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2016 North Dakota State

12–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

North Dakota State in 2016, game by game: won vs. Charleston Southern 24–17; won vs. Eastern Washington 50–44; won at No. 13 Iowa 23–21; won vs. Illinois State 31–10; won at Missouri State 27–3; lost vs. South Dakota State 17–19; won at Western Illinois 21–13; won at Northern Iowa 24–20; won vs. Youngstown State 24–3; won vs. Indiana State 41–17; won at South Dakota 28–21; won vs. San Diego 45–7; won vs. South Dakota State 36–10; lost vs. James Madison 17–27+38−10Won 24–17 vs. Charleston Southern+7Charleston Sout…Won 50–44 vs. Eastern Washington+6Eastern Washing…Won 23–21 at No. 13 Iowa+2No. 13 IowaWon 31–10 vs. Illinois State+21Illinois StateWon 27–3 at Missouri State+24Missouri StateLost 17–19 vs. South Dakota State-2South Dakota St…Won 21–13 at Western Illinois+8Western IllinoisWon 24–20 at Northern Iowa+4Northern IowaWon 24–3 vs. Youngstown State+21Youngstown StateWon 41–17 vs. Indiana State+24Indiana StateWon 28–21 at South Dakota+7South DakotaWon 45–7 vs. San Diego+38San DiegoWon 36–10 vs. South Dakota State+26South Dakota St…Lost 17–27 vs. James Madison-10James Madison
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 27vsCharleston SouthernW 24–⁠1774%
Sep 10vsEastern WashingtonW 50–⁠4480%
Sep 17at13IowaW 23–⁠2133%
Oct 1vsIllinois StateW 31–⁠1077%
Oct 8atMissouri StateW 27–⁠381%
Oct 15vsSouth Dakota StateL 17–⁠1977%
Oct 22atWestern IllinoisW 21–⁠1366%
Oct 29atNorthern IowaW 24–⁠2067%
Nov 5vsYoungstown StateW 24–⁠381%
Nov 12vsIndiana StateW 41–⁠1791%
Nov 19atSouth DakotaW 28–⁠2185%
Dec 3vsSan DiegoW 45–⁠773%
Dec 10vsSouth Dakota StateW 36–⁠1075%
Dec 16Bowls & playoffvsJames MadisonL 17–⁠2768%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to James Madison 27–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; Missouri Valley Football Conference champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 51 on file).

Missouri Valley Football Conference champions8–⁠1 in the conference, shared with South Dakota State

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
408–⁠232
Coach
—
Elo
1630 +82 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
1.4 No. 1 of 125 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 136
Offensive coordinator
Tim Polasek
Defensive coordinator
Matt Entz
Offense
West Coast
Defense
3–⁠4

Leaders

Passing yardsEaston Stick QB124 yds
Passing touchdownsEaston Stick QB1 TD
Rushing yardsKing Frazier RB99 yds
Rushing touchdownsKing Frazier RB1 TD
Receiving yardsBruce Anderson RB38 yds
Receiving touchdownsChase Morlock RB1 TD
TacklesNick DeLuca LB8 tkl
SacksGreg Menard DE1 sacks

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Cameron Hackl DT★★★No. 1274
Sean Engel WR★★No. 2699
Moses Nyangacha S★★No. 2990
Karson Schoening OG★★No. 3036
Ben Hecht OT★★No. 3036

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks32.00.761
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers22.00.773
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line22.50.791
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.767
Whole class152.10.770

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2016 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State8–⁠112–⁠2
South Dakota State7–⁠29–⁠4
Youngstown State6–⁠212–⁠4
Illinois State4–⁠46–⁠6
Northern Iowa4–⁠45–⁠6
Western Illinois3–⁠56–⁠5
South Dakota3–⁠54–⁠7
Missouri State2–⁠64–⁠7
Indiana State2–⁠64–⁠7
Southern Illinois2–⁠64–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.