912:00 p.m.at West LibertyNo. 3
W 38–27498[7]
November 512:00 p.m.No. 17 Fairmont StateNo. 3
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
W 27–176,751
November 121:00 p.m.at UrbanaNo. 3
W 38–141,058
November 1912:00 p.m.No. 25 Assumption*No. 3
W 48–314,571[8]
November 2612:00 p.m.at No. 10 LIU Post*No. 3
W 40–213,684
December 31:00 p.m.at No. 6 California (PA)*No. 3
W 41–305,113[5][9]
December 1012:00 p.m.No. 7 North Alabama*No. 3
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV (NCAA Division II semifinal)
ESPN3L 13–237,017[6][10][11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

References

  1. ↑ "Shepherd ranked fourth in AFCA poll". The Journal. August 16, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. ↑ Kozlowski, Rick (November 14, 2016). "Shepherd given third seed in region". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ Kozlowski, Rick (November 20, 2016). "Quick Start: Rams defeat Assumption in NCAA DII playoff". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  4. ↑ Kozlowski, Rick (November 27, 2016). "Brown helps lead Shepherd past LIU-Post". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Kozlowski, Rick (December 5, 2016). "Shepherd offense figures out Vulcans". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Kozlowski, Rick (December 10, 2016). "Shepherd set to host national semifinal game". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ Rine, Shawn (October 30, 2016). "West Liberty Football Gives No. 3 Shepherd Run For Money". The Intelligencer.
  8. ↑ "Shepherd Wins Playoff Opener". Talk Radio WRNR. November 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Vulcans lose to Shepherd in quarterfinals, 41-30". Herald-Standard (Uniontown, PA). December 4, 2016.(787 words, available for fee at NewsLibrary.com)
  10. ↑ "Shepherd ousted by North Alabama in Division II football semifinals". Charleston Gazette-Mail. December 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ John Lowe (December 11, 2016). "UNA advances to Division II final". Pensacola News-Journal. Associcated Press. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com.
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